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'A tectonic shift': Green Party makes historic gains in Swiss vote 'Tectonic shift': Swiss Greens make historic gains in election
(about 8 hours later)
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. Green parties have made historic gains in national elections in Switzerland, marking a significant shift in power in the consensus-centred system of the Alpine country, where political change often takes place at glacial speed.
Definitive results confirmed a pre-vote forecast that rising concerns about climate change would trigger an electoral “green wave”. The rightwing anti-immigrant Swiss People’s party (SVP) remained the largest party in parliament despite a slip in its support. But the Swiss Greens received a six-point bump on their 2015 performance, taking 13.2% of the vote in a result that amounted to “a tectonic shift”, according to their president, Regula Rytz.
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”. Boosted by a campaign in which concerns about climate change took centre stage, Rytz called for the “urgent convening of a national climate summit”.
The Greens garnered 13.2% support, exceeding their pre-election projection and marking a six-point bump on their 2015 performance. The Green Liberals – an environmentalist party with a pro-business stance that split from the Greens in 2004 – also gained ground, taking 7.8% of the vote compared with less than 5% in 2015.
Green surge expected in Swiss elections as climate concern grows “It’s more than a wave, it’s a tidal wave on the Swiss scale,” the political scientist Pascal Sciarini told AFP.
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. The focus in the coming weeks will turn to whether the Greens – or a coalition of the two parties – will claim one of the seven seats in the national cabinet, which has been made up of members of the same four main parties for the last 60 years.
“It’s more than a wave, it’s a tidal wave on the Swiss scale,” political scientist Pascal Sciarini told AFP. Under the so-called “magic formula” for power sharing, six cabinet seats are shared equally by the SVP, the Social Democratic party (SP) and the right-leaning liberal FDP, with the centrist Christian Democrats holding the seventh seat.
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 presidency rotates each year, and the number of seats held by the parties is usually only adjusted if electoral trends have held up over two elections in a row.
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. The influential broadsheet Neue Zürcher Zeitung said the result had called the magic formula into question, but also warned against upsetting the country’s balance of power. “It is a wise tradition that parties have to prove their strength over a certain period,” the paper said.
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”. 'Things are getting unstable': global heating and the rise of rockfalls in Swiss Alps
Under Switzerland’s unique political system, the election decides the 200 lower house lawmakers and 46 senators elected to four-year terms, but the makeup of the executive Federal Council will not be decided until December.
The SVP claimed 25.6% of the vote, down from the 29.4% it garnered in 2015. The rightwing conservative party has in past years built its strength on warning about immigration and condemning the influence of the EU, of which Switzerland is not a member.
In its election posters, the SVP pledged to protect Swiss citizens from three angry aggressors: a Middle-Eastern looking man with a beard, a bespectacled man in a jumper bearing the stars of the EU flag, and a girl wearing her hair in the distinctive style of Greta Thunberg’s braids.
But the SVP’s tried and tested messages failed to cut through, with the party facing a larger-than-expected loss of 3.8 percentage points.
The 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 refugee 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.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. The three other parties in the cabinet, the SP, the FDP and the Christian Democrats, also chalked up significant losses, with the latter party being beaten to fourth spot by the Greens for the first time.
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. Yet it remains clear how Swiss consensus politics will allow for the Greens to claim their place. Removing the Christian Democrats, who have served in cabinet since the formula was implemented in 1959 and represent Switzerland’s centrist bloc, would mark a break with national tradition.
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 leftwing Greens would rather take a Federal Council seat from the right-leaning FDP, but may have to form a tricky alliance with the Green Liberals to do so.
The Greens finished fourth, narrowly beating the Christian Democrats, but it remains unclear when they will join the cabinet. But Rytz has made clear 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.
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 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.
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. A recent study by ETH Zurich university found that more than 90% of 4,000 glaciers dotted throughout the Alps could disappear by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed.
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. Associated Press contributed to this report
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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