The current FDP representatives in the Federal Council are Ignazio Cassis and Karin Keller-Sutter.

[14] Separate Free Democrat and Liberal branches remained in competition with each other in Geneva, Valais, and Vaud.

[16] As a classically liberal party, the FDP wants to protect civil liberties and individual responsibility.

The FDP calls for mutual tolerance of people with different opinions and self-identities, entrepreneurship, social responsibility, the rule of law, and participatory democracy.

According to the party's stance, self-responsibility and competition should dictate the actions of individuals, rather than bans.

The party, which calls for a competitive and sustainable market economy, wants to strengthen Switzerland as a financial and economic hub with as little government interference as possible.

The party wants to support the research of alternative sources of energy for electricity production which generate no carbon dioxide.

It is also aiming at more and better jobs, a sustainable social welfare system which will result in strong national cohesion that counteracts see the divergence of society.

This includes stabilizing premium costs in the healthcare sector and combating the abuse of social welfare systems, but also intergenerational equity.

[citation needed] As a profitable investment for the future of society, the FDP wants to promote the highest quality education at all levels, since it considers human capital the most important resource of Switzerland.

[citation needed] The party is, in principle, in favour of ending marijuana prohibition to encourage safe and legal free enterprise as opposed to a costly war on drugs;[17] instead, it emphasizes personal and family responsibility over life choices, as opposed to making such choices a state power.

However, many in the party may not be in favour of full legalization, such as in the U.S. state of Colorado, but just decriminalisation such as the approach in Portugal.

[18] They are also in favour of instituting civil unions as an alternative option to marriage for all couples (whether same-sex or opposite-sex).