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Free Voters (German: Freie Wähler, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (Freie Wählergemeinschaften), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These associations are usually locally-organised groups of voters in the form of a registered association (eV). In most cases, Free Voters campaign only at local government level, standing for city councils and for mayoralties. Free Voters tend to achieve their most successful electoral results in rural areas of southern Germany, appealing most to conservative voters who prefer local decisions to party politics. Free Voter groups are active in all of the states of Germany.
Free Voters Freie Wähler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | FW |
| Chairman | Hubert Aiwanger |
| Deputy Chairpersons | Manfred Petry Gabi Schmidt Gregor Voht Engin Eroglu Denise Wendt |
| Federal Managing Director | Arnold Hansen |
| Federal Treasurer | Christa Hudyma |
| Founded | 1965 (as Bundesverband) 24 January 2009 (as a party) |
| Headquarters | Mühlenstraße 13, Ganderkesee, Germany |
| Youth wing | Young Free Voters |
| Membership (2020) | 6,225[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right[6] |
| European affiliation | European Democratic Party |
| European Parliament group | Renew Europe |
| Colours | Orange Azure |
| State parliaments | 44 / 1,889 |
| European Parliament | 3 / 96 |
| Website | |
| www.freiewaehler.eu | |
In the 2003 Bavaria state election, the FW association received 4.0% of the vote (411,306 votes), barely missing the 5% threshold required to enter the state Landtag. [7]
In the 2008 Bavaria state election, the FW association received 10.2% of the vote and gained their first 20 seats in the Landtag of Bavaria. FW may have been helped by the presence in its list of Gabriele Pauli, a former member of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).[8][9] The party also reached its best performance yet in raw votes, receiving 1,085,896 votes. [10]
In the 2009 federal election, the Free Voters received 0.03% of the national vote (11,243 votes in total). [11]
In the 2013 Bavarian state election, the Free Voters repeated their success, gaining 19 seats albeit at 9.0% of the vote.[12]
In the 2013 federal election, the Free Voters received 1.0% of the national vote (423,977 votes in total). [13]
In the 2014 European parliament elections in Germany, the Free Voters list received 1.46% of the national vote and returned a single MEP, Ulrike Müller,[14] who sits with the ALDE Group.[15] The federal Free Voters association joined the European Democratic Party in October 2015.[16]
In June 2017, Arne Gericke, who sits with European Parliament's European Conservatives and Reformists group and was elected in 2014 on the Family Party of Germany list, joined the federal association.[17] Gericke left it 15 months afterward for Alliance C – Christians for Germany.
In the 2017 federal election, the Free Voters received 1.0% of the national vote (463,292 votes in total).[18]
In the 2018 Bavarian state election, the Free Voters won a record 27 seats with 11.6% of the vote, entering into a coalition government as junior partner to the CSU. [19]
Following the 2019 European Parliament election in Germany, the Free Voters sit in the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament with two MEPs.[20][21]
In the European Committee of the Regions, the Free Voters sit in the Renew Europe CoR group with one alternate member for the 2020–2025 mandate.[22]
In the 2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election, the Free Voters entered the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate for the first time, amassing 5.4% of the vote and six seats.[23]
In the 2021 federal election, the Free Voters received 2.4% of the national vote (1,125,667 votes in total), winning roughly half of those votes from the state of Bavaria, where it received 7.5% (566,880 votes) of the vote and came 5th. The Free Voters hence became the most voted for party that failed to receive Bundestag seats. [24][25]
In the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany, the Free Voters won 2.7% of the vote and three seats, electing Christine Singer, Joachim Streit and Engin Eroglu to the European Parliament. [26]
In the 2024 Saxony state election, the Free Voters entered the Landtag of Saxony for the first time. Despite failing to reach the 5% threshold with only 2.3% of the vote, the party won a direct mandate in the Leipzig Land III constituency, electing Matthias Berger to the Landtag of Saxony. [27]
The Free Voters are a conservative party,[28] supporting devolving more power to the local level.[29] As of 2019, the party was in opposition to the European Union's financial policies.[30] In 2024, the party was described by Euractiv as including both liberals and conservatives.[31]
Ideologically, on the political spectrum, it has been described by some sources as being between the Free Democratic Party and the Party of Bible-abiding Christians (now merged into Alliance C - Christians for Germany),[30] and by others as between the Christian Social Union and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).[32] Europe Elects has described it as centrist.[33] Politico has described the party as conservative and right-wing, noting the similarities between their rhetoric and the statements of the AfD (such as opposition to mandatory vaccination and other COVID issues)[34]
Immigration
The Free Voters support an immigration policy based off the Canadian model. [35] They demand a limit on family reunification for asylum seekers and want to create return assistance. [36]
Foreign Policy
On the European Union, the Free Voters oppose the accession of Turkey, while supporting the Union's enlargement by including more Western Balkan states into the Union.[37] [38] The party supports Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and believes that Ukraine should have its full, pre-war territory restored. [39] The party also supports recognizing Taiwan as an independent nation. [40]
Regional Autonomy
The Free Voters believe that local self-government should be strengthened, and demands that the European Committee of the Regions should be given a permanent position in the EU Parliament. [41]
Federal parliament
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party list | Seats | +/– | Government | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| 2009 | Manfred Ehlert | 11,243 | 0.0 (#22) | 0 / 622 |
Extra-parliamentary | |||
| 2013 | Hubert Aiwanger | 431,640 | 1.0 (#10) | 423,977 | 1.0 (#10) | 0 / 631 |
 0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| 2017 | 589,056 | 1.3 (#8) | 463,292 | 1.0 (#8) | 0 / 709 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary | |
| 2021 | 1,334,093 | 2.9 (#8) | 1,127,171 | 2.4 (#8) | 0 / 735 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary | |
State Parliaments (Länder)
The Free Voters do not contest state elections in Brandenburg due to the close cooperation with the BVB/Free Voters, who only compete in the state elections in Brandenburg.
| State parliament | Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 2021 | 146,259 | 3.0 (#6) | 0 / 154 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Bavaria | 2023 | 2,163,353 | 15.8 (#2) | 37 / 205 |
 10 |
CSU–FW |
| Berlin [a] | 2023 | 3,923 | 0.26 (#16) | 0 / 160 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Bremen | 2019 | 14,205 | 1.0 (#9) | 0 / 84 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Hamburg | 2020 | 16,357 | 0.4 (#?) | 0 / 123 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Hesse | 2018 | 85,465 | 3.0 (#6) | 0 / 137 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Lower Saxony | 2022 | 30,453 | 0.8 (#10) | 0 / 137 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern [b] | 2021 | 10,075 | 1.1 (#9) | 0 / 71 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 2022 | 49,985 | 0.7 (#10) | 0 / 199 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 2021 | 103,619 | 5.4 (#6) | 6 / 101 |
6 |
Opposition |
| Saarland | 2022 | 7,636 | 1.7 (#9) | 0 / 51 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Saxony [c] | 2024 | 53,008 | 2.3(#7) | 1 / 120 |
1 |
TBD |
| Saxony-Anhalt [d] | 2021 | 33,288 | 3.1 (#7) | 0 / 97 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 2022 | 8,190 | 0.6 (#11) | 0 / 73 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
| Thuringia [e] | 2019 | n/a | - | 0 / 90 |
0 |
Extra-parliamentary |
European Parliament
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Gabriele Pauli | 442,579 | 1.68 (#7) | 0 / 99 |
New | – |
| 2014 | Ulrike Müller | 428,800 | 1.46 (#8) | 1 / 96 |
1 |
ALDE |
| 2019 | 806,703 | 2.16 (#9) | 2 / 96 |
1 |
RE | |
| 2024 | Christine Singer | 1,062,132 | 2.67 (#9) | 3 / 96 |
1 |
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
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