Swiss Federal Elections | 46 comments (46 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (none / 1)

How radical is Radical? are they radically left or right? or is it just a name that's an artifact of another time?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 09:38:21 AM EST

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (none / 1)

I guess it is because in French they are called "Parti radical-démocratique Suisse", however, they are actually a rather moderate to the right, mostly pro small-business, party. Their name in German is more adequate, unless the word has a different meaning in French.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 09:44:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (4.00 / 3)

In France, the radicals are centrist. There are Left Radicals (Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche) who live in the pocket of the Parti Socialiste. Then there are centre-right radicals (Parti Radical often called "Valoisien") whose one-time leader was Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber. A prominent member today is Jean-Louis Borloo, the French Environment Minister.

These two movements are the result of a left-right split of the old Radical party, which had fairly far left tendencies in the nineteenth century. Needless to say, the old "radicalism" is dead and gone.

But I don't know if the Swiss Radicals fall into this bracket...

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 12:35:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (4.00 / 2)

Here a link to the Swiss radicals. There position papers are all in pdf.

http://www.prd.ch/page/content/view.asp?MenuID=127&ID=165&Menu=3&Item=1

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 12:45:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (none / 1)

A number of 19th-century-origin liberal parties, especially in Latin countries, used to be called Radicals -- I guess this is valid for the Swiss version, too.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 10:52:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (none / 1)

I guess so, in German the "Radical" is replaced with "Freisinnig".

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 10:56:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (none / 1)

In Sweden "Frisinnade" and Liberals were two different trends in the liberal party, sometimes leading to splits, but eventually mending the fences again. This was in the late 19th century-1930ish period.

So it would not surprise me to learn that "Freisinnig" is the germanic version of the latin radicals.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 05:44:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (4.00 / 2)

Checking on it, today they are called Radicals only in French and Italian:

German: Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz (FDP)
French: Parti radical-démocratique suisse (PRD)
Italian: Partito liberale radicale svizzero (PLR)

It originated in 1878.

Here is the Wiki article on Radicalism as political movement. I find there were even British Radivcals.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 11:00:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (4.00 / 3)

In Britain the nineteenth-century Radicals were a respectable lot imo. They were the ones really pushing for social reform, when the Liberals were just pushing their utilitarian laissez-faire free-trade agenda. Both movements were bourgeois, however. The workers' movement (politically the Labour Party) gradually took over the Radicals' space.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 12:40:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (4.00 / 2)

Also in Denmark: Det Radikale Venstre. Social-liberal parties seem to have at least to strands running through them, one "liberal"
and another "radical democratic".

We have met the enemy, and it is us — Pogo

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 11:07:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Swiss Federal Elections (4.00 / 2)

The Swiss FDP was social-liberal a very long time ago, though.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sun Oct 21st, 2007 at 11:38:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Swiss Federal Elections | 46 comments (46 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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