Swiss People’s Party (SVP) Right-wing national-conservative party; strongest party since 2003. 2019 election: 25.6%. Current political weight: 53 seats in National Council, 7 seats in Council of States, 2 seats in Federal Council. www.svp.ch Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) The only left-wing party in government; roots go back to labour movement. 2019 election: 16.8%. Current political weight: 39 seats in National Council, 7 seats in Council of States, 2 seats in Federal Council. www.sp-ps.ch FDP – The Liberals Merged with the Liberal Party in 2009 to establish FDP.The Liberals. 2019 election: 15.1%. Current political weight: 29 seats in National Council, 12 seats in Council of States, 2 seats in Federal Council. www.fdp.ch Approved by voters on 18 June 2023, the Climate and Innovation Act points the way towards making Switzerland carbon-neutral by 2050. Do we need further climate action? No. There is no need for government intervention in a free-market economy. We need to intensify energy research instead. To ensure safe electricity production, we also need new fourth-generation nuclear power plants as well as a system for recycling spent fuel rods. Yes. To meet our climate goals, we must expedite our energy transition towards renewables. We must improve energy efficiency, speed up the modernisation of buildings, enhance public transport, regulate and hold the financial sector to account, and reduce energy consumption to a reasonable level. Yes. Provided we implement liberal policies to meet our climate goals. This includes agreeing on targets and carbon trading rules for the industrial sector as well as implementing measures related to buildings and mobility. We should look for technology-neutral solutions in all areas. As approved by voters in 2017, Swiss law bans the construction of new nuclear power stations. Should we lift the ban? Yes. Because the catastrophic meltdown at the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima influenced the electorate’s decision to approve the ban. This disaster is irrelevant to Switzerland and the safety of our power plants. No. As part of the Paris Agreement, Switzerland and other countries are committed to limiting global warming to no more than 1.5°C. This means moving away from fossil fuels and nuclear power. Neither yes nor no. Apart from a massive expansion in renewable energy, Switzerland urgently needs new big power plants to ensure energy security with enough base-load capacity throughout the year, including winter. The expansion of solar power, wind power and hydropower is increasingly to the detriment of environmental protection. Is this a justifiable trade-off? Neither yes nor no. It depends on whether the expansion in renewables relates to existing infrastructure such as dams or installations on buildings that already have an environmental impact, or to new infrastructure with a highly detrimental impact on wildlife and the natural landscape. Yes. But the SP has already suggested specific ways in which to reconcile the rapid rollout of hydro, wind and solar with environmental concerns. It is possible to turbocharge the development of renewables while preventing irreversible biodiversity loss. Yes. We need a rapid expansion in power capacity. Both the public sector and electricity suppliers must drive the increase in renewables and take advantage of simplified approval procedures. Efforts by the left-green faction and environmental organisations to oppose this are counterproductive. The Swiss Evangelical People’s Party (EVP) (3 seats in National Council), the Partei der Arbeit Schweiz (PdAS) (1 seat), Solidarités (1 seat), the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) (1 seat), and Lega (1 seat) were not included in the survey. One independent sits in the Council of States. 18 Swiss Review / August 2023 / No.4 Politics
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYwNzMx