On 22 October, the Swiss went to the polls to elect the Nationwide Council, the decrease home of the Federal Meeting. The proportional vote resulted in a significant victory for the Swiss Individuals’s Occasion (SVP, nationalist proper), which gained 28.55 % of the vote, taking 62 of the 200 council seats. This places the occasion greater than ten factors forward of the Socialist Occasion (SP, left, 17.96 %, 41 seats), which stays the nation’s second largest political power. The vote resulted in disappointment for the Greens, who misplaced 5 seats, protecting 23. The identical day additionally noticed the primary spherical of elections for the Council of States, the higher home of the Swiss parliament.
The SVP’s victory adopted an extended election marketing campaign that was criticised by some observers for its authoritarian and caricaturish overtones, with the self-described “democratic union of the centre” specializing in their favorite theme – immigration. The poll was additionally marked by a excessive degree of abstention, with a turnout of simply 46.6% – an absence of curiosity defined, for some, by the very nature of the Swiss system, which is oriented in the direction of consensus and the blurring of ideological boundaries.
Obtain the most effective of European journalism straight to your inbox each Thursday
Was this text helpful? In that case we’re delighted! It’s freely accessible as a result of we imagine that the proper to free and unbiased info is important for democracy. However this proper is just not assured eternally, and independence comes at a value. We’d like your assist with the intention to proceed publishing unbiased, multilingual information for all Europeans. Uncover our membership presents and their unique advantages and change into a member of our neighborhood now!