Swiss Politics

Centre-left stays with social justice

This content was published on Sep 12, 2003 It is aiming for some 25 per cent of the vote in October’s elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, to bolster its position in parliament. Hans-Jürg Fehr, a member of the House of Representatives and a party vice-president, says solidarity and social justice are two key values for the centre-left Social Democrats. “Take…

Swiss Politics

Switzerland renews its parliament

This content was published on Sep 12, 2003 The elections – which take place on October 19 – are the most important event in the Swiss political calendar. Voters will go to the polls to elect an entirely new House of Representatives and the majority of the Senate. Unlike the United States or France, Switzerland has no presidential election, since the members of…

Swiss Politics

Rightwing demands constituency for Swiss abroad

This content was published on Sep 11, 2003 But the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) says establishing a “virtual canton” would not provide expatriates with better parliamentary representation. The suggestion was one of many discussed at this year’s OSA congress held in the alpine resort of Crans Montana. Under the current system, the Swiss abroad who want to vote may do so…

Swiss Politics

Zurich immigrants launch parliamentary bid

This content was published on Sep 11, 2003 Representing second-generation Swiss in particular, the “Second@s Plus” organisation is putting forward a list of parliamentary candidates, entirely composed of immigrants. In order to stand for election to parliament, all 33 people on the Second@s Plus list have to be Swiss nationals. However, none of them were born Swiss. With roots in China, Turkey, Somalia…

Swiss Politics

Young Swiss urged to vote

This content was published on Sep 11, 2003 Faced with growing apathy, campaigners are hoping to persuade at least 30 per cent of young Swiss voters to cast their ballot. Just 26 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds turned out to vote in the 1999 general election. The “Vote Young” campaign hopes to improve the turnout this year. It was launched by the…

Liberal Party

This content was published on Sep 10, 2003 Christine Wirz-von Planta, vice-president The Liberal Party is the successor to the “Liberal Democratic Party”, a rightwing splinter group which broke away from the Radicals in 1913. Its stronghold is in the Protestant cantons of French-speaking Switzerland and the city of Basel. Over the past 30 years the party has regularly gained up to three…

Green Party

This content was published on Sep 10, 2003 Ruth Genner, co-president The Green Party has its roots in various environmental groups that formed in the 1970s to prevent the construction of new motorways. In 1991 it experienced its biggest electoral success winning 6.1 per cent of the vote and 14 seats in the House of Representatives. However, the party could not hold onto…

Christian Democratic Party

This content was published on Sep 10, 2003 Philipp Stähelin, president The roots of the Christian Democrats go back to the conservative, Catholic milieu of the 19th century. The party was first represented in the cabinet in 1891. Between 1919 and 1987, its share of the vote was stable at around 20 per cent, but since the end of the 1980s the party…

Social Democratic Party

This content was published on Sep 10, 2003 Christine Goll, vice-president The Social Democratic Party was founded in 1888. It was considered to be the main opposition to the Radicals in parliament. After the General Strike in 1918, the House of Representatives introduced proportional representation which helped the Social Democrats gain 41 seats. In 1943 they became the strongest party in parliament, finally…

Radical Party

This content was published on Sep 10, 2003 Christiane Langenberger, president The founding fathers of modern-day Switzerland in 1848 went on to form the Radical Party in 1894. Up until 1943 the party held the majority in the seven-member cabinet. The Radicals were the largest party in parliament until 1999 when they gained only 19.9 per cent of the vote. The party has…

Swiss Politics

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Swiss Politics

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Centre-left stays with social justice

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Switzerland renews its parliament

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Rightwing demands constituency for Swiss abroad

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Zurich immigrants launch parliamentary bid

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Young Swiss urged to vote

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Liberal Party

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Green Party

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Christian Democratic Party

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Social Democratic Party

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Radical Party

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