Swiss Social Democrats get 1,000 new members after Trump victory
"People here are sending a clear signal: they don't want Donald Trump's policies to come to Switzerland," said Wermuth.
Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss Social Democrats get 1,000 new members after Trump victory
The election of Donald Trump in the United States has had a direct impact on the Social Democratic Party in Switzerland. In the space of three days, the party says it has welcomed around 1,000 new members, a record number.
This influx is “totally surprising and represents the highest number of new members recorded over a few days since we have been able to track developments,” party co-president Cédric Wermuth told Swiss public television RTS on Saturday.
“We’re going to see a hardening of the right in Switzerland too, and people here are sending a clear signal: they don’t want Donald Trump’s policies to come to Switzerland,” said the parliamentarian.
Throughout the week, the Social Democrats were active on social networks, making direct reference to Trump to motivate its supporters to become party members.
This “Trump effect” seems to be confined to the Social Democrats and the Green Party, which recorded around 100 new memberships. On the right of the political spectrum, there was no rush for membership cards.
A quarter of Swiss voters would have voted for Donald Trump
“This election shows that the ideas, attitudes and values of conservative parties can become mainstream and that they are in tune with the times. They can appeal to a lot of people, and that also has an influence on Switzerland,” says Cloé Jans, an analyst at gfs.bern.
In fact, compared with other European countries, a quarter of Swiss voters would have given their vote to Trump. This is significantly more than in Scandinavia and Switzerland’s neighbouring countries, according to a Gallup poll carried out ahead of the US presidential election and reported by Tamedia newspapers. The survey was conducted among 41,000 adults in 43 countries.
In Switzerland, 61% of respondents supported Kamala Harris. In Denmark, only 4% were in favour of Trump, compared with 7% in Finland and Norway, 11% in the Netherlands, 13% in Germany and France, 16% in Austria and 18% in Italy. On the other hand, support for Trump was high in Eastern Europe: in Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria, almost half of those questioned would have voted for the billionaire.
External Content
Translated from French with DeepL/gw
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
The CHF1,000 dance of death and other unforgettable Swiss banknotes
Is reforming the Swiss pension system still possible, and if so, how?
Solutions still need to be found to meet the challenge of an ageing population and to improve the pensions of low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.
Price rise dampens demand on the Swiss housing market
This content was published on
There has been a slight easing on the Swiss housing market. This is not due to an increase in supply, but to a price increase.
This content was published on
Several anti-Semitic incidents were reported in Zurich last weekend. Jewish people were physically attacked or verbally abused.
Job prospects remain good in Switzerland – apart from in Ticino
This content was published on
Employment prospects remain positive in Switzerland as a whole, but they are negative in southern Italian-speaking canton Ticino.
This content was published on
In an international comparison, Swiss adults perform above average in the basic skills of reading, everyday math and problem solving.
New carrier particle discovered for transporting drugs in body
This content was published on
Researchers at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich have discovered particles that can be used to deliver drugs precisely, for example to a cancerous tumour in the body.
Swiss parliament clears way for new start with e-ID
This content was published on
A new attempt to introduce electronic proof of identity has been made in Switzerland. The Senate has resolved the final differences in the legal provisions on a state e-ID.
Sixteen-day Swiss campaign against gender-based violence ends
This content was published on
The 16-day campaign against gender-based violence came to an end on Tuesday. Several hundred organizations mobilized across Switzerland during this period.
Swiss parliament wants CHF15 million for women’s Euro 2025
This content was published on
Parliament wants Switzerland to support next year's European Women's Football Championship with CHF15 million ($17 million).
Rare Roman coin auctioned for almost CHF2 million in Geneva
This content was published on
A rare Roman coin with a portrait of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, was sold at a Geneva auction on Monday for CHF1.89 million ($2.15 million), according to the organiser of the sale.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.