Voters in Liechtenstein withdraw state funding from the country’s public radio broadcaster

By The Associated Press

FILE -This picture taken on Sept. 7, 2011 shows the Castle Vaduz, the home of Liechtenstein's royal family in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. (AP Photo/Frank Jordans, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Frank Jordans]

BERLIN (AP) — Voters in Liechtenstein have voted to withdraw state funding from the tiny country’s public radio broadcaster, a decision that leaves the station’s future in doubt.

In a referendum on Sunday, 55.4% of participants voted to scrap legislation that grants state funding to Radio Liechtenstein at the end of 2025, official results showed.

The measure was initiated by a small opposition party, Demokraten pro Liechtenstein. It argued that Radio Liechtenstein is swallowing more than 70% of state funding for the media, giving it an unjustified advantage against private media, and that it should be privatized.

The station was slated to get public funding to the tune of 3.95 million Swiss francs (nearly $4.6 million) over the next four years.

The government argued before the vote that it’s questionable whether Radio Liechtenstein could be privatized successfully, “because it is hardly possible for a private radio station in Liechtenstein to generate enough advertising income.”

It says Radio Liechtenstein had an average 11,400 daily listeners in the country in 2021, the last year for which figures are available.

Liechtenstein is a principality of about 39,000 people that borders Switzerland and Austria. It has close ties in particular with Switzerland, with which it has a customs and currency union.