Swiss People's Party
Encyclopedia
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative
political party in Switzerland
. Chaired by Toni Brunner
, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher
, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council
and 6 of the Council of States.
The SVP was founded in 1971 by the merger of the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents
(BGB) and the Democratic Party
, while the BGB in turn had been founded on the background of the emerging local farmers' parties in the late 1910s. The SVP initially didn't witness any increased support beyond that of the BGB, remaining at around 11% of the vote through the 1970s and 1980s. This changed however during the 1990s, when the party underwent deep structural and ideological changes under the influence of Christoph Blocher
, turning the party to become the strongest party in Switzerland by the 2000s.
In line with the changes led by Blocher, the party started to focus increasingly on issues such as Euroscepticism
and opposition to immigration
. The SVP currently has 58 seats in the Federal Assembly, and its vote share of 29% in the 2007 Federal Council election
was the highest vote ever recorded for a single party in Switzerland. Following Blocher's failed re-election as Federal Councillor in 2007, moderates within the party split off, forming the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP). The party does not belong to any Europe-wide party
, but sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in PACE
.
farmers' parties where founded in agrarian
, Protestant, German-speaking parts of Switzerland. While the Free Democratic Party
had earlier been a popular party for farmers, this changed during World War I
when the party had mainly defended the interests of industrialists and consumer circles. When proportional representation
was introduced in 1919, the new farmers' parties won significant electoral support, especially in Zürich
and Bern, and eventually also gained representation in parliament and government. In 1936, a representative party was founded on the national level, called the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents
(BGB). During the 1930s, the BGB entered the mainstream of Swiss politics as a right-wing conservative
party in the bourgeois bloc. While the party opposed any kind of socialist
ideas such as internationalism
and anti-militarism, it sought to represent local Swiss traders and farmers against big business and international capital.
The BGB contributed strongly to the establishment of the Swiss national ideology known as the Geistige Landesverteidigung
(Spiritual Defence of the Nation), which was largely responsible for the growing Swiss sociocultural and political cohesion from the 1930s. In the party's fight against left-wing
ideologies, sections of party officials and farmers voiced understanding, or failed to distance themselves from the emerging fascist
movements. After World War II
, the BGB contributed to the establishment of the characteristic Swiss post-war consensual politics, social agreements and economic growth policies. The party continued to be a reliable political partner with the Swiss Conservative People's Party
and the Free Democratic Party.
from Glarus
and Graubünden
. The Democratic Party had been supported particularly by workers, and the SVP sought to expand its electoral base towards these, as the traditional BGB base in the rural population had started to lose its importance in the post-war era. As the Democratic Party had represented centrist
, social-liberal
positions, the course of the SVP shifted towards the political centre following internal debates. The new party however continued to see its level of support at around 11%, the same as the former BGB throughout the post-war era. Internal debates continued, and the 1980s saw growing conflicts between the Bern and Zürich cantonal branches, where the former branch represented the centrist faction, and the latter looked to put new issues on the political agenda.
When the young entrepreneur Christoph Blocher
was elected president of the Zürich SVP in 1977, he declared his intent to oversee significant change in the political line of the Zürich SVP, bringing an end to debates that aimed to open the party up to a wide array of opinions. Blocher soon consolidated his power in Zürich, and began to renew the organisational structures, activities, campaigning style and political agenda of the local branch. The young members of the party was boosted with the establishment of a cantonal Young SVP
(JSVP) in 1977, as well as political training courses. The ideology of the Zürich branch was also reinforced, and the rhetoric hardened, which resulted in the best election result for the Zürich branch in fifty years in the 1979 federal election
, with an increase from 11.3% to 14.5%. This was contrasted with the stable level in the other cantons, although the support also stagnated in Zürich through the 1980s.
continued into the early 1990s. While the Bern-oriented faction represented the old moderate style, the Zürich-oriented wing led by Christoph Blocher represented a new radical right-wing populist
agenda. The Zürich-wing began to politicise asylum
issues, and the question of European integration
started to dominate Swiss political debates. The Zürich-wing followingly started to gain ground in the party at the expense of the Bern-wing, and the party became increasingly centralised as a national party, in contrast to the traditional Swiss system of parties with loose organisational structures and weak central powers. During the 1990s, the party also doubled its number of cantonal branches (to eventually be represented in all cantons), which strengthened the power of the Zürich-wing since most new sections supported their agenda.
In 1991, the party for the first time became the strongest party in Zürich, with 20.2% of the vote. The party broke through in the early 1990s in both Zürich and Switzerland as a whole, and experienced dramatically increasing results in elections. From being the smallest of the four governing parties at the start of the 1990s, the party by the end of the decade emerged as the strongest party in Switzerland. At the same time, the party expanded its electoral base towards new voter demographics. The SVP in general won its best results in cantons where the cantonal branches adopted the agenda of the Zürich-wing. In the 1999 federal election
, the SVP for the first time became the strongest party in Switzerland with 22.5% of the vote, a 12.6% share increase. This was the biggest increase of votes for any party in the entire history of the Swiss proportional electoral system, which was introduced in 1919.
As a result of the remarkable increase in the SVP's popularity, the party gained a second ministerial position in the Federal Council
in 2003, which was taken by Christoph Blocher. Before this, the only SVP Federal Councillor had always been from the moderate Bern-wing. The 2007 federal election
still confirmed the SVP as the strongest party in Switzerland with 28.9% of the vote and 62 seats in the National Council, the largest share of the vote for any single party ever in Switzerland. However, the Federal Council refused to re-elect Blocher, who was replaced by Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
of the moderate Graubünden branch. In response, the national SVP decided to expel both Widmer-Schlumpf and the other Federal Councillor, Samuel Schmid
, from the party, along with Widmer-Schlumpf's whole cantonal section. The SVP thus formed the first opposition group in Switzerland since the 1950s, and in 2008, the two former SVP Federal Councillors joined the newly founded Conservative Democratic Party (BDP), largely centered around Bern. The SVP regained its position in government in late 2008, when Schmid was forced to resign due to a political scandal, and was replaced with Ueli Maurer
.
The SVP suffered a significant setback during the 2011 federal election
, when it drew 25.9% percent of the vote -- a significant decrease from its gains of 28.9% in 2007.
, aiming at the preservation of Switzerland's political sovereignty
and a conservative society. Furthermore, the party promotes the principle of individual responsibility and is skeptical toward any expansion of governmental services. This stance is most evident in the rejection of an accession of Switzerland to the European Union
, the rejection of military involvement abroad, and the rejection of increases in government spending on social welfare and education.
The emphases of the party's policies lie in foreign policy, immigration and homeland security policy as well as tax and social welfare policy. Among political opponents, the SVP has gained a reputation as a party that maintains a hard-line stance.
, including the UN
, EEA
, EU
, Schengen and Dublin treaties, and closer ties with NATO. The party stands for a strict neutrality of the country and the preservation of the strong role of the Swiss army as the institution responsible for national defense. The army shall remain a militia
force and should never become involved in interventions abroad.
In June and July 2010, the party used the silly season
for floating the notion of a "Greater Switzerland", where instead of Switzerland joining the EU, the border regions of Switzerland's neighbours would join Switzerland, submitted in July in the form of a motion to the Federal Council by Dominique Baettig
, signed by 26 SVP Councillors. Some, such as newspaper Die Welt
, have also speculated that the initiative could be a response to the suggestion by Muammar al-Gaddafi
to dissolve Switzerland and divide its territory among its neighbouring countries.
In its immigration policy the party commits itself to make asylum laws stricter and to reduce immigration. The SVP warns of immigration into the social welfare system and criticises the high proportion of foreigners among the public insurance
benefit recipients and other social welfare
programs. According to the opinion of the party, such benefits amount to waste of taxpayers' money. Numerous SVP members have shown themselves to be critical of Islam
by having participated in the minaret controversy
, during which they pushed for an initiative to ban the construction of minarets. In November of 2009 this ban won the majority vote (57.5%) and became an amendment to the Swiss Constitution. However, the four existing minarets are not affected by the new legislation.
Another key concern of the SVP is what it alleges is an increasing influence of the judiciary
on politics. According to the SVP, this influence, especially through international law
, increasingly puts the Swiss direct democracy
in question. Public law which is legitimate by direct democracy
standards should be agreed upon by the federal court. The international law, which according to the SVP is not democratically legitimate, shall always be subordinate to the Swiss law. The SVP also criticises the judiciary as undemocratic because the courts have made decisions against the will of the majority. Therefore, the SVP promotes the preservation of voting procedures in the question of the naturalization
of foreigners even after a federal court ruling deemed such procedures as unconstitutional. According to the SVP, the racism penalty and anti-racism commission should be abolished in the interest of freedom of speech
.
. Thus it is a proponent of lower taxes and is against deficit spending
. The SVP is in a dilemma in terms of its agricultural policy since, in consideration of it being the most popular party among farmers, it cannot reduce agricultural subsidies or curtail the current system of direct payments to farmers. The freedom of movement agreements with the EU and its extension toward new member states of the EU is looked at sceptically by the SVP and is associated with more immigration and higher crime rates.
. Therefore, in its transportation policy the party endorses the expansion of the Swiss motorway network and is against the preference of public transportation over individual transportation. It supports the construction of Megaproject
s such as AlpTransit
but criticizes the cost increases and demands more transparency. In the scope of environmentalism
and energy policy the SVP is against the carbon tax
and supports the use of nuclear energy
. In the context of reductions of CO2 emissions, the SVP cites the limited impact of Switzerland and instead supports globally, and legally binding agreements to address Global climate change.
, and stands for a conservative society. It opposes the public financing of maternity leave
and nursery school
s. The SVP is sceptical toward governmental support of an equalisation of both genders, and the SVP has the smallest proportion of women among parties represented in the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. In addition, the SVP has a repressive drug policies, opposing the legalisation of the consumption of drugs such as cannabis
. At the same time, however, the party speaks out against measures to limit alcohol
and tobacco
consumption. In its education policy, it opposes tendencies to shift the responsibility of the upbringing of children from families to public institutions. The party claims that there's an excessive influence of anti-authoritarian ideas originating from the protests of 1968
. In general, the party supports strengthening crime prevention
measures against social crimes and, especially in the areas of social welfare policy and education policy, a return to meritocracy
.
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
political party in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Chaired by Toni Brunner
Toni Brunner
Toni Brunner is a Swiss farmer, national chairman of the Swiss People's Party and a member of the Swiss National Council.-Biography:...
, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher is a Swiss politician, industrialist, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police . Currently he is serving as Vice President of the Swiss People's Party...
, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council
National Council of Switzerland
The National Council of Switzerland is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. With 200 seats, it is the larger of the two houses....
and 6 of the Council of States.
The SVP was founded in 1971 by the merger of the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents
Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents
The Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents was a Swiss political party founded in 1936. It grew out of a merger between various farmers’ parties at canton level which had been established during the First World War .In November 1917, Rudolf Minger set up the Bern Party of Farmers and...
(BGB) and the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Switzerland)
The Democratic Party was a political party which existed in several Swiss cantons from 1860 to 1971.Following the total revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1874, the democratic movement had achieved its goals at the federal level and was accordingly dissolved...
, while the BGB in turn had been founded on the background of the emerging local farmers' parties in the late 1910s. The SVP initially didn't witness any increased support beyond that of the BGB, remaining at around 11% of the vote through the 1970s and 1980s. This changed however during the 1990s, when the party underwent deep structural and ideological changes under the influence of Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher is a Swiss politician, industrialist, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police . Currently he is serving as Vice President of the Swiss People's Party...
, turning the party to become the strongest party in Switzerland by the 2000s.
In line with the changes led by Blocher, the party started to focus increasingly on issues such as Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
and opposition to immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. The SVP currently has 58 seats in the Federal Assembly, and its vote share of 29% in the 2007 Federal Council election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
was the highest vote ever recorded for a single party in Switzerland. Following Blocher's failed re-election as Federal Councillor in 2007, moderates within the party split off, forming the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP). The party does not belong to any Europe-wide party
European political party
A European political party, formally a political party at European level, informally a Europarty, is a type of political party organization operating transnationally in Europe and in the institutions of the European Union. They are regulated and funded by the European Union and are usually made up...
, but sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in PACE
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
.
Background, farmers' parties
The early origins of the SVP goes back to the late 1910s, when numerous cantonalCantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
farmers' parties where founded in agrarian
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
, Protestant, German-speaking parts of Switzerland. While the Free Democratic Party
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
had earlier been a popular party for farmers, this changed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the party had mainly defended the interests of industrialists and consumer circles. When proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
was introduced in 1919, the new farmers' parties won significant electoral support, especially in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Bern, and eventually also gained representation in parliament and government. In 1936, a representative party was founded on the national level, called the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents
Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents
The Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents was a Swiss political party founded in 1936. It grew out of a merger between various farmers’ parties at canton level which had been established during the First World War .In November 1917, Rudolf Minger set up the Bern Party of Farmers and...
(BGB). During the 1930s, the BGB entered the mainstream of Swiss politics as a right-wing conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
party in the bourgeois bloc. While the party opposed any kind of socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
ideas such as internationalism
Internationalism (politics)
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
and anti-militarism, it sought to represent local Swiss traders and farmers against big business and international capital.
The BGB contributed strongly to the establishment of the Swiss national ideology known as the Geistige Landesverteidigung
Spiritual defence
Spiritual defence was a political-cultural movement in Switzerland which was active from circa 1932 into the 1960s. It was supported by the Swiss authorities, certain institutions, scholars, the press and intellectuals...
(Spiritual Defence of the Nation), which was largely responsible for the growing Swiss sociocultural and political cohesion from the 1930s. In the party's fight against left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
ideologies, sections of party officials and farmers voiced understanding, or failed to distance themselves from the emerging fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
movements. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the BGB contributed to the establishment of the characteristic Swiss post-war consensual politics, social agreements and economic growth policies. The party continued to be a reliable political partner with the Swiss Conservative People's Party
Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland
The Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a Christian democratic political party in Switzerland. It is the fourth-largest party in the National Council, with 31 seats, and the largest in the Council of States, with 15 seats. It has one seat, that of Doris Leuthard, on the Swiss...
and the Free Democratic Party.
Early years (1971–1980s)
In 1971, the BGB changed its name to the Swiss People's Party (SVP) after it merged with the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (Switzerland)
The Democratic Party was a political party which existed in several Swiss cantons from 1860 to 1971.Following the total revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1874, the democratic movement had achieved its goals at the federal level and was accordingly dissolved...
from Glarus
Canton of Glarus
The Canton of Glarus is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.The majority of the population identifies as Christian, about evenly split between the Protestant and Catholic confessions.-History:According to legend, the...
and Graubünden
Graubünden
Graubünden or Grisons is the largest and easternmost canton of Switzerland. The canton shares borders with the cantons of Ticino, Uri, Glarus and St. Gallen and international borders with Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein...
. The Democratic Party had been supported particularly by workers, and the SVP sought to expand its electoral base towards these, as the traditional BGB base in the rural population had started to lose its importance in the post-war era. As the Democratic Party had represented centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
, social-liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
positions, the course of the SVP shifted towards the political centre following internal debates. The new party however continued to see its level of support at around 11%, the same as the former BGB throughout the post-war era. Internal debates continued, and the 1980s saw growing conflicts between the Bern and Zürich cantonal branches, where the former branch represented the centrist faction, and the latter looked to put new issues on the political agenda.
When the young entrepreneur Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher is a Swiss politician, industrialist, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police . Currently he is serving as Vice President of the Swiss People's Party...
was elected president of the Zürich SVP in 1977, he declared his intent to oversee significant change in the political line of the Zürich SVP, bringing an end to debates that aimed to open the party up to a wide array of opinions. Blocher soon consolidated his power in Zürich, and began to renew the organisational structures, activities, campaigning style and political agenda of the local branch. The young members of the party was boosted with the establishment of a cantonal Young SVP
Young SVP
The Young SVP is the youth wing of the Swiss People's Party Founded in 1977 as a part of the SVP's Zurich branch, the Young SVP served as a training ground for many of the SVP's future leaders....
(JSVP) in 1977, as well as political training courses. The ideology of the Zürich branch was also reinforced, and the rhetoric hardened, which resulted in the best election result for the Zürich branch in fifty years in the 1979 federal election
Swiss federal election, 1979
The Swiss federal election, 1979 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1979.- Results :...
, with an increase from 11.3% to 14.5%. This was contrasted with the stable level in the other cantons, although the support also stagnated in Zürich through the 1980s.
Rise of the new SVP (1990s–present)
The struggle between the SVP's largest branches of Bern and ZürichZürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
continued into the early 1990s. While the Bern-oriented faction represented the old moderate style, the Zürich-oriented wing led by Christoph Blocher represented a new radical right-wing populist
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism is a political ideology that rejects existing political consensus and combines laissez-faire liberalism and anti-elitism. It is considered "right-wing" because of its rejection of social equality and government programs to achieve it, its opposition to social integration, and...
agenda. The Zürich-wing began to politicise asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
issues, and the question of European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
started to dominate Swiss political debates. The Zürich-wing followingly started to gain ground in the party at the expense of the Bern-wing, and the party became increasingly centralised as a national party, in contrast to the traditional Swiss system of parties with loose organisational structures and weak central powers. During the 1990s, the party also doubled its number of cantonal branches (to eventually be represented in all cantons), which strengthened the power of the Zürich-wing since most new sections supported their agenda.
In 1991, the party for the first time became the strongest party in Zürich, with 20.2% of the vote. The party broke through in the early 1990s in both Zürich and Switzerland as a whole, and experienced dramatically increasing results in elections. From being the smallest of the four governing parties at the start of the 1990s, the party by the end of the decade emerged as the strongest party in Switzerland. At the same time, the party expanded its electoral base towards new voter demographics. The SVP in general won its best results in cantons where the cantonal branches adopted the agenda of the Zürich-wing. In the 1999 federal election
Swiss federal election, 1999
The Swiss federal election, 1999 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1999.- Results :...
, the SVP for the first time became the strongest party in Switzerland with 22.5% of the vote, a 12.6% share increase. This was the biggest increase of votes for any party in the entire history of the Swiss proportional electoral system, which was introduced in 1919.
As a result of the remarkable increase in the SVP's popularity, the party gained a second ministerial position in the Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
in 2003, which was taken by Christoph Blocher. Before this, the only SVP Federal Councillor had always been from the moderate Bern-wing. The 2007 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2007
Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007...
still confirmed the SVP as the strongest party in Switzerland with 28.9% of the vote and 62 seats in the National Council, the largest share of the vote for any single party ever in Switzerland. However, the Federal Council refused to re-elect Blocher, who was replaced by Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is a Swiss lawyer, politician, and member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2008. She is currently the head of the Federal Department of Finance ....
of the moderate Graubünden branch. In response, the national SVP decided to expel both Widmer-Schlumpf and the other Federal Councillor, Samuel Schmid
Samuel Schmid
Samuel Schmid is a Swiss politician who was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2000 to 2008. He was the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports .He was elected to the Federal Council on 6 December 2000...
, from the party, along with Widmer-Schlumpf's whole cantonal section. The SVP thus formed the first opposition group in Switzerland since the 1950s, and in 2008, the two former SVP Federal Councillors joined the newly founded Conservative Democratic Party (BDP), largely centered around Bern. The SVP regained its position in government in late 2008, when Schmid was forced to resign due to a political scandal, and was replaced with Ueli Maurer
Ueli Maurer
Ueli Maurer is a member of the Swiss Federal Council and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports...
.
The SVP suffered a significant setback during the 2011 federal election
Swiss federal election, 2011
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 23 October 2011.All of the Federal Assembly were to be elected: all 200 seats in the National Council and all 46 seats in the Council of States....
, when it drew 25.9% percent of the vote -- a significant decrease from its gains of 28.9% in 2007.
Ideology
The SVP adheres to national conservatismNational conservatism
National conservatism is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly nationalist or supporting a far-right...
, aiming at the preservation of Switzerland's political sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and a conservative society. Furthermore, the party promotes the principle of individual responsibility and is skeptical toward any expansion of governmental services. This stance is most evident in the rejection of an accession of Switzerland to the European Union
Switzerland and the European Union
Relations between Switzerland and the European Union are framed by a series of bilateral treaties whereby Switzerland adopts EU law in order to participate in the EU's single market.-Trade:...
, the rejection of military involvement abroad, and the rejection of increases in government spending on social welfare and education.
The emphases of the party's policies lie in foreign policy, immigration and homeland security policy as well as tax and social welfare policy. Among political opponents, the SVP has gained a reputation as a party that maintains a hard-line stance.
Foreign policy
In its foreign policy the SVP opposes increased involvement of Switzerland in intergovernmental and especially supranational organisationsSupranational union
Supranationalism is a method of decision-making in multi-national political communities, wherein power is transferred or delegated to an authority by governments of member states. The concept of supranational union is sometimes used to describe the European Union, as a new type of political entity...
, including the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, EEA
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
, EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, Schengen and Dublin treaties, and closer ties with NATO. The party stands for a strict neutrality of the country and the preservation of the strong role of the Swiss army as the institution responsible for national defense. The army shall remain a militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
force and should never become involved in interventions abroad.
In June and July 2010, the party used the silly season
Silly season
The silly season is the period lasting for a few summer months typified by the emergence of frivolous news stories in the media. This term was known by the end of the 19th century and listed in the second edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and remains in use at the start of the 21st...
for floating the notion of a "Greater Switzerland", where instead of Switzerland joining the EU, the border regions of Switzerland's neighbours would join Switzerland, submitted in July in the form of a motion to the Federal Council by Dominique Baettig
Dominique Baettig
Dr. Dominique Baettig is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss People's Party. He represents the canton of Jura and is a psychiatrist by profession.-Freedom of expression:...
, signed by 26 SVP Councillors. Some, such as newspaper Die Welt
Die Welt
Die Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
, have also speculated that the initiative could be a response to the suggestion by Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
to dissolve Switzerland and divide its territory among its neighbouring countries.
Immigration
Social insurance
Social insurance is any government-sponsored program with the following four characteristics:* the benefits, eligibility requirements and other aspects of the program are defined by statute;...
benefit recipients and other social welfare
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
programs. According to the opinion of the party, such benefits amount to waste of taxpayers' money. Numerous SVP members have shown themselves to be critical of Islam
Criticism of Islam
Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...
by having participated in the minaret controversy
Minaret controversy in Switzerland
The minaret controversy in Switzerland refers to construction of minarets, which has been subject to legal and political controversy in Switzerland during the 2000s and a Swiss referendum regarding this issue. In a November 2009 referendum, a constitutional amendment banning the construction of new...
, during which they pushed for an initiative to ban the construction of minarets. In November of 2009 this ban won the majority vote (57.5%) and became an amendment to the Swiss Constitution. However, the four existing minarets are not affected by the new legislation.
Another key concern of the SVP is what it alleges is an increasing influence of the judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
on politics. According to the SVP, this influence, especially through international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, increasingly puts the Swiss direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
in question. Public law which is legitimate by direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
standards should be agreed upon by the federal court. The international law, which according to the SVP is not democratically legitimate, shall always be subordinate to the Swiss law. The SVP also criticises the judiciary as undemocratic because the courts have made decisions against the will of the majority. Therefore, the SVP promotes the preservation of voting procedures in the question of the naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
of foreigners even after a federal court ruling deemed such procedures as unconstitutional. According to the SVP, the racism penalty and anti-racism commission should be abolished in the interest of freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
.
Economy
The SVP supports supply-side economicsSupply-side economics
Supply-side economics is a school of macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created by lowering barriers for people to produce goods and services, such as lowering income tax and capital gains tax rates, and by allowing greater flexibility by reducing...
. Thus it is a proponent of lower taxes and is against deficit spending
Deficit spending
Deficit spending is the amount by which a government, private company, or individual's spending exceeds income over a particular period of time, also called simply "deficit," or "budget deficit," the opposite of budget surplus....
. The SVP is in a dilemma in terms of its agricultural policy since, in consideration of it being the most popular party among farmers, it cannot reduce agricultural subsidies or curtail the current system of direct payments to farmers. The freedom of movement agreements with the EU and its extension toward new member states of the EU is looked at sceptically by the SVP and is associated with more immigration and higher crime rates.
Environment
In terms of the environment, transportation and energy policy the SVP opposes governmental measures for environmental protectionEnvironmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
. Therefore, in its transportation policy the party endorses the expansion of the Swiss motorway network and is against the preference of public transportation over individual transportation. It supports the construction of Megaproject
Megaproject
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project. Megaprojects are typically defined as costing more than US$1 billion and attracting a lot of public attention because of substantial impacts on communities, environment, and budgets. Megaprojects can also be defined as "initiatives that...
s such as AlpTransit
AlpTransit
AlpTransit, also known as New Railway Link through the Alps NRLA , is a Swiss federal project aimed to build faster north-south rail links across the Swiss Alps by constructing base tunnels several hundred metres below the level of the current tunnels...
but criticizes the cost increases and demands more transparency. In the scope of environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and energy policy the SVP is against the carbon tax
Carbon tax
A carbon tax is an environmental tax levied on the carbon content of fuels. It is a form of carbon pricing. Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel and is released as carbon dioxide when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion energy sources—wind, sunlight, hydropower, and nuclear—do not...
and supports the use of nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
. In the context of reductions of CO2 emissions, the SVP cites the limited impact of Switzerland and instead supports globally, and legally binding agreements to address Global climate change.
Social policy
In social welfare policy the SVP rejects expansion of the welfare stateWelfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
, and stands for a conservative society. It opposes the public financing of maternity leave
Parental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
and nursery school
Nursery school
A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
s. The SVP is sceptical toward governmental support of an equalisation of both genders, and the SVP has the smallest proportion of women among parties represented in the Federal Assembly of Switzerland. In addition, the SVP has a repressive drug policies, opposing the legalisation of the consumption of drugs such as cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. At the same time, however, the party speaks out against measures to limit alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
consumption. In its education policy, it opposes tendencies to shift the responsibility of the upbringing of children from families to public institutions. The party claims that there's an excessive influence of anti-authoritarian ideas originating from the protests of 1968
Protests of 1968
The protests of 1968 consisted of a worldwide series of protests, largely participated in by students and workers.-Background:Background speculations of overall causality vary about the political protests centering on the year 1968. Some argue that protests could be attributed to the social changes...
. In general, the party supports strengthening crime prevention
Crime prevention
Crime prevention is the attempt to reduce victimization and to deter crime and criminals. It is applied specifically to efforts made by governments to reduce crime, enforce the law, and maintain criminal justice.-Studies:...
measures against social crimes and, especially in the areas of social welfare policy and education policy, a return to meritocracy
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
.
Federal elections
| Election | # of total votes | % of popular vote | # of seats won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Swiss federal election, 1971 The Swiss federal election, 1971 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1971.- Results :... |
217,908 | 11.1% | 23 |
| 1975 Swiss federal election, 1975 The Swiss federal election, 1975 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1975.- Results :... |
190,445 | 9.9% | 21 |
| 1979 Swiss federal election, 1979 The Swiss federal election, 1979 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1979.- Results :... |
210,425 | 11.6% | 23 |
| 1983 Swiss federal election, 1983 The Swiss federal election, 1983 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1983.- Results :... |
215,457 | 11.1% | 23 |
| 1987 Swiss federal election, 1987 The Swiss federal election, 1987 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1987.- Results :... |
211,535 | 11.0% | 25 |
| 1991 Swiss federal election, 1991 The Swiss federal election, 1991 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1991.- Results :... |
240,353 | 11.9% | 25 |
| 1995 Swiss federal election, 1995 The Swiss federal election, 1995 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1995.- Results :... |
280,420 | 14.9% | 29 |
| 1999 Swiss federal election, 1999 The Swiss federal election, 1999 was a federal election that took place in Switzerland in 1999.- Results :... |
440,159 | 22.5% | 44 |
| 2003 Swiss federal election, 2003 Legislative elections in the Swiss Confederation were held on 19 October 2003. Although in Switzerland's peculiar political system, in which all four major parties form a coalition, it is very difficult to achieve a change of government, this election produced an upset in the strong showing of the... |
561,817 | 26.6% | 55 |
| 2007 Swiss federal election, 2007 Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 November 2007... |
672,562 | 28.9% | 62 |
| 2011 Swiss federal election, 2011 Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 23 October 2011.All of the Federal Assembly were to be elected: all 200 seats in the National Council and all 46 seats in the Council of States.... |
641,106 | 26.6% | 54 |
Leadership
- Hans Conzett (1971–1976)
- Fritz Hofmann (1976–1984)
- Adolf OgiAdolf OgiAdolf Ogi is a Swiss politician from the village of Kandersteg in the Swiss Alps.He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 9 December 1987, as member of the Swiss People's Party from the Canton of Berne...
(1984–1988) - Hans Uhlmann (1988–1995)
- Ueli MaurerUeli MaurerUeli Maurer is a member of the Swiss Federal Council and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports...
(1996–2008) - Toni BrunnerToni BrunnerToni Brunner is a Swiss farmer, national chairman of the Swiss People's Party and a member of the Swiss National Council.-Biography:...
(2008–)
External links
- svp.ch in German and French
- udc-ticino.ch in Italian