Swiss Review 5/2019

Swiss Review / September 2019 / No.5 18 Politics The big election survey “Swiss Review” asked the country’s seven most popular political parties to give clear and concise answers to some fundamental questions. We have printed their answers here as a guide to all those who wish to vote in the federal elections on 20 October. Christian Democrat People’s Party (CVP) centrist party with conservative/ Catholic roots. 2015 election: 11.6%. Current political weight: 26 seats in National Council, 14 seats in Council of States, 1 seat in Federal Council. www.cvp.ch Formerly Free Democratic Party (FDP) merged with the Liberal Party (2009) to establish FDP. The Liberals. 2015 election: 16.4%. Current political weight: 33 seats in National Council, 12 seats in Council of States, 2 seats in Federal Council. www.fdp.ch Green Liberal Party (GLP) centrist party founded in 2007 as a splinter group of the right wing of the Greens. 2015 election: 4.6%. Current political weight: 8 seats in National Council. www.grunliberale.ch Green Party (GPS) Left-wing party whose roots go back to the anti-nuclear move- ment as well as civil society groups. 2015 election: 7.1%. Current political weight: 11 seats in National Council, 1 seat in Council of States. www.gruene.ch Swiss People’s Party (SVP) right-wing national-conservative party; strongest party since 2003. 2015 election: 29.4%. Current political weight: 64 seats in National Council, 5 seats in Council of States, 2 seats in Federal Council. www.svp.ch Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) only left-wing party in govern- ment; roots go back to labour movement. 2015 election: 18.8%. Current political weight: 42 seats in National Council, 12 seats in Council of States, 2 seats in Federal Council. www.sp-ps.ch Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) centrist party founded in 2008 as a splinter group from the SVP. 2015 election: 4.1%. Current political weight: 7 seats in National Council, 1 seat in Council of States. www.bdp.info Demographic change is affecting social welfare funding. Should the current Swiss retirement age (64 for women, 65 for men) be increased? YES Not only must the retirement age increase, it must also be tied to life expectancy. That is the only way to ensure future generations will also be able to receive a pension. YES A gradual alignment of the retire- ment age is the key to sustainable welfare funding, but women should not be left to shoulder the costs. Any payment gaps during maternity leave will need to be offset. YES Firstly, men and women need to have the same retirement age of 65. In view of demographic change, genuine measures need to be dis- cussed over the long term. YES Demographic change gives us no choice but to increase the retire- ment age and take a more flexible approach to retirement. NO Women face a considerable pension deficit due to lower wages and unpaid care leave. Unless we offset this deficit, increasing the retirement age is unfair. YES A retirement age of 65 for men and women is essential to cover the cost of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI). NO The situation for older workers on the job market is alarming, with long-term unemployment and the proportion of welfare recipients both increasing. Age discrimination is a real problem.. Swiss healthcare costs and health insurance premiums continue to rise each year. What are the three most important ways to counter this trend? > > Strengthen patient autonomy, either through integrated forms of healthcare or through a deliberate increase in the excess and the co-insurance amount. > > Take action to cut healthcare costs – the CVP is petitioning for a referendum on this matter to pre- vent premium increases from out- stripping wage growth. Prevention > > There is no single panacea. In- stead, all stakeholders must work together to address the problem. A whole body of measures is neces- sary. For example, patients want to > > The GLP wants a healthcare system that provides coverage to the entire population while encour- aging personal responsibility and prevention. > > Our priority is to strengthen primary care while improving prevention and coordination, e.g. through public health insurance. > > We must focus more on > > We all need to take greater responsibility ourselves. For exam- ple, outpatient visits to GPs or hospitals should incur a symbolic excess fee for every new case, > > Manage outpatient admissions more effectively – the cantons need to be able to determine which new GP practices are to be opened ac- cording to demand. Bürgerlicher Fortschritt