Free-minded Union

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Free-minded Union
Freisinnige Vereinigung
Founded1893
Dissolved6 March 1910
Split fromGerman Free-minded Party
Merged intoProgressive People's Party
IdeologyLiberalism
Economic liberalism
Social liberalism
National liberalism
Political positionCentre to centre-left
Colours  Yellow

The Free-minded Union (German: Freisinnige Vereinigung; FVG) or Radical Union[1][2] was a liberal party in the German Empire that existed from 1893 to 1910.

Emergence

Inside its predecessor, the

left liberal wing of the Free-mindeds, loyal to Richter, assembled in the Free-minded People's Party

The new party focused on

Imperial Navy arms race and the German colonial
policy.

Merger with the National-Social Association

In 1903, the electoral unsuccessful

liberal nationalist
line. The gain of the National Socials' local structures led to a development of a loose notables' association towards a members' party. However, the party could not really win the support of the working class and did not become a major party.

Merger into the Progressive People's Party

From 1905 onward, the Free-minded Union cooperated increasingly with the other left liberals, namely the Free-minded People's Party and the German People's Party. In 1907, the three parties drafted a common electoral program for the elections to the Reichstag. Afterwards, they formed a common parliamentary group, which was part of the pro-government imperialist Bernhard von Bülow bloc together with the Conservatives and National Liberals. The party's own left-wing and pacifist faction, including Theodor Barth, Hellmut von Gerlach, Rudolf Breitscheid and feminist Helene Lange, were discontent with this step and left to form the Democratic Union.

In 1910, the Free-minded Union, Free-minded People's Party and German People's Party merged into the Progressive People's Party.

References

  1. ^ Kurlander, Eric (2007). The Landscapes of Liberalism: Particularism and Progressive Politics in Two Borderland Regions. University of Toronto Press. p. 125. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Zucker, Stanley (1975). Ludwig Bamberger: German Liberal Political and Social Critic, 1823-1899. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 239.

External links

Preceded by liberal German parties
1893-1910
Succeeded by