Understanding Swiss Political Parties and Direct Democracy
They are subject to federal legislative referendum and general federal resolutions passed by the Assembly. They are also subject to referendum on some international treaties. In any case, it seems the general scope of the provisions is the decisive factor for submission to a referendum. Between 1850 and 1880, some cantons in their constitutions introduced the so-called right of cancellation, whereby a certain number of citizens are entitled to request the resignation of members of the Cantonal Parliament and Council of Government. This right is not federally recognized and has fallen into disuse. In view of the foregoing, it is true that Switzerland is one of the few models of consociational democracy in Europe. Although today the religious and cultural differences do not play a critical role in Swiss society, politics is still dominated by a pattern of cooperation and conflict resolution among the various interests at stake. In this sense, the referendum and popular initiative are the cornerstones of direct democracy in Switzerland, since, at least in theory, they allow citizens to veto parliamentary decisions and exercise strong control over how policies are made public. The fact that a large majority of decisions reached in the discussions and negotiations are set outside the Parliament has diminished representative democracy. On the other hand, given the lack of importance of the election results at the national level, there is very little incentive to vote in elections (between 35% and 50% share). Unlike other Western European countries, the decline in voting does not necessarily mean disinterest or disillusionment with the democratic system.
7. Political Parties and Pressure Groups
The historical evolution of the party system consists of two clearly distinct periods: the period before and after 1919, when the Swiss electoral system introduced proportional representation. This introduced significant changes to the system that, before 1848, was determined by the opposition between liberals and conservatives, with the latter taking the outright majority in the National Council thanks to the majority system.
In 1888, the Social Democratic Party emerged, which grew rapidly from 1919, when the proportional system was first applied, leading to the Liberals losing their majority. As a direct consequence of the proportionality or the surge of participation, the shift was permanent: the Social Democrats doubled their strength and entered into a consolidation path that led them to the Federal Council in the late fifties. Since then, the quadripartite government formula has been consolidated and continues to this day. While many Swiss political parties exist, the most important are:
- The Free Democratic Party (FDP), with a long history of government, had a majority in the Federal Council from 1848 to 1944. Initially, it was radically anti-Catholic and centrist, evolving to prevent any influence of churches on the state. It can be considered centrist.
- The Christian Democrats (CVP), which was, in ancient and Catholic opposition, gained respectability from the late nineteenth century. It has a conservative trend inspired by the social doctrine of the Church and can be considered right-wing.
- The Social Democratic Party (SPS), composed of industrial workers, civil servants, teachers, etc. After the First World War, it took very Marxist positions, evolving later into reformist and democratic tendencies. It arrived in the area of power in 1959 and is now considered a leftist party. Today, it is the first political force due to the proportional system.
- The Swiss People’s Party (UDC) or Swiss People’s Party (SPV), which today represents the far-right in Switzerland and received the most votes in 1999.
These four parties share most of the seats in the National Council. Some aspects common to all the parties are: the absence of excessive ideological radicalism, their performance at local levels (excluding socialist), and their stability. Since the seventies, other unconventional forms of participation have increased considerably: citizen committees, nature protectors, and consumer groups increasingly tend to form, at the federal or cantonal level, extra-parliamentary opposition, denouncing the slowness or inactivity of the executive or legislative authorities.