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Swiss political parties reveal their colours

Not sure who to vote for ahead of Swiss federal elections on October 18? swissinfo.ch asked the country’s main political parties where they stand on key issues such as relations with the European Union, immigration and banking secrecy.

This content was published on September 11, 2015 - 13:14
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We received no information from the Christian Social Party Obwalden, which has one seat in the House of Representatives

Are bilateral accords with the EU indispensable for Switzerland?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party For the moment yes
Radical Party Yes
Christian Democratic Party Yes
Green Party Yes
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party Yes
Protestant Party Yes
Lega dei ticinesi No
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No
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Should the mass immigration initiative be strictly implemented?
Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party Yes
Christian Democratic Party Yes, but without jeopardising relations with the EU
Green Party No. An EU-compatible arrangement is needed in order to retain the bilateral accords
Liberal Green Party No. Retaining the bilateral path with the EU has priority
Conservative Democratic Party The will of the people should be respected without jeopardising the bilateral accords
Protestant Party It’s dangerous to question a referendum. We must renegotiate within the framework of the bilateral accords
Lega dei ticinesi Yes
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes
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Should the government be able to intervene in exchange rates, or should the Swiss National Bank (SNB) continue to have full independence?
Swiss People’s Party Independence
Social Democratic Party Independence, but the SNB should be accountable to parliament
Radical Party Independence
Christian Democratic Party Independence
Green Party Independence
Liberal Green Party Independence
Conservative Democratic Party Independence
Protestant Party Independence
Lega dei ticinesi The government should keep a certain room to manoeuvre open regarding intervention
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Independence
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Should banking secrecy also be dropped for Swiss citizens?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party Yes
Radical Party No
Christian Democratic Party This issue must be discussed
Green Party Yes
Liberal Green Party We lean towards no
Conservative Democratic Party No, but it shouldn’t be abused in order to hide criminal behaviour
Protestant Party Yes
Lega dei ticinesi No
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No
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Should renewable energies receive more funds?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party Yes
Radical Party Yes, with incentives but without subsidies
Christian Democratic Party Yes, but without distorting the market
Green Party Yes
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party Yes
Protestant Party First an incentive scheme for renewable energies must be promoted
Lega dei ticinesi No
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes
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Does Switzerland place too much value on public transport – to the detriment of private transport?
Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party No. A joint development of the entire transport system is needed
Christian Democratic Party No. Road and rail are not in competition – they complement each other
Green Party No. More value should be placed on ‘soft mobility’ (enabling people to get around without a car)
Liberal Green Party No
Conservative Democratic Party It’s not necessary to set the two forms of transport against each other
Protestant Party No. Public transport has ‘right of way’
Lega dei ticinesi Yes. Car drivers are criminalised and fleeced – in particular by Via Sicura (a government programme to reduce road accidents)
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes
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Is the army’s current budget enough?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party Yes
Radical Party We support an army with a budget of CHF5 billion
Christian Democratic Party Yes
Green Party Yes, by a large margin
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party Yes
Protestant Party Yes
Lega dei ticinesi Yes, but the current level should not be reduced
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No. We must maintain a strong and credible army
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Should the list of benefits for basic health insurance be limited in order to combat rising health costs?

Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party Yes
Christian Democratic Party No, but the benefits should be steered towards quality and effectiveness
Green Party No. What’s needed are more health promotion programmes and a better organisation of the system
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party Not necessarily, but no new ones should be added
Protestant Party No, but the health system should be made more transparent
Lega dei ticinesi Yes
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No. What’s needed is a general reform of the system and not ineffective half-measures
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Should the age of retirement be adjusted given increasing life expectancy?
Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party Yes, we need a flexible age of retirement
Christian Democratic Party No
Green Party No. Rather we need a sliding pension system that takes into account the age at which people start working
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party Yes
Protestant Party Yes. Raising the retirement age is preferable to lowering pensions
Lega dei ticinesi No. Older employees are already excluded too much from the labour market
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes, but the sliding age of retirement should be handled flexibly
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Is it too easy to get social welfare in Switzerland?
Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party Yes. Currently there are abuses of the system which need to be sorted out
Christian Democratic Party No
Green Party No
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party No, but controls should not be relaxed
Protestant Party No, although priorities must be reviewed and more weight placed on reintegration into the workplace
Lega dei ticinesi Yes, immigrants in particular
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes. There are not enough controls
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Should the asylum policy be tightened further?
Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party No. The existing measures should be applied
Christian Democratic Party No. The priority is applying the existing legislation
Green Party No
Liberal Green Party We lean towards no, but cases should be dealt with faster and abuses dealt with firmly
Conservative Democratic Party No
Protestant Party No. The international context should be taken into account. But cases must be dealt with faster
Lega dei ticinesi Yes
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes
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Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party Yes
Radical Party We have supported reforms for a registered partnership
Christian Democratic Party No
Green Party Yes. They should also have the right to adopt
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party Yes
Protestant Party No
Lega dei ticinesi No
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No. A registered partnership is enough
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Should funds for development aid be increased?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party Yes
Radical Party Yes
Christian Democratic Party No. Parliament has committed to raising funds to 0.5% of GDP. We support that
Green Party Yes. The budget should be raised from 0.5% to 0.7% of GDP, the target of the UN
Liberal Green Party Yes
Conservative Democratic Party No
Protestant Party Yes. Development aid must be raised to at least 0.7% of GDP
Lega dei ticinesi No. They should be reduced
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No
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Should Swiss law come before international law?
Swiss People’s Party Yes
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party No, but international law should be approved by the Swiss before being implemented
Christian Democratic Party In principle yes, but obligatory standards of international law take precedence over national law
Green Party No
Liberal Green Party No
Conservative Democratic Party Yes
Protestant Party When it’s a question of human rights, the Swiss can’t go their own way. International law guarantees basic rights in Switzerland
Lega dei ticinesi Yes
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement Yes
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Should the right to launch initiatives be limited?
Swiss People’s Party No
Social Democratic Party No
Radical Party No
Christian Democratic Party No, but some regulations should be clarified
Green Party Yes. Initiatives must respect the principles of the European Human Rights Convention
Liberal Green Party No
Conservative Democratic Party No
Protestant Party No. The right to launch initiatives represents a democratic and valuable achievement and is an indispensable counterforce of the people
Lega dei ticinesi No
Geneva Citizens‘ Movement No
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