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Two green parties on track for gains in Swiss elections 'A tectonic shift': Green Party makes historic gains in Swiss vote
(about 11 hours later)
Two green parties appear to have made significant gains in Swiss parliamentary elections while a rightwing populist party remains the country’s strongest. Switzerland’s Green Party have made historic gains in national elections, while the anti-immigrant rightwing remained the largest party in parliament despite a slip in its support.
Projections for SRF public television several hours after polls closed on Sunday tallied with pre-election expectations of a repeat of boosts for green parties in neighbouring Germany and Austria in recent European and national elections. Definitive results confirmed a pre-vote forecast that rising concerns about climate change would trigger an electoral “green wave”.
The Green party was projected to win 12.7% of the vote, up from 7.1% four years ago, and the Green Liberals were on track for 7.6%, up from 4.6%. The results mark “a tectonic shift”, said Green Party president Regula Rytz, and the leftwing party called for the “urgent convening of a national climate summit”.
Support for the Swiss People’s party was projected at 26.3%, down from its peak of 29.4% in an election four years ago that coincided with the peak of an influx of migrants to Europe. The Greens garnered 13.2% support, exceeding their pre-election projection and marking a six-point bump on their 2015 performance.
Green surge expected in Swiss elections as climate concern growsGreen surge expected in Swiss elections as climate concern grows
There are three other parties in the government: the centre-left Social Democrats, who were projected to win 16.5%; the pro-business Liberals, expected to get 15.2%; and the Christian Democrats, heading for 12%. The Green Liberals – an environmentalist party with libertarian socio-economic policies – also gained ground, taking 7.8% of the vote compared with less than 5% in 2015.
It is unclear whether the results will prompt any changes in the government’s composition. The legislature elects the seven members of the Federal Council, which makes decisions by consensus. The country’s presidency rotates between its members on an annual basis, and voters directly have a say on policy issues in referendums several times a year. “It’s more than a wave, it’s a tidal wave on the Swiss scale,” political scientist Pascal Sciarini told AFP.
The People’s party, the Social Democrats and Liberals each have two seats on the Federal Council at present, and the Christian Democrats have one. Focus will swiftly turn to whether the Greens – or a coalition of the two environmentalist parties – will demand one of the seven cabinet positions that are shared among the leading political parties.
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which has repeatedly been accused of demonising migrants, claimed 25.6% of the vote – down from the 29.4% it garnered in 2015.
University of Lausanne political scientist Oscar Mazzoleni told AFP the results showed that the SVP struggled to attract young voters while its ageing electoral base was less motivated to vote than in 2015, when Europe’s migrant crisis was on “page one”.
The SVP is also the only major party that has not pledged to pursue bolder climate action, having consistently denounced “climate hysteria” in Swiss politics.
Aside from warning about the threats of immigration, the SVP has also built its brand by condemning the influence of the European Union in Switzerland, which is not an EU member.
Under Switzerland’s unique political system, the election decides the 200 lower house lawmakers and 46 senators elected to four-year terms, but the make-up of the executive Federal Council will not be decided until December.
Under the so-called “magic formula” for power sharing, six cabinet seats are shared equally by the SVP, the Socialist Party and the right-leaning Free Democratic Party (PLR), with the centrist Christian Democrats holding the seventh seat. The presidency rotates each year.
The Greens finished fourth, narrowly beating the Christian Democrats, but it remains unclear when they will join the cabinet.
Swiss governance relies heavily on consensus, and many have voiced reluctance to removing the Christian Democrats, who have served in cabinet since the formula was implemented in 1959 and represent Switzerland’s centrist bloc.
The leftwing Greens would rather take a Federal Council seat from the right-leaning PLR, but may have to form a tricky alliance with the Green Liberals to do so.
But party leader Rytz made clear that she believes the Greens belong in government. “Now is the time,” she said, adding that Swiss leaders “may need to discuss a new magic formula” to reflect changing political priorities.
Sunday’s results provided further evidence that a nation whose economy and lifestyle are closely tied to the country’s stunning snow-capped peaks has grown increasingly concerned about the ravages of climate change.
A recent study by Zurich’s ETH university found that more than 90 percent of 4,000 glaciers dotted throughout the Alps could disappear by the year 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed.
Green surge expected in Swiss elections as climate concern grows
SwitzerlandSwitzerland
EuropeEurope
Green politicsGreen politics
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