Face of Freedom

The Front of freedom ( Freedom Face in English or Vryheidsfront in Afrikaans) is a Political party of South Africa created in 1994 by the general Constand Viljoen at the time from the 1 multiracial elections.

History

In 1994, the Conservative party and the movements of Extreme-right-hand side refused to take part in the 1 multiracial elections and chose the abstention, refusing to guarantee the loss to be able of the minority afrikaner. Opposed to this standpoint, Constand Viljoen, former chief of the Defense forces and charismatic chief of transitory the Alliance of freedoms, broke with the conservatives and chose the voter turnout in order to avoid the marginalisation of the partisans of the Volkstaat. It justified its step within the framework of the negotiations directly undertaken with Nelson Mandela on the creation of a distinct fatherland afrikaner. The president of the ANC had indeed stated with the leaders of the Face of freedom that, if they could find a means of establishing a distinct State afrikaner without moving of force of the Blacks or depriving them of their rights, it would be laid out to consider this possibility.

By inviting its partisans then to put forward their separatist cause by the constitutional way, Constand Viljoen, which had many partisans in the military mediums, neutralized the threat coming from the line and gained its pledges of respectability near the leaders of the ANC.

It is in these circumstances that it founds the Face of freedom, on March 1st 1994 and that it records it before the electoral commission the March 4th 1994. The face of freedom then becomes the only political party resulting “extreme the South-African line” to accept the principle of the multiracial elections and the renouncement of all Violence.

The Face of freedom obtains 2,2% of the voices (425 000 votes) and 9 deputies with the general elections of the April 27th 1994, taking again a big part of the electorate afrikaner.

Moderate and parliamentary representation of the most radical afrikaners, it becomes the only white party authentically Community Parliament. Following the marginalisation of the other formations extremists, the FF vampirise all its political space and recovers good number of frameworks of the Conservative party in full deliquescence. Defending the principle of a tenth province of culture Afrikaans within the South Africa news, the FF became an interlocutor recognized of the African National congress on the feasibility of the project.

Brought back to 0,8% of the votes (127 000 votes) and 3 deputies with the general elections of 1999, the party progress to the elections of 2004 to 0,89% (either 139 465 votes) and 4 deputies.

In 2001, Constand Viljoen withdraws political life and leaves the party to the hands of Pieter Mulder which undertakes an internal reorganization. This one leads to the absorption of the remainders of the conservative party and small “Afrikaner Eenheids Beweging”. The FF renamed on this occasion FF+ then does not know any more competition except the eternal bunch HNP.

The FF+ holds many city council men. In 2004, it gained spectacularly a seat with Bloemfontein with depends on the democratic Alliance.

At the time of the municipal elections of 2006, it carries out its best scores with Naboomspruit (15%), Pretoria city ((8,84%) like with Orania (Cape-of-North), of which it keeps the Mairie. Enough curiously, it gains 800 votes in the black Township of Soweto, like 6% of votes in Olievenhoutbosch, black suburbs of Pretoria. It obtains also votes with Eersterust and Mamelodi. The FF+ also forms part of the municipal coalition which directs the Cape where one of its elected officials is the spokesperson of the Municipalité.

In September 2007, the federal alliance of Louis Luyt dissolves in its turn while adopting the Face of Freedom.

Political positioning

Since its foundation in March 1994, the FF rejects any political violence and falls under the tradition of the Parlementarisme and the Démocratie what moved away it from the extreme right-hand side dying woman. Only party to be claimed, not conservative, but of right-hand side on the South-African political chessboard, the FF+ as well incarnates within the National Assembly of South Africa the voice of the “white poor” ( poor whites ) that of Afrikaners Raciste S or anxious on the future of their community within the South Africa news.

The FF+ especially was the political incarnation of the Volkstaat, state with dominant Afrikaans which it wished to constitute in South Africa. Gradually, Viljoen and its partisans recognized the futility of their project of State distinct and preferred to defend the idea of a “cultural council”, represented with the Senate and having the capacity to protect the questions presenting from the importance for the ethnic minorities, in particular Afrikaners.

External bond

Official site

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