Rechte

Nidwaldeser Rechte
Abbreviation	Rechte
Leader	Charlotte Mann
Parliamentary leader	Thomas von der Leyen
Founded	25 July 1834
Headquarters	Kurfürstendamm 224, Cologne, Nidwalden
Youth wing	Young Rechte
Membership	29,500 (2017)
Ideology	Ludwigism, reformism, social democracy, statism
Political position	centre-right
Colours	Blue
Slogan	Ludwgisists United
Nidwaldeser Parlament	87 / 169
County Councils	167 / 425
Website
www.rechte.com.nw

Rechte (literally "right"), full name Nidwaldeser Rechte (English: Nidwaldester Right) is a centre-right ludwigist political party of Nidwalden. It is the second oldest and major party in Nidwalden as well as the leading party in the Mann Cabinet. The current leader is the Prime Minister Charlotte Mann.

The party governed during most of the nineteenth century with a strong opposition of the conservative Nationalist Party. In 1903 Ludwig Mann won the elections and started the ludwigist era of the Rechte and Nidwalden, the party implemented several progressive and innovative reforms in the Church, the labour and social areas that set the bases for the long democratic heritage of Nidwalden. In 1915 the party proposed Christen Holsteinborg for the position of Prime Minister, which later that same year, turned into the first democratically elected woman in Nidwalden and Astyria. Between 1935 and 1947 the liberal conservative faction of the Rechte formed a coalition with the Nationalist Party against the recently founded Social Democrat Party, the coalition caused a gradual flow of Rechte ludwgisists to the leftist party that increased after first Social Democrat administration of Christopher Hornsrud in 1951.

Since its beginnings and with brief leadership of more right factions, the Rechte has been advocated to the protection of the Nidwaldester welfare state and Nidwaldester state owned enterprises, the promotion of social and economic equality and the vision of the state as a link between the social areas.

History

Origins and evolution

Ludwig Mann, Prime Minister of Nidwalden between 1903-1907 and 1911-1915, led the biggest reform in the party and Nidwalden setting the bases for the Nidwaldester welfare model.

The Rechte appears in 1834 after the merge of socially liberal parties to form an opposition to the recently created Nationalist Party. The creation of the party was encouraged by the Prime Minister Wollert Von Hahn (1830-1835), who found a solid base for his ideas in the initial proclamation of the Rechte. Since then, the Rechte has played a role defending the industrialisation of the Grand Duchy and representing the interests of the urban population.

Like in the Nationalist Party, the Rechte has been led during most of its history by important political families like the Manns and the Baunsgaards among some. The largest political reform of the party was after the elections of 1903, where Ludwig Mann was elected Prime Minister for the first time (Ludwig was elected again in 1911) and concluded several reforms that advanced the secularisation of the Nidwaldester society as well as starting reforms in labour and social areas. The reforms implemented firstly by Ludwig supposed the origin of the welfare state of Nidwalden, which was finally set by Helle Johansen after the signing the Sankt Moritz Agreement (1920), in which all parties of the time agreed on a compromise to defend the Nidwaldester welfare model.

Kristensen-Hartling Era

The ludwgist era of the Rechte ended in 1935 when the liberal-conservative faction of the party (led by Vilhelm Kristensen) was elected as the candidate of the party for the elctions of the same year, which he won. Vilhelm concluded the ludwigist era and implemented several reforms that moved the Rechte to the right which caused the formation of a coalition with the Nationalists between 1935 and 1951. This move was significantly important for the creation of the Social Democrat Party and the migration of ludwgisits from the Rechte leaving it, as a small right party. The Kristensen-Hartling Era was interrupted by two Nationalist governments, with which the Rechte formed coalitions to prevent the Social Democrats to reach the executive, marked the end of the social democracy inside the party. Politologists in Nidwalden expresses that this era of liberal-conservatives policies of the Rechte lasted farther than the last Hartling government as the party formed a coalition with the Die Demokraten party in 1983 and later again with the Nationalists.

Charlotte Mann and Ludwigists United

Charlotte Mann, actual Prime Minister of Nidwalden since 2018, saved the party of disappearing.

It took 18 terms (between Nationalists, Democrats and Social Democrats) for the Rechte to win the elections again with the leadership of Charlotte Mann, member of the historic family of the party that has four different members that occupied the Prime Minister office. In 1990 the Nationalist Party was defeated by the social democrat candidate Helmut Talvi with one of its worst results, the elections caused to the Nationalist Party one of its biggest crisis that took it to almost disappear. In the elections, the Rechte survived as opposition with the Democrats and Charlotte Mann and her group were selected to be part of the few deputies from the Rechte in the Parliament, Charlotte appeared for the public audience with the link she formed with the government in several social issues like the recognition of same-sex unions (during Talvi's administration) and same-sex marriages (Fitzgerald's administration) and the approval of social democrat budgets to face the financial crisis inherited from the Democrat and Nationalist administrations.

Charlotte Mann rapidly gained the attention of young members of the Social Democrat party and of the society with strong Ludwigist speeches in the Parliament and interviews. In the internal elections of 2006, Charlotte was elected as the candidate from the Rechte with an overwhelming adherence that washed the liberal and conservatives image of the party. Charlotte Mann was finally elected Prime Minister in 2018.

Positions

Economic policy

The Rechte was the creator and biggest impulsor of the Nidwaldester welfare state, since its conception, the party has been advocated to maintain a strong position in defending the lower classes, enlarging the middle classes and increasing the average lifestyle. The fiscal policy of the party, under the leadership of Charlotte Mann and during the ludwigist times, is in favour of the large spending in social welfare. Rechte administrations have had employment, social security and welfare as core issues as well as a strong investment in public education, public safety and health care. The party has also contributed since its beginnings to the creation of several state owned companies like NidEnergie.

In 1921, under the Johansen administration, the Rechte created the Salary Councils, an instance between workers and enterprises with the state as mediator where minimum wages are fixed for each economic sector. But besides these instances (that happen every year since 1921), the Rechte has implemented the national minimum wage and has shown a strong opposition (together with the Social Democrats) during Democratic and Nationalists administrations when the minimum wages were intended to be removed.

Social policy

The party's social policy is founded in protecting the less favoured sectors of the society. With this framework, the Rechte promoted women and LGBTI rights and inclusion in society. With the Rechte in the government, Nidwalden undertook several secularist reforms like the implementation of civil marriage (1837), the state taking over the run of cemeteries (1861), divorce (1907) and the ban of religious instruction in public education (1909). In 1915 the party proposed the first woman candidature which ended with Christen Holsteinborg as the first Nidwaldester and Astyrian woman democratically elected as Prime Minister. The Rechte voted in favour of the legalisation of abortion in 1985 and formed a coalition with the Social Democrats to approve the recognition of same-sex unions and same-sex marriages in 1990 and 1995 respectively.

Lorecian Community

In opposition to the Democratic party, the Rechte maintains a strong favourable position to the Lorecian Community and the regional integration. During the Social Democratic administration of Talvi, the party showed its support with the signature of the Bruningen Accord and has worked along with the leftist party for deeper integration of Nidwalden with its neighbouring countries. The Rechte has stated several times the commitment of its leaders in having a pacifist and active position during regional conflicts, Charlotte Mann has denounced human rights violations in Belka during the ongoing conflict.