2023 2019 SP 18.3% SP 16.8% Greens 9.8% Greens 13.2% GLP 7.6% GLP 7.8% EVP 2.1% BDP* 2.4% Centre* 14.1% EVP 2.0% CVP* 11.4% FDP 14.3% FDP 15.1% SVP 27.9% SVP 25.6% Other 6.0% Other 3.4% 5 The new balance of power in the National Council – this chart shows the number of seats as well as the percentage share of the vote for each party. The smaller semi-circle shows the results of the 2019 elections. “Other” now consists of the EDU (2 seats), the Geneva Citizens’ Movement (2 seats) and the Ticino League (1 seat). *The Centre was created following a merger between the CVP and the BDP, which ran separately in 2019. 41 39 23 28 10 16 3 25 3 28 28 62 53 4 5 ing premiums most effectively into votes were the Centre and the SP. Both have submitted their own initiatives to counter rising health costs. These will be put to voters in 2024. Climate policy no longer a green monopoly Astonishingly, 23 percent cited climate change as an important issue in the post-election survey despite the Greens losing. Why the discrepancy? There is no comparison between the current situation and how things were four years ago, says Bütikofer. “There was a progressive mood in the air in 2019. Climate change was the hot topic, prompting many people to vote for a party with the word Female representation in the National Council has fallen from a record 42 percent to 38.5 percent – due to the resurgent, male-heavy SVP. clude the Geneva Citizens’ Movement (MCG) and the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU), both of which belong to the right-wing camp. However, critics of Covid restrictions running on the “Aufrecht” and “MassVoll” tickets missed out on the National Council by a clear distance. The SVP attracted new voters Why has parliament shifted to the right? According to a post-election survey by the Sotomo research institute, 26 percent of voters said that immigration was a decisive factor in how they voted. The SVP has always been able to mobilise the electorate by focusing on immigration, says political scientist Sarah Bütikofer. “But in this election campaign they were able to gain new voters beyond their traditional support base – and across the party political spectrum.” Besides immigration, healthcare costs also influenced voting choice. The rise in health insurance premiums was a key issue for 25 percent, with dissatisfaction with how the issue was being tackled accounting for a third of voter defections. “However, no single party is able to set the agenda here in the way that the SVP has made the issue of immigration its own,” said Bütikofer in an interview with Radio SRF. The parties able to translate concern over soar2 29 Swiss Review / December 2023 / No.6
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