Progressive People's Party (Germany)
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Progressive People's Party
Fortschrittliche Volkspartei |
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|---|---|
| Chairman |
Otto Fischbeck 1910–1912 Otto Wiemer 1912–1918 |
| Founded | 6 March 1910 |
| Dissolved | 20 November 1918 |
| Preceded by |
Free-minded People's Party Free-minded Union German People's Party |
| Succeeded by | German Democratic Party |
| Newspaper | NA |
| Ideology |
Liberal democracy, Social liberalism, Parliamentarism, Laicism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| International affiliation | none |
The Progressive People's Party (German: Fortschrittliche Volkspartei, FVP) was a social liberal party of the late German Empire.
It was formed on 6 March 1910 as a merger of Freeminded People's Party, Freeminded Union, and German People's Party in order to unify various fragmented liberal groups represented in parliament.
Already during the 1907 federal election, the two Freeminded parties had joined forces supporting Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow who had promised to implement structural reforms. This disputed Bülow-Block led to the split-off of the left-wing Democratic Union (DV) under Rudolf Breitscheid and Theodor Barth, nevertheless, after Bülow's resignation in 1909, the major social liberal parties were able to join together in an effective union.
The Progressives demanded full equal voting rights for all, the abolition of the Prussian three-class franchise system, a new local elections law, and amendments to the Imperial Constitution transforming the Empire into a parliamentary democratic monarchy. They also advocated the separation of Church and State, free trade, a progressive taxation, as well as safety, health, and welfare of people at work. The Party thereby distanced itself from Conservativs and the National Liberal Party. Leading members like Friedrich Naumann were still favouring economic liberalism, but gradually turned to the concept of a welfare state. A cooperation with the Social Democrats, however, remained disputed.
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