Liberal Initiative (Portugal)

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Liberal Initiative
Iniciativa Liberal
AbbreviationIL
PresidentJoão Cotrim de Figueiredo
Secretary-GeneralMiguel Rangel
Founded13 December 2017
HeadquartersAvenida do Bessa, 158 E 4100-012 Porto
Membership (November 2021)4000[1]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing
European affiliationAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe[2][3]
Colours  Sky blue
Assembly of the Republic
8 / 230
European Parliament
0 / 21
Regional
Parliaments
1 / 104
Local government
(Mayors)
0 / 308
Local government
(Parishes)
0 / 3,091
Website
iniciativaliberal.pt

The Liberal Initiative (Portuguese: Iniciativa Liberal, pronounced [inisjɐˈtivɐ liβɨˈɾaɫ], IL) is a liberal political party in Portugal currently led by João Cotrim de Figueiredo.[4] In 2019, its debut year at the Portuguese legislative elections, the party won one seat in the Portuguese Parliament.[5] The party supported its first government coalition, at regional level, after the 2020 Azorean regional election.[6] In the 2021 Portuguese local elections, the party won its first ever seats in municipal assemblies.[7]

Founders[]

Name Role Start Candidate
Alexandre Krauss Founding-Member 13 December 2017
Bruno Horta Soares Founding-Member 13 December 2017 2021 Candidate for Mayor of Lisbon
Rodrigo Dias Saraiva Founding-Member 13 December 2017

History[]

See also: Liberalism in Portugal

The party, professing liberalism, including pro-market, business-friendly economic liberalism, small government and individual freedom as core tenets of its ideology, was created as an association in 2016, and was approved as a party by the Constitutional Court in 2017.[8] It was admitted to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, a European political party, in November 2017.[9] It ran for election for the first time in the 2019 European Parliament election in Portugal, garnering 0.9% of the votes, and failing to win any seats in the European Parliament.[10] In the 2019 legislative election, the party won a single seat in the Portuguese Parliament through the electoral district of Lisbon, earning 67,681 votes in total, equivalent to 1.29% of the votes cast.[5] At regional level, IL supported its first government coalition after the 2020 Azorean regional election.[6] In the 2021 Portuguese local elections, it won 26 seats in municipal assemblies, and none in municipal councils.[7] In the 2022 legislative election, the Liberal Initiative party increased the number of its deputies from one to eight with 5.0% of the vote.[11] Besides João Cotrim Figueiredo (already a deputy at the Portuguese Parliament and incumbent party leader), IL elected seven new deputies for the party, including Carlos Guimarães Pinto (a former party leader), as MPs.

Ideology and platform[]

It adheres to principles of liberalism,[12][13] economic liberalism,[14] and libertarianism.[15][16][17] It has been also described as centre-right[18][19] and right-wing,[20][21][22] with its policy base described as combining economic liberalism with more progressive stances on cultural issues.[20]

According to its own official statements about this topic, the Liberal Initiative was founded with the Oxford Manifesto in mind and believes in individual freedom, by which all individuals have fundamental rights, including the possibility of having a life of their own, owning property or choosing how they want to live in their community, closely following the principles of libertarianism.[23] The party's conception of freedom encompasses both the economic and social spheres as well as the political sphere and believes that if any of them are restricted, freedom ceases to exist. The party's political ideas are based on the idea of freedom as the greatest engine of human development, social harmony and economic prosperity.[24][25][26] The party's leaders and founders have ascertained that they envisage Portugal as a country that will model itself on Germany's multi-payer health care system – which is paid for by a combination of public health insurance and private health insurance –, on Ireland's tax policy and on Estonia's public administration system,[27][28] following classical liberal economic policies.

On 5 May 2018, the Liberal Initiative approved its political programme under the slogan "Less State, More Freedom" (Menos Estado, Mais Liberdade).[29] The party proposes the reduction of the number of civil servants and the extension of their health system to all Portuguese citizens, as well as extending the freedom for parents to choose their children's school without it necessarily being linked to their address.[30]

Platform for the 2019 legislative election[]

Among the measures announced for the 2019 parliamentary elections were:

  • Introducing a flat income tax rate of 15%.
  • Extending coverage by the  [pt] ("Instituto de Proteção e Assistência na Doença") to all Portuguese citizens. This body is in charge of health care, and works like a health insurance, for the Portuguese civil servants only.
  • Providing freedom of choice of school in both the state-owned and privately-owned systems, through a school-voucher system.
  • Granting more freedom for universities to define admission criteria, and following the American and British models for universities by adopting a student loan funding system.

Organisation, communication and style[]

The party is organised and managed in a decentralised, digitised way. It has no physical headquarters in most municipalities of the country and makes heavy use of information and communication technologies.[31] Since its foundation, the party made an impact through the acclaimed originality of its communication and marketing campaigns, in particular its eye-catching outdoors.[32]

Electoral results[]

Assembly of the Republic[]

Election Leader Size Votes % +/- (%) Seats +/- (seats) Status
2019 Carlos Guimarães Pinto 8th 67,681 1.29% New
1 / 230
 New Opposition
2022 João Cotrim de Figueiredo 4th 275,688 4.88% Increase 3.59 p.p.
8 / 230
 Increase 7 Opposition

European Parliament[]

Election Lead candidate Size Votes % +/- (%) Seats +/- (seats)
2019 Ricardo Arroja 11th 29,120 0.88% New
0 / 21
 New

Presidential elections[]

Date Candidate First Round
Cl. Votes %
2021 Tiago Mayan Gonçalves 6th 134,991[33] 3.23

Regional Assemblies[]

Regional Assemblies
Region Last
Election 		No. of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		Seats Government
No. ± Position
Azores 2020 2,012 1.9 (7th)
1 / 57
 New 7th Opposition; negotiated the approval of the Government's program[34]
Madeira 2019 762 0.5 (12th)
0 / 47
 New 12th Extra-parliamentary

Local elections[]

Date Votes
(Municipal Chamber) 		% Mayors[35] +/- Parish presidents[36] +/- Municipal Chamber +/- Municipal Assembly +/- Parish Assembly +/-
2021[37] 64,849 1,30%
0 / 308
 New
0 / 3,091
 New
0 / 2,064
 New
26 / 6,448
 New
45 / 26,797
 New

Assembly of the Republic[]

XV Government[]

2022-

List of leaders[]

João Cotrim de Figueiredo, the party's first ever elected Member of the Portuguese Parliament and incumbent party leader.
Name Start End
1st Miguel Ferreira da Silva 13 December 2017 13 October 2018
2nd Carlos Guimarães Pinto 13 October 2018 8 December 2019
3rd João Cotrim de Figueiredo 8 December 2019 Present

References[]

  1. ^ "Iniciativa Liberal marca Convenção Eletiva para 11 e 12 de dezembro". www.jn.pt.
  2. ^ "ALDE Member Parties". ALDE Party.
  3. ^ "Meet our leaders: João Cotrim Figueiredo (Iniciativa Liberal, Portugal)". ALDE Party.
  4. ^ "A Iniciativa | Iniciativa Liberal" (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Legislativas 2019 - Resultados Globais". www.legislativas2019.mai.gov.pt. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Iniciativa Liberal anuncia acordo com PSD para viabilização de governo nos Açores". TSF Rádio Notícias. 7 November 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Resultados Autárquicas 2021. Veja quem ganhou no seu município e na sua freguesia". Observador. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Iniciativa Liberal já é um partido". ECO. 16 December 2017.
  9. ^ https://www.aldeparty.eu/news/alde-welcomes-new-member-parties[dead link]
  10. ^ "Europeias 2019 - Resultados Globais". www.eleicoes.mai.gov.pt. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  11. ^ Portugal election: Key takeaways as Socialists cement power, Euronews (31 January 2022) https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/31/portugal-election-three-takeaways-as-socialists-cement-power
  12. ^ Elisabetta De Giorgi, José Santana-Pereira, ed. (2021). The Exceptional Case of Post-Bailout Portugal. Routledge. ISBN 9781000462623. The 2019 figure is higher than the previous ones due to both the rie of two new right-wing parties, the liberal IL (Iniciativa Liberal – Liberal Initiative) and the radical right Chega (Enough), and the growth of left-wing LIVRE (Free).
  13. ^ "Portugal". www.parties-and-elections.eu. 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  14. ^ Jalali, Carlos; Bruneau, Thomas; Colino, Cesar (2020). Portugal Report. Sustainable Governance Indicators. p. 7.
  15. ^ Jorge M. Fernandes; Miguel Won (2021). "Portugal: debating in a party-centred legislature". In Hanna Back; Marc Debus; Jorge M. Fernandes (eds.). The Politics of Legislative Debates. Oxford University Press. p. 677. ISBN 978-0-19-884906-3.
  16. ^ "Portugal votes in close-fought election". France 24. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ^ Jones, Sam (30 January 2022). "Portugal's ruling Socialist party on course to win snap general election". the Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  18. ^ "PS mais absoluto, PSD em queda livre. Aliança e Iniciativa Liberal podem eleger". TSF. 31 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Voltou a guerra dos cartazes. PS diz "cumprimos", Iniciativa Liberal satiriza "com primos"". Renascença. 7 August 2019.
  20. ^ a b Enrico Borghetto; Marco Lisi (2020). "Legislative activities before and after the Great Recession". In Marco Lisi; André Freire; Emmanouil Tsatsanis (eds.). Political Representation and Citizenship in Portugal: From Crisis to Renewal. Lexington. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-79-360116-2.
  21. ^ Catarina Santos Botelho; Ana Teresa Ribeiro, eds. (7 February 2021). "Portugal - The 2019 I·CONnect-Clough Center Global Review of Constitutional Law". SSRN 3742104. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ Elisabetta De Giorgi, ed. (3 February 2021). "The Exceptional Case of Post-Bailout Portugal: A Comparative Outlook". South European Society and Politics. 25 (2): 127–150. doi:10.1080/13608746.2021.1872152. S2CID 231955442.
  23. ^ Jorge Martins Rosa; Daniel Cardoso, eds. (2019). "A Construção da Identidade dos Novos Partidos em Páginas Oficiais do Facebook".
  24. ^ Convicções, Iniciativa Liberal https://iniciativaliberal.pt/conviccoes/
  25. ^ "Iniciativa Liberal, Livre e Chega. O que defendem os novos partidos?". Dinheiro Vivo. 7 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Iniciativa Liberal. Eles querem ser os "rebeldes responsáveis" do Parlamento". Jornal Expresso.
  27. ^ "Tiago Mayan debate com André Ventura". Mayan 2021.
  28. ^ Dias, Miguel Viterbo. "Iniciativa Liberal quer ex-Primeiro-Ministro da Estónia a pensar a reforma do estado português". Observador.
  29. ^ ""Parece que não sabem que o muro de Berlim caiu e o sistema falhou"". ionline.
  30. ^ "Iniciativa Liberal aprova programa político que defende redução de funcionários públicos". www.dn.pt.
  31. ^ Iniciativa Liberal, a "startup política". Não têm sedes, são dissidentes de partidos tradicionais e querem ser como Mayan, Observador https://observador.pt/especiais/iniciativa-liberal-a-startup-politica-nao-tem-sedes-sao-dissidentes-de-partidos-tradicionais-e-querem-ser-como-mayan/
  32. ^ "Iniciativa Liberal. Uma dúzia de outdoors mudaram a vida do 'partido do Twitter' O partido começou por ser conhecido como do "Twitter", mas domingo chegou ao parlamento. Sem rostos conhecidos ou grandes recursos como conseguiu isto? Muita criatividade e uma...", Diário de Notícias https://www.dn.pt/poder/iniciativa-liberal-uma-duzia-de-outdoors-mudaram-a-vida-do-partido-do-twitter-11387496.html
  33. ^ "Mapa oficial com os resultados da eleição para o Presidente da República realizada em 24 de janeiro de 2021" [Official map with the results of the election for the President of the Republic held on January 24, 2021]. Comissão Nacional de Eleições (in Portuguese). 9 February 2021.
  34. ^ "Açores. PSD aceita reduzir funcionários públicos e privatizar empresas, mas nem assim Iniciativa Liberal garante aprovar orçamentos". Jornal Expresso.
  35. ^ Eleições autárquicas 2021 – Resultados (Câmara Municipal). RTP
  36. ^ Eleições autárquicas 2021 – Resultados (Assembleia de Freguesia). RTP
  37. ^ Território Nacional. Portugal Continental e Regiões Autónomas. www.autarquicas2021.mai.gov.pt (in Portuguese). Ministério Administração Interna. Retrieved September 27, 2021. https://www.autarquicas2021.mai.gov.pt/resultados/territorio-nacional?election=CM

External links[]

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