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{{Infobox political party
| country = Åland
| abbreviation = ObS
| name = Non-aligned Coalition
| native_name = {{lang|sv|Obunden Samling}}
| colorcode = {{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}
| logo = Logo of the Non-aligned Coalition.svg
| logo_size = 150px
| chairperson = [[Marcus Måtar]]
| foundation = 1987
| split = [[Åland Centre]]
| headquarters = [[Parliament of Åland]], Strandgatan 37, 22100 [[Mariehamn]]
| ideology = [[Conservatism]]<ref name="Huvudfrågor">{{cite web|url= https://obs.ax/valet-2023/#huvudfragor |title=Huvudfrågor|year=2023|access-date=10 March 2024|website=ObS}}</ref> [[Regionalism (politics)|Regionalism]]<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://geopolitique.eu/en/articles/regional-election-in-aland-15-october-2023/ |title=Regional election in Åland, 15 October 2023 |first1=Jean-Toussaint |last1=Battestini
|first2=François |last2=Hublet |journal=Elections in Europe: 2023 |issue=4}}</ref> [[Sovereigntism]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Åland Islands Meet European Integration: Politics of History and the EU referendums on Åland |first=Hasan |last=Akintug |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/3944fbca-46da-4d37-8778-5b6f312d798d/content |year=2020 |journal=European and Nordic Studies |publisher=University of Helsinki |location=Helsinki |page=88}}</ref> [[Soft Euroscepticism|Euroscepticism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/aland.html |title=Åland (Finland) |year=2023 |first=Wolfram |last=Nordsieck |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415182618/http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/aland.html |archive-date=15 April 2024}}</ref> [[Separatism|Ålandic independence]]<ref name="nyan">{{cite web |url=https://www.nyan.ax/ledare/axel-j-leder-ett-nytt-alands-framtid/ |title=Axel J. leder ett nytt Ålands framtid |date=16 April 2012 |language=sv |first=Nina |last=Fellman}}</ref>
| position = [[Centre-right politics|Centre-right]]<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/45476/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201503091443.pdf |page=10 |title=Attityder till finska språket och språklig identitet på: Åland – en analys av åländska tidningar |first=Krista |last=Keturi |language=sv |year=2015 |journal=Kielten laitos |quote="Obunden samling (obS) (4 ledamöter). Partiet driver en borgerlig sakpolitik. Partiets politiska målsättningar är bl.a. att utveckla självstyrelsen, hållbar utveckling och utveckling av förnyelsebar energi, öka den enskilda människans frihet och förmåga och stimulera näringsliv." |trans-quote="Obunden samling (obS) (4 members). The party pursues a centre-right policy. The party's political objectives include the development of self-government, sustainable development and the development of renewable energy, increasing individual freedom and ability, and stimulating business."}}</ref>
| international =
| europarl =
| affiliation1_title = Nordic affiliation
| affiliation1 = [[Conservative Group]]
| colours = {{colourbox|{{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}|border=darkgray}} Yellow {{colourbox|black|border=darkgray}} Black
| website = {{URL|https://obs.ax/}}
| seats1_title = [[Parliament of Åland|Lagtinget]]
| seats1 = {{Composition bar|5|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
| seats2_title = [[Municipalities of Åland|Municipalities]]
| seats2 = {{Composition bar|24|208|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
| footnotes = {{Notelist}}
}}

The '''Non-aligned Coalition''' ({{langx|sv|Obunden Samling}}) is a [[conservatism|conservative]]<ref name="Huvudfrågor"/> [[List of political parties in Åland|political party]] on the [[Åland|Åland Islands]]. It was founded in 1987.

In 2013 it was announced that the party would merge with the [[Moderates of Åland|Moderates]]. All of the party's parliament members joined the Moderates to form [[Moderate Coalition for Åland]]. However the party survived as one of the original founders Bert Häggblom returned to recreate the party with new members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://alandsradio.ax/nyheter/bert-haggblom-leder-obunden-samling|title=Bert Häggblom leder Obunden samling|date=14 May 2015|website=Ålands Radio & Tv Ab}}</ref>

==History==
The party was founded in 1987, mostly by young members who broke away from the [[Åländsk Center]].

Gradually, the party has developed increasingly comprehensive election programmes and won seats in the [[Parliament of Åland]] with constantly increasing election figures, including at the municipal level, except for the 2003 election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asub.ax/files/lagtingkommunalval2011.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-01-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219223914/http://www.asub.ax/files/lagtingkommunalval2011.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-19 }}</ref> Unbound Collection was the fourth largest party in terms of seat distribution in the Åland Parliament during the 2006-2011 term. However, the party has not won more than five seats. Åland's municipal councils have been filled by 24 representatives of Obunden samling since the 2011 election.

Former party chairman [[Gun-Mari Lindholm]] was elected second deputy speaker of the Åland Parliament for the 2006-2011 term and took up the post of Minister of State in the [[Government of Åland]] in 2011 for two years. [[Fredrik Karlström|Fredrik ‘Frille’ Karlström]] also took up a ministerial post but for the full term, as Minister of Economic Affairs.

The party has supported [[Elisabeth Nauclér]] in the 2007 and 2011 parliamentary elections, who was also elected with a large majority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asub.ax/files/riksdagsval11.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219223919/http://www.asub.ax/files/riksdagsval11.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-19 }}</ref>

The youth network Unga obundna was founded in 2010 by Simon Holmström, who was also elected president. After the 2011 elections, the organisation was dissolved.

On 28 October 2013, [[Nya Åland]] announced that Obunden Samling intended to merge with Moderaterna på Åland.<ref>http://www.nyan.ax/nyheter/?news_id=79648</ref>

After internal discussions, Obunden Samling's parliamentary group and two ministers merged with [[Moderaterna på Åland]], and in 2014 formed a common platform called Moderat Samling.

After the transition, Obunden Samling had no representation in the parliament or the regional government, since the parliamentary group joined the Moderaterna på Åland in the middle of a term.

In the 2015 election, Obunden Samling made a comeback and managed to regain 3 of its 4 seats that it lost with the transition to the Moderates. Today, Lars Häggblom and Bert Häggblom are elected and represent Obunden Samling in the Lagting. The third member of the Lagting, Fredrik Fredlund, left Obunden Samling in the autumn of 2018 following a conviction by the Åland District Court.

In the [[2019 Ålandic legislative election]], Obunden Samling increased from 3 seats to 4 seats in the Lagting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Winner of the election does not want to speculate about ministerial posts|url=https://alandsradio.ax/nyheter/valets-vinnare-vill-inte-spekulera-om-ministerposter|publisher=Ålands Radio & Tv Ab|date=2019-10-21|access-date=2019-10-21|language=sv}}</ref>

In the 2023 parliamentary elections, Unbound Coalition increased from 4 seats to 5 seats in the Lagting. The Lagting group consists of party chairman Marcus Måtar, Christian Wikström, Stellan Egeland, Johan Lindström and Andreas Kanborg. Egeland received the second most votes in the entire election.

== Ideology ==
The party's policies consist of [[Conservatism|conservative]], [[Liberalism|liberal]] and [[Classical radicalism|radical]] ideas and it considers itself outside the traditional right-left divide. The Non-aligned Coalition considers itself values and issue-based, and wants to prioritize cooperative and results-oriented management of affairs rather than party, authority and personal politics.<ref>[http://www.obs.ax Vår ideologi] (Obunden Samling)</ref> Nevertheless, the party is usually labelled as right of centre.<ref name="hasan">{{cite journal |title=The Åland Islands Meet European Integration: Politics of History and the EU referendums on Åland |first=Hasan |last=Akintug |url=https://helda.helsinki.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/3944fbca-46da-4d37-8778-5b6f312d798d/content |year=2020 |journal=European and Nordic Studies |publisher=University of Helsinki |location=Helsinki |pages=39-89}}</ref> It was also described as supportive of Ålandic separatism.<ref name="nyan"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hbl.fi/2019-11-09/aland-skall-inte-springa-efter-sjalvstyrelsepolitiska-illusioner/ |title=Åland skall inte springa efter självstyrelsepolitiska illusioner |date=9 November 2019 |language=sv |first=Olof |last=Öström}}</ref>

The Non-aligned Coalition postulates the total overtaking of taxation powers by Åland. It is mainly oriented around the issue of the European Union - the party opposes EU membership of Åland and instead favors a free-trade agreement or a loose customs union. The party criticizes Finland for not demanding op-outs within the EU like Denmark did, and argues that the actions of EU undermine the practice of [[subsidiarity]] and autonomy. The party believes that the membership in the EU undermined the autonomy of Åland, ceding a portion of its self-government rights to "unaccountable bureaucrats" in Brussels; it also states that the EU only wanted the Nordics in to become net payers to the budget.<ref name="hasan"/>

In terms of domestic policies, the party stresses the issue of inequality and regional disparities on Åland, expressign concern that the farmers, the fishers and the rural communities of Åland struggle with issues like poverty and underdevelopment as [[Mariehamn]] has become the dominant region. The party believes that the Saami Protocol of Finland, which refers to the “exclusive rights to reindeer husbandry within the Saami territory”, should also be extended to Åland in order to protect traditional ways of life on the island. The Non-aligned Coalition also advocates halting the outsourcing of jobs to Finland or other EU members, believing that it causes the depopulation of Åland and further regional inequality. The party considers development and extension of Åland autonomy and the improvement of wellbeing of rural communities its main priorities. To this end, it has been described as sovereigntist.<ref name="hasan"/>

In addition to its conservative profile, the Non-aligned Coalition is particularly in favour of decentralization, with as many decisions as possible being taken at the regional and direct democratic level. The party argues that larger political units are becoming increasingly distant from the citizenry. Therefore, the party is also EU-skeptical and advocates the autonomy of Åland not only on the grounds of preserving the Swedish language and the independent culture of the island, but also because of the concern that the special opinion of the Åland population could be ignored if the Finnish government had a greater influence on the autonomous province. In terms of its [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalist]] outlook, the Unbound Collection in Åland can be compared to the [[Freie Wähler]] in Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obs.ax/ |title=ObS – Obunden Samling |date=2019-06-10 |language=sv}}</ref>

== Election results ==

=== Parliament of Åland (Lagting) ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
!Election
!Votes
! %
!Seats
!+/-
!Government
|-
![[1987 Ålandic legislative election|1987]]
|750
|7.04
|{{composition bar|3|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|''New''
|{{no|Opposition}}
|-
![[1991 Ålandic legislative election|1991]]
|1,047
|9.74
|{{composition bar|3|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{Increase}}1
|{{no|Opposition}}
|-
![[1995 Ålandic legislative election|1995]]
|1,104
|9.84
|{{composition bar|3|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{No change}}
|{{no|Opposition}}
|-
! rowspan=2|[[1999 Ålandic legislative election|1999]]
| rowspan=2|1,537
| rowspan=2|12.76
| rowspan=2|{{composition bar|4|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
| rowspan=2|{{Increase}}1
|{{yes|Coalition}} {{small|(1999–2001)}}
|-
|{{no|Opposition}} {{small|(2001–2003)}}
|-
! rowspan=2|[[2003 Ålandic legislative election|2003]]
| rowspan=2|1,163
| rowspan=2|9.42
| rowspan=2|{{composition bar|3|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
| rowspan=2|{{Decrease}}1
|{{yes|Coalition}} {{small|(2003–2004)}}
|-
|{{no|Opposition}} {{small|(2004–2007)}}
|-
![[2007 Ålandic legislative election|2007]]
|1,573
|12.27
|{{composition bar|4|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{Increase}}1
|{{no|Opposition}}
|-
![[2011 Ålandic legislative election|2011]]
|1,639
|12.63
|{{composition bar|4|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{No change}}
|{{yes|Coalition}}
|-
![[2015 Ålandic legislative election|2015]]
|1,328
|9.61
|{{composition bar|3|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{Decrease}}1
|{{no|Opposition}}
|-
![[2019 Ålandic legislative election|2019]]
|1,935
|13.57
|{{composition bar|4|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{Increase}}1
|{{yes|Coalition}}
|-
![[2023 Ålandic legislative election|2023]]
|2,150
|15.31
|{{composition bar|5|30|hex={{party color|Non-aligned Coalition}}}}
|{{Increase}}1
|{{no|Opposition}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Lemland List]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://obs.ax/}} {{in lang|sv}}

{{alandpolitical}}

[[Category:Political parties in Åland]]
[[Category:Political parties in Finland]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Finland]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Europe]]
[[Category:Pro-independence parties]]
[[Category:Eurosceptic parties in Finland]]
[[Category:Eurosceptic parties]]
[[Category:Right-wing parties in Europe]]
[[Category:Political parties of minorities in Finland]]

Non-aligned Coalition - Revision history

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