Swiss Review 4/2019

Swiss Review / July 2019 / No.4 8 Focus per cent. By Swiss standards, this is an enormous shift. It also occurred at the expense of the right-wing SVP as well as the Liberals. The subsequent parlia- mentary elections in the cantons of Baselland and Lucerne delivered a similar picture. However, the Zurich elections are of particular interest as they have always been a reliable ba- rometer for the national elections later on in the year. Themajority of po- litical scientists are therefore specu- lating that on 20 October the picture of a Green success and conservative right-wing slump could repeat itself. What do the strikers think about the autumn elections? Sophie Feuz: “I firmly believe that we will have a sig- nificant effect on the elections.” She follows this with an “if”: “If young people don’t lose interest”. Some stu- dents of a similar age are satisfied with “just taking to the street once”. “On the other hand, more andmore of us are joining in each time.” She would be even more confident in the movement if the voting age at na- tional level was 16. Many are far more interested in political life at the age of 16 than at 20, she says: “School BDP banks on Glacier Initiative Like the CVP, the BDP supports a tough CO 2 Act. After the failure of the bill in the National Council, the party originally wanted to launch its own popular initiative with the objective of not allowing any more new cars with combus- tion engines in Switzerland from 2040. The party later dropped the idea of such a mobility initiative and instead supported the broad- based Glacier Initiative, which aims to incorpo- rate the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement in the constitution. The BDP is consolidating its strengths and presenting itself as a prag- matic and solution-oriented party – true to the election motto of “Boring, but good”. By dis- pensing with its own initiative, it may not be easy for the BDP to make ground on the cli- mate issue in the autumn elections. Political representation: 7 seats in the National Council, 1 seat in the Council of States More on the BDP’s climate policy: ogy.de/bdp-klima FDP faces green policy change 78 per cent of FDP members want to see more commitment from the party on environmental and climate matters. This was the outcome of an internal survey commissioned by FDP president Petra Gössi. The rank and file are calling for a levy on air tickets, and also want to see Switzer- land reduce its CO 2 emissions predominantly within the country. To date, the FDP fraction has blocked both issues in Parliament. The new ap- proach is designed to initially lead to a position paper containing demands related to the areas of housing, transport, work/education and the envi- ronment, and serve as a guideline for FDP policy over the next few years. It remains unclear whether the party’s change of approach will lend a green momentum to the national elections. Political representation: 33 seats in the National Council, 13 seats in the Council of States, 2 seats in the Federal Council. More on the FDP’s climate policy: ogy.de/fdp-klima SVP warns against “climate hype” Climate and environmental policy are not at the top of the SVP’s list of priorities. Instead, the party is positioning itself as an opponent of the “climate hype” that is causing “ban mania” among the left wing. The People’s Party is focusing on freedom and individual responsibility. It opposes any new levies and fees but is supportive of tax incentives in climate and environmental policy, such as for building refurbishments. The SVP is particularly critical of Switzerland’s proposal to go it alone on halving CO 2 emissions by 2030 without internationally binding resolutions from all countries. With regard to the national elections on 20 October, the SVP is banking on non-Green voters, and positioning itself as a lobby for motorists and against restrictions on mobility in the process. Political representation : 66 seats in the National Council, 5 seats in the Council of States, 2 seats in the Federal Council. More on the SVP’s climate policy : ogy.de/svp-klima helps us to mature. Many young peo- ple are very switched on.” However, as soon as they are out of school, they lack any “platforms” to develop their own maturity, she says. This quickly causes them to lose any motivation they may have had to participate in political life. The FDP corrects; the SVP hopes The two largest conservative parties, the SVP and the FDP, are reacting in very different ways to the climate strike phenomenon and its wide- spread impact. FDP party president Petra Gössi wants to give the party a splash of green based on a survey of the rank and file of the economic lib- eral party. Thus, the FDP is now also demanding a CO 2 levy on petrol and diesel. However, Gössi ismeetingwith some resistance. A member of the party leadership, Christian Wasser- fallen, argued that it is awaste of time for a party to “change its colour”. If you want to vote “green”, it is better to give your vote to “the originals”, that is the Greens. The SVP’s situation is far more pre- carious. Nobody would buy a sudden change of colour from them. So, they are initially banking on the principle of hope. Theywill stick to their course as SVPfigures asserted followingheavy losses in the cantonal elections that the climate issuemay be off the table again by the autumn. However, a section of the traditional rank andfile – the farm- ers challenged by climate change – do not believe that. The SVP leadership have therefore begun to overtly work against the youth and, for the first time, to present the party as the last bastion of motorists’ interests. Since then, party president, Albert Rösti, has diag-