copy of: Swiss People’s Party
The forerunner of the People's Party represented "farmers, traders and Swiss citizens" from rural areas. At the end of the First World War it grew into an opposition movement against the Radicals and eventually won a cabinet seat in 1929. It merged with a number of smaller, regional parties to become the rightwing Swiss People's Party in 1971.
Until the 1990s, the People’s Party was the smallest of the parties represented in cabinet, with only 11 per cent of the vote. During the 1990s the party increased its share of the vote to become the most popular party, attracting 22.5 per cent at the 1999 elections.
In 2003 its percentage of the vote rose again to 26.6 per cent. As a result, the party’s leading light Christoph Blocher won a second cabinet seat for the People’s Party at the cost of the Christian Democrats.
Founded: 1937
Chairman: Ueli Maurer, Member of the House of Representatives, ZH
Secretary General: Gregor Rutz
Executive Committee: Toni Brunner, Member of the House of Representatives, SG, Jean Fattebert, Member of the House of Representatives, VD, Silvia Flückiger-Bäni, Member of the cantonal parliament, AG
Head of the Parliamentary Party: Caspar Baader, BL
Seats in the House of Representatives: 55
Seats in the Senate: 8
Cabinet Ministers: Samuel Schmid, BE and Christoph Blocher, ZH
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