Switzerland

TRADITIONALLY PEACEFUL and compromising, Swiss political debate at the beginning of the 21st century is marked by a dramatic challenge from the increasingly popular far right. Capturing the largest share of the vote in Switzerland's October 2003 parliamentary elections, the radicalized right now openly questions the decades-old model of consensus politics for which Switzerland is widely known. As is often the case, contemporary controversies such as this one have deep historical roots.

The political right in Switzerland dates from the country's modern inception in 1848. Liberals and conservatives formed the basis of an early two-party system, in which the Liberal Party (today's Radical Democratic Party, or FDP) dominated and the Conservatives (today's Christian Democratic Party, or CVP) provided the usually loyal opposition. The Conservatives laid claim to Switzerland's heavily Catholic cantons and first gained a share of Swiss governing authority in 1891.

At the turn of the 20th century, a schism within the liberal FDP produced two new splinter parties—the left-wing Social-Democratic Party (SP) and the agrarian Swiss People's Party (SVP). The FDP evolved to constitute a classic center-right party, embracing open markets and minimal state intervention in the economy while seeking to protect individual rights and liberties. The SP drifted far left of its FDP origins to become an avowedly socialist party. It was, however, the People's [Page 891]Party that over time emerged to torment the more moderate Swiss political establishment.

Through an arrangement that became known as the “Magic Formula,” the Radicals, Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, and the People's Party agreed in 1959 to share power in the country's governing Federal Council. In what amounted to a permanent coalition, the formula worked its magic quite convincingly for 44 years, with the FDP, CVP, and SP each holding two seats on the Council and the SVP consistently having just one. That formula came to an abrupt end when the SVP, led by billionaire industrialist Christoph Blocher, rocked the Swiss political establishment on October 19, 2003, by capturing almost 27 percent of the national vote to become the country's largest parliamentary party.

Capitalizing on popular anxieties over immigrants, rising unemployment, and closer relations with the European Union, Blocher's SVP joined a growing trend among Europe's xenophobic, nationalist parties by securing impressive electoral gains. By portraying immigrants and asylum seekers as drug addicts and criminals, the radicalized SVP doubled its support among Swiss voters in just a decade. Buoyed by their success in 2003, the German-speaking Blocher and his SVP overturned the 2:2:2:1 formula in the seven-seat Federal Council by demanding and securing their own second seat. Switzerland's mainstream right, in the form of the conservative Christian Democrats, became the big loser, relinquishing their second seat in the cabinet and trading places with the once-junior SVP. Blocher, who had been roundly condemned by human rights organizations and by the United Nations for fomenting intolerance during the 2003 campaign, became minister for justice and police. The radical right and the more mainstream, conservative right are clearly distinguishable. While the radical right in the guise of the SVP promotes a populist nationalism (similar in tone and message to those of JeanMarie le Pen's Front National in France or Jörg Haider's Freedom Party in Austria), the center-right FDP and Catholic CVP continue to regard themselves as the natural, moderate parties of government in Switzerland. While the SVP is staunchly opposed to closer institutional ties with either the United Nations (UN) or the European Union (EU) on grounds that membership would entail unacceptable costs in lost sovereignty, the Christian Democrats and Radicals adamantly favor membership. Swiss voters rejected UN membership in 1986 but reversed their position in 2002. The SVP's opposition to the EU finds considerable support, especially among German speakers; conversely, the parties on the mainstream right contend that Switzerland's future by necessity lies within the EU.

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