The Partei der Vernunft (Party of Reason or PDV) is a libertarian political party in Germany whose fiscal policies are based on the Austrian School of Economics and calls for a minimal state, free markets and decentralization. The PDV, founded in May 2009 by journalist Oliver Janich, currently has a membership of about 1,000. The party has been endorsed by such prominent libertarians such as Dr. Walter Block, Hans-Hermann Hoppe and Ron Paul. Paul said:
“I applaud the party of the reason for having written such an outstanding manifesto of freedom. It calls for the rule of law, stable money, low taxes and a doctrine of non-interference in defense policy. These principles apply to any free society, and these are the principles on which all libertarians around the world have to fight. “
The following is a letter from PDV leader Norbert Geng, published on GoldUSAGroup.com:
Thu Aug 08, 2013 at 00:00:00 AM MST |
| …from a Letter from Norbert GengHe writes:I´ve just been reelected as Chairman of the Partei der Vernunft (‘Party of Reason’ or PDV) and we are in the middle of finishing our ballot access campaign. It looks like we will be in the ballot in most of the states covering about 85% of the voter population. We just hired a professional PR team and we will start a massive media campaign shortly. I have been a commercial and financial law professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Schmalkalden for the last decade, after leaving private practice after many years. I know first-hand how the growth of state power has corrupted principles of the free market and its overreaching encroachment on human civil and economic liberty-which are one in the same. As you are no doubt aware, Europe is no stranger to the same disastrous economic, fiscal, and monetary policies that are wrecking the United States. Germany is bearing the brunt of the destructive policies of the European Union and the ECB, as well as the irresponsible decisions of policymakers in other member states. MORE BELOW FOLD |
| AUGeorge :: International News Partei der Vernunft (Germany) |
| I was inspired by the success of Congressman Paul in his presidential campaigns – particularly by how he fundamentally changed the discussion and brought the ideas of sound money and economic freedom into the mainstream of American debate.That led me to the conclusion that the German people are looking for the same voice here in the heart of Europe, if they are shown the way.The growing discontented and deeply concerned German libertarians and real conservatives (yes, we do exist!) came together. We decided we could no longer stand by and watch Germany unravel economically. And so we founded the PDV with a classic libertarian platform of individual freedom, Austrian economics, decentralizing federal power and promoting sound money. The PDV has learned a great deal over the past 3½ years since our founding. We are now battle-hardened and have a strong national infrastructure, enabling us to field quality candidates all over Germany. One of our proudest moments and major milestones was earning the official endorsement of Dr. Ron Paul himself. This is the praise he expressed for the PDV platform last year: “I applaud the PDV for crafting an outstanding manifesto for liberty. It calls for the rule of law; sound money; low taxes; and a noninterventionist defense policy. These principles apply to any free society, and they are the principles that libertarians must fight for around the world.” This endorsement really put wind into our sails. I dare to assert that we can accomplish far more than even Ron Paul was able to, by exploiting the nature of Germany’s multiparty coalition-based system. Let me explain specifically what is at stake and why the parameters in Germany are altogether different. In Germany, each voter casts two votes in the Bundestag (the German Parliament) elections. The first vote is for an individual candidate running in a district. There are 299 seats reserved for these members of parliament and they are elected in exactly the same way as members of the U.S. House of Representatives. To be frank, our candidates have about as much chance of winning these seats in the Bundestag as Libertarian Party candidates have of winning seats in the House. There is a second vote, which is cast not for an individual, but for a statewide list of party candidates. In addition to the 299 seats allocated to directly-elected individual candidates, a further 299 seats are awarded based on the national performance of the party lists. This second vote is going to be our main target in September, because it is not a winner-takes-all system. As long as we exceed 5%, we are guaranteed seats. It’s important to remember that the two main parties in Germany are much, much weaker than their American counterparts. Like the liberty movement led by Ron Paul in the U.S.A., the PDV will attract voters from all parts of the political spectrum: voters on the right disgusted with the main “conservative” party’s support of bailouts and entitlement culture; as well as voters on the left betrayed by the main “socialist” party’s support of crony capitalism and foreign intervention. Imagine what we could do with a position like the Green Party has in German policymaking. It would give us the ability to punch far above our weight in transforming the liberty agenda from just a philosophy into real political change. Election success for the PDV in 2013 will have an important knock-on effect on the European Parliament elections in June 2014. As you can see, we have extraordinary opportunities within our grasp right now! The funding we require will go towards acquiring nationwide ballot access, opposition research, opinion polling, aggressive advertising and media outreach, as well as an experienced staff of dedicated professionals to manage a modern, world-class campaign like the one Ron Paul just waged. Campaign finance laws in Germany are far more lenient than they are in America. Traditional roadblocks to fundraising that give incumbent politicians in the United States latitude to cozy up to special interests do not exist in our system. There are no fundraising limits or caps on individual or corporate contributions from EU citizens. Any citizen of the European Union can donate up to €10,000 without even disclosing it. Even non-EU citizens can contribute to our effort! For Americans: The best way for donations is to go to our international website (www.partyofreason.org) and donate via credit card. We are allowed to accept a maximum of 1.000€ (appr. 1.300$) per person and year from abroad and nothing will to be disclosed. In liberty, Norbert Geng Chairman, PDV |
NF, I think the NPD may be banned soon.
The name “Party of Reason” is about as accurate as the name “German Democratic Republic.” Free market fundamentalism is comparable to religious belief.
Best wishes to our German friends.
This seems encouraging. Let’s see if they outpoll the NPD!