Swiss Parliament moves to the right – right-wing conservative SVP in the lead
Around 5.5 million citizens were called upon to elect the members of the National Council and the Council of States
Source: picture alliance/dpa/KEYSTONE/Salvatore Di Nolfi
The SVP has long been the strongest party in Switzerland. According to forecasts, it gained even further in the election. Accordingly, the SVP could have gained 3.4 percentage points. The Greens will probably have to accept losses.
Dhe Switzerland experienced a clear shift to the right in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. According to projections by the survey institute gfs.bern, the right-wing conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is likely to get 29 percent. That would be an increase of 3.4 percentage points, more than expected in surveys. The SVP has been the party with the largest number of voters for more than 20 years. A debacle was looming for the green camp. The Greens are likely to get 9.2 percent, minus 4 percentage points, the Green Liberals at 7.1 percent, minus 0.7 points.
“The bitter thing is: the climate has lost,” said Aline Trede from the Green Party leadership on SRF television. For the SVP, the issue of immigration was the key to success, as Vice President Marcel Dettling said: “The people have spoken, a course correction is urgently needed.” The SVP demands border controls and the rejection of asylum seekers. However, the elections will not change the government. The parties with the highest number of voters in the long term have been governing together for decades, including the SVP.
Times of crisis give conservatives a boost
The political scientist Michael Hermann had foreseen the SVP’s new strength, among other things, because of international tensions. “In times of crisis, the need for stability always increases and there is less need for experiments,” he told the dpa. Increased prices play a less important role than in neighboring countries. The inflation rate has never been higher than 3.4 percent in the past 18 months. This is due, among other things, to protectionist measures that generally keep prices high, but are adjusted in times of crisis and can thus absorb price shocks.
Campaign with fear
In the election campaign, the SVP relied on fears of loss: it agitates against foreigners, warns against rapprochement with the EU and some representatives see themselves in a war over the preservation of Swiss culture. She is in favor of cutting social spending and development aid and a strong military. It has had the most seats in the National Council since 1999. The AfD sees the SVP as a role model.
Paradoxically, the SVP is both a government and a protest party. It represents two of the seven members of the government, the Federal Council. In addition to the SVP, there are the SP and the liberal FDP, each with two seats, and the Christian center party with one seat. In the Federal Council, the SVP is right-wing conservative and supports compromises; in the election campaign it is right-wing populist, for example with initiatives such as against immigration and for stricter neutrality, which would, for example, prohibit sanctions against Russia. This is how she repeatedly stabs the government in the back. “Double play is very established and accepted,” said Hermann.
Lots of referendums, low voter turnout
A good 5.5 million Swiss people were called to vote. Voter turnout in 2019 was only around 45 percent. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the Swiss decide on numerous proposals via referendum four times a year. That’s why they rarely use parliamentary elections as an outlet to lecture the government.