List of political parties in Switzerland
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This is a list of political parties in Switzerland.
Switzerland has a multi-party system. Since 1959, the four largest parties have formed a coalition government, according to a "Zauberformel" or "magic formula". This arithmetic formula divides the seven cabinet seats among representatives of the four largest parties.[1]
Political parties in Switzerland
Federal and cantonal parliaments
For more detailed information on the political positions of some of the parties listed below, see here:[2]
The following parties are represented either in the Swiss Federal Assembly as of March 2016[3] or in cantonal parliaments (cantonal parliament seats as of April 2016[4]):
| Party | Members in | Political Position | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbr. | Name | W | Leader | FC | CS | NC | Cantons | Members | (Ideology) | |
| SVP/UDC | Swiss People's Party Schweizerische Volkspartei Union démocratique du centre Unione Democratica di Centro Partida Populara Svizra |
Albert Rösti | 2 | 5 | 65 | 586 | 90,000 | Right-wing, National conservatism, Economic liberalism | ||
| SPS/PSS | Social Democratic Party Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz Parti socialiste suisse Partito Socialista Svizzero Partida Socialdemocrata de la Svizra |
Christian Levrat | 2 | 11 | 43 | 456 | 35,000 | Centre-left to Left-wing, Social democracy | ||
| FDP/PLR | FDP.The Liberals FDP.Die Liberalen PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux PLR.I Liberali PLD.Ils Liberals |
Fulvio Pelli | 2 | 11 | 33 | 550[lower-alpha 1] | 130,000 | Centre-right, Classical liberalism | ||
| CVP/PDC/PPD | Christian Democratic People's Party Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz Parti Démocrate-Chrétien Partito Popolare Democratic Partida Cristiandemocratica |
Gerhard Pfister | 1 | 13 | 27 | 444 | 100,000 | Centrism, Christian democracy | ||
| BDP/PBD | Conservative Democratic Party Bürgerlich-Demokratische Partei Schweiz Parti Bourgeois Démocratique Suisse Partito Borghese Democratico Svizzero Partida Burgais Democratica Svizra |
Hans Grunder | 0 | 1 | 7 | 72 | 6,500 | Centre-right, Conservative liberalism | ||
| GPS/PES | Green Party Grüne Partei der Schweiz Les verts – Parti écologiste suisse I Verdi – Partito ecologista svizzero La Verda – Partida ecologica svizra |
Ueli Leuenberger | 0 | 2 | 11 | 174 | 6,500 | Left-wing, Green politics | ||
| GLP/PVL | Green Liberal Party Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz Parti vert'libéral Partito Verde-Liberale Partida Verda-Liberala |
Martin Bäumle | 0 | 2 | 7 | 83 | 2,700 | Centrism, Green liberalism | ||
| EVP/PEV | Evangelical People's Party Evangelische Volkspartei der Schweiz Parti Evangelique Suisse Partito Evangelico Svizzero Partida evangelica da la Svizra |
Heiner Studer | 0 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 4,800 | Centrism, Christian democracy | ||
| CSP/PCS | Christian Social Party Christlich-soziale Partei Parti chrétien-social Partito Cristiano Sociale Partida cristiansociala de la Svizra |
Marius Achermann | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 1,500 | Centre-left, Christian left | ||
| Lega | Ticino League Lega dei Ticinesi Ligue des Tessinois |
Attilio Bignasca | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 1,500 | Right-wing, Regionalism (TI) | ||
| EDU/UDF | Federal Democratic Union Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union Union Démocratique Fédérale Unione Democratica Federale Uniun democrata federala |
Hans Moser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3,000 | Right-wing, Christian right | ||
| AL | Alternative Left Alternative Linke La Gauche La Sinistra |
0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2,000 | Left-wing, Democratic socialism | |||
| MCG | Geneva Citizens' Movement Mouvement citoyens genevois |
Éric Stauffer | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | Right-wing, Regionalism (GE) | |||
| PdA/PST | Swiss Party of Labour Partei der Arbeit der Schweiz Parti Suisse du Travail - Parti Ouvrier et Populaire Partito Comunista Partida svizra da la lavur |
Norberto Crivelli | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | Far-left, Communism | |||
| Total | 7 | 46* | 200 | 2609** | ||||||
Notes: ¹ Federal Council since 2009; ² Council of States, 2011; ³ National Council 2015; * Including one independent member of the Council of States (Thomas Minder); ** including independents
Minor parties
The following groups or parties are not represented at either the cantonal or national level (but may hold positions in municipal parliaments).
| Abbr. | Name | W | Leader | Ideology | Founded | Popular vote[lower-alpha 2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sol | solidaritéS solidaritéS Solidarität |
Left-wing, Anti-capitalism | 1992 | 0.05% (2015) | |||
| SLB/MSL | Social Liberal Movement Sozial-Liberale Bewegung Mouvement socio-libéral Movimento social-liberale |
Samuel Schmid | Centre-right, Social conservatism | 2011 | 0.1% (2015) | ||
| SD/DS | Swiss Democrats Schweizer Demokraten Démocrates Suisses Democratici Svizzeri Democrats Svizers |
Bernhard Hess | Right-wing, National conservatism | 0.1% (2015) | |||
| FPS/PSL | Freedom Party Freiheits-Partei der Schweiz Parti suisse de la liberté Partito svizzero della Libertà Partida Svizra da la Libertad |
Peter Commarmot | Right-wing, National liberalism | 1984 | n/a | ||
| HPS/PHS | Swiss Humanist Party Humanistische Partei der Schweiz Parti Humaniste de la Suisse Partito Umanista della Svizzera |
Daniel Horowitz | Humanist Movement | 1984 | n/a | ||
| KVP | Catholic People's Party Katholische Volkspartei Parti populaire catholique Partito popolare Cattoliche |
Lukas Brühwiler-Frésey | Catholic social teaching | 1994 | n/a | ||
| PNOS | Swiss Nationalist Party Partei National Orientierter Schweizer Parti nationaliste suisse Svizzero Partito Nazionalista |
Dominic Lüthard | Far-right, Ethnic nationalism | 2000 | 0.05% | ||
| PPS | Pirate Party Piratenpartei Schweiz Parti Pirate Suisse Partito Pirata Svizzera Partida da Pirats Svizra |
Denis Simonet | Freedom of Information, Information privacy | 2009 | 0.48% | ||
| TPS/PSpA | Tierpartei Schweiz | Thomas Märki | Animal rights | 2010 | 0.15% | ||
| parteifrei.ch | Lukas Harder | Voluntary association of independent politicians formed for the 2011 elections; opposing party politics | 2011 | 0.19% | |||
| MontagnaViva | Germano Mattei | Regionalism (Alpine Ticino) | 2011 | 0.08% | |||
| Alpenparlament | Alternative medicine | 2011 | 0.06% | ||||
| Konfessionslose.ch | Separation of church and state | 2011 | 0.05% | ||||
| The Swiss Independence Party up! Unabhängigkeitspartei up! up! Switzerland |
Simon Scherrer | Libertarianism | 2014 | n/a | |||
| Volksaktion | right-wing populism (Basel-Stadt) | 2002 | 0.03% | ||||
| La gauche combative | Communism (Geneva) | 2002 | 0.03% | ||||
| Les Rauraques | Separatism (Bernese Jura) | 2011 | 0.03% | ||||
Historical parties
Names in the national languages
| Abbr. | Party | German name | French | Italian | Romansh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVP/PDC | Christian Democratic People's Party | Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz or CVP | Parti Démocrate-Chrétien Suisse or PDC | Partito Popolare Democratico or PPD | Partida Cristian-democratica de la Svizra or PCD |
| FDP/PRD | Free Democratic Party | Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz or FDP | Parti radical-démocratique suisse or PRD | Partito Liberale Radicale or PLR | Partida liberaldemocrata de la Svizra or PLD |
| SPS/PSS | Social Democratic Party | Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz or SP | Parti Socialiste Suisse or PSS | Partito Socialista Svizzero or PSS | Partida Socialdemocratica de la Svizra or PSS |
| SVP/UDC | Swiss People's Party | Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP | Union Démocratique du Centre or UDC | Unione Democratica di Centro or UDC | Partida Populara Svizra or PPS |
| CSP/PCS | Christian Social Party | Christlich-soziale Partei or CSP | Parti chrétien-social or PCS | Partito Cristiano Sociale or PCS | Partida cristiansociala de la Svizra or PCS |
| BDP/PBD | Conservative Democratic Party | Bürgerlich-Demokratische Partei Schweiz or BDP | Parti bourgeois démocratique Suisse or PBD | Partito borghese democratico Svizzera or PBD | Partida burgais democratica Svizra or PBD |
| EVP/PEV | Evangelical People's Party | Evangelische Volkspartei der Schweiz or EVP | Parti Evangelique Suisse or PEV | Partito Evangelico or PE | Partida Evangelica Svizra or PEV |
| FPS/PSL | Freedom Party | Freiheits-Partei der Schweiz or FPS | Parti Suisse de la Liberté or PSL | Partito svizzero della Libertà or PSL | Partida Svizra da la Libertad or PSL |
| GPS/PES | Green Party | Grüne Partei der Schweiz or Grüne | Parti Ecologiste Suisse or Les Verts | Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I Verdi | Partida Ecologica Svizra or La Verda |
| LPS/PLS | Liberal Party | Liberale Partei der Schweiz or LPS | Parti libéral suisse or PLS | Partito Liberale Svizzero or PLS | Partida liberal-conservativa Svizra or PLC |
| AL | Alternative Left | Alternative Linke or AL | La Gauche or LG | La Sinistra or LS | |
| SD/DS | Swiss Democrats | Schweizer Demokraten or SD | Démocrates Suisses or DS | Democratici Svizzeri or DS | Democrats Svizzers or DS |
| Lega | Ticino League | Lega dei Ticinesi | |||
| EDU/UDF | Federal Democratic Union | Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union or EDU | Union Démocratique Fédérale or UDF | Unione Democratica Federale or UDF | Uniun democrata federala or UDF |
| PdA/PST | Swiss Party of Labour | Partei der Arbeit der Schweiz or PdA | Parti suisse du travail - Parti Ouvrier et Populaire or PST-POP | Partito Comunista or PC | Partida svizra da la lavur or PSdL |
Sources: The Swiss Federal Chancellery
Relative importance
At the federal level
-
Composition of the National Council by political party, 1919-2011
-
Composition of the Federal Council by political party, 1919-2011
Overall
| Party | Number of elected representatives at the federal, cantonal and communal levels |
|---|---|
| FDP.The Liberals | 2,011 |
| Social Democratic Party | 1,863 |
| Swiss People's Party | 1,511 |
| Christian Democratic Party | 1,205 |
| Conservative Democratic Party | 173 |
See also
Notes
- ↑ Including seats held by the Liberal party of Switzerland which merged into FDP in 2009, but still retains separate party structure in some cantons
- ↑ Swiss federal election, 2011, where applicable
References
- ↑ Pierre Cormon, Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners, Editions Slatkine, 2014, ISBN 978-2-8321-0607-5, p. 31-32 Archived November 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Swiss Political Parties Reveal Their Colours". Swissinfo. September 11, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ Bundesamt für Statistik. "Nationalratswahlen: Übersicht Schweiz". Retrieved 2015-10-19.
- ↑ Mandatsverteilung Kantonale Parlamentswahlen 1984–2013 Statistic Schweiz Retrieved April 5, 2016 (German)
- ↑ (French) Kevin Gertsch and Chantal Tauxe, "L'UDC n'est pas le premier parti de Suisse", L'Hebdo, 24 December 2014, pages 62-63.
Bibliography
- Pierre Cormon, Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners, Editions Slatkine, 2014. ISBN 978-2-8321-0607-5
External links
| National Council (200 seats) |
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| Council of States (46 seats) |
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| Other parties | |||||||
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