VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSW #0062/01 0401316
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091316Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5646

UNCLAS BERN 000062 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN LS
SUBJECT: LIECHTENSTEIN ELECTIONS:  CONSERVATIVES WIN 
MAJORITY, BUT OFFER TO FORM GRAND COALITION WITH 
PROGRESSIVE PARTY 
 
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VICTORY FOR CONSERVATIVE PARTY 
------------------------------ 
 
¶1. (U) In an outcome that surprised Liechtenstein's political 
class, the conservative Fatherland Union (VU) party won an 
absolute majority of parliamentary (Landtag) seats in the 
February 8 elections.  With 47,6 percent of the votes, the VU 
surged back from the historic low of 38,2 percent reached in 
the 2005 elections, and picked up three additional mandates 
for a total of 13 seats in the 25-seat Landtag.  The 
Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) lost 5.2 percent compared 
to 2005, landing at 43,5 percent and slipping from 12 to 11 
seats in the Landtag.  The green-alternative Free List (FL) 
party slipped from 13,0 percent of four years ago to 8,9 
percent, retaining one Landtag seat and barely maintaining 
the required 8% of the vote required for a party to have 
parliamentary representation in Liechtenstein. 
 
------------------------------ 
GRAND COALITION LIKELY OUTCOME 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Prime Minister Otmar Hasler (55), who led the FBP 
ticket, announced his intention to retire from politics on 
February 8, in light of the election outcome.  While 
acknowledging that the FBP's defeat was for him a "personally 
difficult hour,"  Hasler said that the elections -- in which 
84,6 percent of eligible voters cast ballots -- had 
demonstrated that Liechtenstein's democracy remains vibrant. 
VU headliner Klaus Tschuetscher (41), who served as Deputy 
Prime Minister for the past four years in Liechtenstein's 
grand coalition FBP-VU government, is expected to be the new 
Prime Minister.  Notwithstanding the VU's surprise 
achievement of an absolute majority, Tschuetscher has 
announced that he will stand by his campaign commitment to 
seek to form a grand coalition with the FBP.  Depending on 
how the coalition negotiations progress, the Landtag will 
meet sometime between the end of March and mid-April to 
confirm the new government.  Until that time, the 
Liechtenstein government continues in its pre-election 
configuration. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶3. (SBU) While the VU's strong showing surprised 
Liechtenstein pundits and politicians, few thus far have been 
able to articulate compelling reasons for this turnabout. 
Hasler served as Prime Minister for eight years, and was 
credited with navigating Liechtenstein successfully through a 
crisis in 2001 when the country was accused of being a major 
center for money laundering.  He had established a reputation 
for balancing incremental reforms with defending 
Liechtenstein's interests in the face of more recent 
criticism of its banking secrecy practices.  Tschuetscher's 
success has been attributed to his support for a political 
culture that eschews partisanship and emphasizes common 
cause.  Given Liechtenstein's tradition of democratic 
consensus, political partisanship is, in any case, more 
nuanced in the country than most other places.  Thus, it 
seems equally plausible that Tschuetscher's message tapped 
into a more general desire for change, however incremental, 
particularly with the younger members of the Liechtenstein 
electorate.  While leadership of what is likely to be a grand 
coalition government will now shift to the conservative 
party, post does not expect any major changes in 
Liechtenstein policies that will substantially affect USG 
interests. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:  KLAUS TSCHUETSCHER 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Dr. Klaus Tschuetscher became Deputy Prime Minister in 
April 2005, and has headed the Departments for Economic 
Affairs, Justice, and Sports.  Born July 8, 1967, he studied 
law at the University of St. Gallen where he completed a 
doctorate in 1996.  Tschuetscher also attended post-graduate 
studies in international business law at the University of 
Zurich.  He has been Director of Legal Services at the 
Liechtenstein Tax Authority since 1995, and Deputy Director 
of the Liechtenstein Tax Authority since 1996.  In addition, 
since 1999, Tschuetscher has been a member of Liechtenstein's 
EU delegation focusing on tax-related issues.  In 2001 he was 
a member of the Liechtenstein delegation for negotiations 
with the USG on mutual legal assistance.  Since 2003 
Tschuetscher has coordinated issues related to 
 
 
Liechtenstein's role as a financial center.  He is married to 
Jeanett Tschuetscher (nee Eggenberger), and has two children. 
CARTER