Swiss Review 1/2019

Swiss Review / January 2019 / No.1 6 SUSANNE WENGER The election analyst of “Swiss Review” had a sense of fore- boding: “We must prepare for difficult times and great tur- bulence,” hewrote after the 2015 federal elections. The con- sensus, that is, the well-established Swiss systemof power sharing, had been called into question. What happened? The national conservative Swiss Peo- ple’s Party (SVP) set a newrecord of nearly 30percent. Never since the introduction of proportional representation in 1919 has a party received such a high share of the vote. There was also an overall shift to the right: the SVP and the simi- larly conservative FDP liberals secured a narrowmajority in the National Council togetherwith small right-wing par- ties. Also a novelty in Switzerland. Almost four years later, a few months before the next elections in autumn, it can be said that there was indeed turbulence, but Switzerlandwas far fromexperiencing the worst of it. Compared to the election of Trump, Brexit and the consequences of election victories by right-wing pop- ulists in countries like Germany and Italy, Switzerland proved to be a haven of stability – even though the debates remained polarised and there was little progress made in- importantmatters such as the clarification of relationswith the European Union (EU) for a long time. Shift to the right did not cause upheaval Shortly after the 2015 elections, parliament elected Guy Parmelin, a second SVP representative, to the national government. The four largest parties (2 SVP, 2 SP, 2 FDP, 1 CVP) were thus fairly represented in the Federal Council again, temporarily putting an end to the quarrels of re- cent years over the Federal Council seats. And the shift to the right during the National Council elections did not cause as much upheaval in the political landscape as had been expected in certain areas. The conservative block gained more votes in parliament than before and set the course for financial and social policy. Thus parliament The great race is on again The last elections, which took place four years ago, led to a shift to the right in Switzerland. What was the impact of the change in political power? A look at the Swiss political landscape at the beginning of the 2019 election year. Focus National Councillors and Council of States members run round the Federal Palace in the traditional annual parliamentarians race. Now the race it to the Federal Palace. Photo: Keystone