Democracy instead of autocracy: the Swiss like their form of government

These voters in Lausanne are popping their ballot papers into the postbox at the last minute for the local elections and referendums on March 8, 2026. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

Democracy instead of autocracy: the Swiss love their democracy, a study shows. Some critical voices come from voters of the right-wing Swiss People's Party.

Initial situation: In the midst of geopolitical tensions, the Swiss stand firmly behind democracy. Although some countries are increasingly establishing autocratic governments, the Swiss population’s relationship with their form of government is intact. Over 90% of Swiss voters surveyed would prefer to live in a democracy. These are the findings of a study commissioned by the Swiss Society for the Common Good (SGG)External link.

Significance: The clear approval of democracy as a form of government is evident in every age group and among both genders. Loyalty to democracy is highest among the over 65s. Young people aged 25-34 are somewhat less clearly in favour of the democratic system. In terms of party politics, supporters of the centrist Liberal Green Party are the biggest fans of democracy. Around 96% consider this form of government to be somewhat or very important.

Satisfaction: For most of those surveyed, democracy in Switzerland works. People’s Party voters are somewhat less happy with Swiss democracy. More than a third are “not very” or even “not at all satisfied” with the way democracy works in Switzerland. Supporters of the two left-wing parties [the Social Democrats and the Greens] are also more likely to be dissatisfied than voters from the Green Liberal Party, the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party or the Centre Party. Less satisfied are people who only rarely exercise their democratic rights, i.e. hardly ever take part in elections or votes.

For Marc Bühlmann, director of Année Politique Suisse, abstention from the polls can also be a good sign. “Very satisfied citizens don’t participate because they have confidence that many decisions will be made in their favour.” Other people who abstain may be disappointed and feel that their vote is useless.

A quarter of respondents express ‘difficulty with democracy’

Importance: What is striking in this survey is that a majority of passive Swiss citizens nevertheless consider votes and elections to be very important. Bühlmann is not surprised. Voters value the democratic instruments, he says. This is also shown by this SGG study. This is precisely why they do not necessarily have to participate, he says, as long as they are satisfied with the results. But they could intervene if they wanted to.

Tired of democracy: over 75% of respondents have no problems with the Swiss form of government. However, according to the study, around a quarter of respondents have more or less trouble with democracy. Broken down by party preference, the study sees the People’s Party as having the highest level of “advanced democracy fatigue” at just over 14%. This figure is also above 10% for supporters of the Radical-Liberals and the Greens.

Conclusion: For political scientist Marc Bühlmann from the University of Bern, democracy in Switzerland is in no danger at all. He believes that the likelihood of anyone wanting to abolish this form of government in this country is practically zero. He considers sceptical opinions to be normal and healthy. Citizens should be critical and express this opinion. However, the vast majority in this survey believe that voting is worthwhile and that it is important to them to live in a democracy.

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Partly because of Swiss democracy, social trust in Switzerland is relatively high. Read more about it here:

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