Radicals and Christian Democrats close ranks

Those in the middle, please raise your hands Keystone

A new study has revealed that there is little separating two of the four main political parties when it comes to voting in parliament.

The study found that Radical and Christian Democrat party members voted the same way in 92 per cent of the cases over the past year.

That was a ten per cent increase over the previous year, according to the 2004 “parliamentarian rating” published in the Saturday editions of the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” and “Le Temps” newspapers.

The rating took into account the 277 parliamentary votes held over the past year.

The voting pattern of the Christian Democrats placed them slightly left of centre, while the Radicals tended towards the right.

Left and Right

There were no surprises among the centre-left Social Democrats or the Green Party, whose members lined up to the left of the political spectrum, at the opposite end of the scale to the rightwing People’s Party.

The study also highlights a clear divide between Switzerland’s language regions and between the sexes.

The majority of French-speaking parliamentarians voted left of centre, and even French members of the People’s Party were found to be more “left” on issues than their German-speaking colleagues.

The lion’s share of women represented in parliament – 44 out of 50 – also leaned to the left in 2004.

The People’s Party became the largest party in parliament after the 2003 elections, with 56 seats in the 200-seat House of Representatives.

They are followed by the Social Democrats with 52, Radicals with 40 and Christian Democrats with 28.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

The study took into account the 277 parliamentary votes held over the past legislative period – December 2003 to October 2004.
It rates parliamentarians on a sliding scale from +10 (Right) to -10 (Left).
The Radicals and Christian Democrats were placed between +4 and –4 on the scale.
Most Swiss People’s Party members were rated between +5 and +10 and the Social Democrats between –5 and –9.