Freedom and Justice
Freedom and Justice (Lithuanian: Laisvė ir Teisingumas, LT), known until 6 June 2020 as the Lithuanian Freedom Union (Liberals) (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Laisvės Sąjunga (Liberalai)), is a political party in Lithuania.
Freedom and Justice Laisvė ir teisingumas | |
---|---|
Leader | Remigijus Žemaitaitis |
Founded | 12 July 2014 (as the Lithuanian Freedom Union) 6 June 2020 (as Freedom and Justice) |
Merger of | LiCS, YES (2014) Order and Justice, Movement Forward, Lithuania (2020) |
Headquarters | Vilnius |
Membership | 4,311 (2018) |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre-right |
Colours | Selective yellow and Persian blue |
Seimas | 1 / 141 |
European Parliament | 0 / 11 |
Municipal councils | 145 / 1,526 |
Mayors | 6 / 60 |
Website | |
laisve-teisingumas | |
History
The party was originally founded on 12 July 2014, when the Liberal and Centre Union (LiCS) merged with YES.[1][2][3] In June 2020, Order and Justice and former MP Arturas Paulauskas' movement Forward, Lithuania merged into the party (combining with Artūras Zuokas, who was already a member) and the new movement was renamed to Freedom and Justice. The party was affiliated with ALDE until its merger in 2020.
MPs from Order and Justice, Remigijus Žemaitaitis and Kęstutis Bartkevičius became Freedom and Justice' representatives in the Seimas. In 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election only Remigijus Žemaitaitis retained his seat.
Ideology
The party has a conservative-liberal,[4] centre-right profile and is supportive of both the European Union and NATO. The party is in favour of allowing civil unions for same-sex couples.
The party is economically liberal. It supports the privatization of parts of the health care sector and opposes the establishment of a national development bank. The party favours giving tax incentives to companies that hire seniors and opposes progressive taxation. Instead, it wants to lower value-added taxes.[5]
References
- "Jungiasi politinė partija "Sąjunga TAIP" ir Liberalų ir centro sąjunga". YES. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ""TAIP" ir LiCS suvažiavime įkurta Lietuvos laisvės sąjunga". Lietuvos rytas. July 12, 2014. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- "Lietuvoje įkurta nauja partija". Delfi. July 12, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Lithuania". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- "Europe Elects: Laisvė ir Teisingumas Freedom and Justice Lithuania, Parliament Election 2020". 11 October 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.