Europe

Swiss general election signals shift to the right

Greens the big losers as voters’ concerns focus on immigration, ‘wokeness’ and slowing economy

Electoral workers count ballots during Swiss federal elections to elect a new parliament, in Bern, Switzerland on Sunday. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
Electoral workers count ballots during Swiss federal elections to elect a new parliament, in Bern, Switzerland on Sunday. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
Sun Oct 22 2023 - 19:00

Switzerland looked set to shift to the right in its national elections on Sunday, as concerns about immigration and political correctness trumped fears about climate change and melting glaciers.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), Switzerland’s biggest political party, will increase its share of the vote to 29 per cent, 3.4 points higher than the last election in 2019, according to early projections by Swiss broadcaster SRF.

The party campaigned on a platform of preventing the country’s population – currently at 8.7 million people – exceeding 10 million.

It has also picked up votes from people concerned about the slowing economy and the rising cost of living, pollsters GFS Bern said.

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Rising health costs also looked set to benefit the left-wing Social Democrats (SP). Switzerland’s second biggest party was poised to increase its share by 0.4 points of the vote to 17.2 per cent.

In contrast, the Greens were expected to see their share of the votes fall by 4.1 points to 9.1 per cent

The result is unlikely to change the make-up of Switzerland’s government, the Federal Council, where seven cabinet positions are divided among the top four parties, according to their share of the vote.

“Four years ago, people were a bit more idealistic and progressive, which explained why the Greens did well, but now people are more concerned about security and are more conservative again,” said Michael Hermann, a political analyst at pollsters Sotomo.

“The SVP has done well because it has raised fears about ‘wokeness’ and also focused on migration again,” said Herman

Turnout was 46.5 per cent, higher than in 2019 but still one of the lowest in Europe. The results suggest nine additional SVP seats in the 200-member lower house, while the green parties lose a combined 11, SRF said.

A rising sense of insecurity has shaped the vote, according to Hermann. In March, the collapse of Credit Suisse and its subsequent takeover by UBS Group AG cast a shadow over the solidity of the Swiss banking system.

“This is the shift to the right that we expected,” he said. “But the right wing won’t be able to dominate – there are balancing forces in parliament.”

The right-wing shift was underscored by the success of the MCG alliance in Geneva, where the local populist group campaigned for preferential treatment of Swiss workers over French ones, while promoting left-wing social policies.

Irrespective of the results, a shift in Switzerland’s executive is unlikely as the seven-member government isn’t formed by a coalition or outright majority but is a compact between the largest parties. Ministers will be elected by lawmakers on December 13th.

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Nationally, the Social Democrats came a distant second to SVP, according to the projections, with the pro-business Free Democrats trailing the Centre Alliance for third place, potentially threatening one of the FDP’s two seats in government. Switzerland’s two green parties reversed most of the gains they made in 2019. – Reuters/Bloomberg