What are the results of the Swiss elections, and how might they affect people from other countries living in Switzerland?

After Swiss people in all regions of the country voted on Sunday to choose the next government, we want to explain what happened in the Swiss federal elections and what it could mean for people from other countries living in Switzerland.

Results of the 2023 Swiss Federal Elections

In the Swiss federal elections, people in Switzerland choose who will be in the National Council (the lower part of their government) and the Council of States (the upper part). The National Council is made up of 200 seats, and people from different regions vote to choose representatives. The Council of States has one or two members from each region, and they are chosen differently.

Many political parties took part in the elections this year, but only 10 of them won seats. Unlike in 2019, the Swiss Party of Labor and Solidarity did not win any seats in the National Council. In Switzerland, political parties don’t need to form a traditional government or work together in a coalition like in other countries. Instead, they try to reach agreements with each other. But having as many seats as possible is still important.

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) received the most votes in the elections, just like in every federal election since 1999. They got more votes compared to 2019, and they won 28.6% of the vote. This means they will have around 62 seats in the National Council, which is an increase of nine seats.

The Social Democratic Party (SP) came second, with 18% of the vote and 41 seats in the National Council, which is two more seats than they had before. The Center Party was in close competition with the FDP. The Liberals in the National Council. They won 29 seats, which is one more than before, while the FDP lost one seat and has 28 now.

The Green Party and Green Liberal Party lost a significant number of seats in this year’s elections. The Green Party now has 23 seats in the National Council, and the Green Liberal Party has only 10.

Even though climate change was a major topic in the discussions leading up to the 2019 elections, recent surveys show that it’s no longer the most important issue in Switzerland. This could be a big setback for the Green Party’s hopes of getting a seat in the executive Federal Council.

Other parties that won seats in the National Council include the Geneva Citizens’ Movement (2), Evangelical People’s Party (2), Federal Democratic Union (2), and the Ticino League (1).

15 seats in the Council of States haven’t been decided yet. So, there will be runoff elections in November to determine who gets those seats.

How Will the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) Win Affect People from Other Countries Living in Switzerland?

In many countries, when the winning party of an election gets to make the laws, it can lead to big changes in the country. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) won the election, and they focused on anti-immigration policies in their campaign.

Their campaign slogan was “For a secure future in freedom,” and they talked about preventing Switzerland from having 10 million people through a referendum. They said that Switzerland has been relying on foreign workers for a long time, but since 2007, there have been problems because of uncontrolled immigration.

The SVP argued that, with the population already at 9 million, Switzerland can’t afford to have even more people because it would put too much pressure on the social security system. However, studies have shown that people from other countries living in Switzerland contribute more to the system than they take from it, and they help with the shortage of workers.

The SVP also criticized the asylum system and immigration in general through posts on Facebook. They used stories about non-Swiss people being accused or convicted of serious crimes with captions like “Is this the new normal? If you want more security, vote for SVP… if you don’t want this to happen, vote for SVP.”

The Federal Anti-Racism Commission criticized the SVP for these ads, saying they weren’t just racist and xenophobic, but also tried to make people feel angry. However, Swissinfo wrote that even though the messages were very clear, they motivated the SVP’s supporters, especially at a time when there was a lot of international uncertainty.

Swiss TV (SRF) said that recent events, like the war in Israel and Gaza and more people applying for asylum in Switzerland, made the SVP’s promise of “freedom, security, and safety” more appealing. In 2023, the SVP got back the votes they lost in 2019 and had a share of the votes that was close to their best performance in 2015.

What the SVP Can and Can’t Do

In many other countries, when a political party wins an election, they can change the laws to match their campaign promises. The SVP focused on anti-immigration policies in their campaign. But in Switzerland, even though the SVP is the biggest party in the National Council, they don’t have enough seats to make laws without working with other parties.

The SVP is 39 seats short of having a majority in the National Council. This means they can’t make laws without cooperating with the Social Democratic Party (SP) or some of the other bigger parties. These parties will ask for changes or compromises before they agree to any laws.

The SVP will also have a hard time in the Council of States. Even though many seats haven’t been decided yet, it’s likely that the Center Party and the FDP will still have the most seats. The SVP is currently the fourth-largest party there. This makes it almost impossible for them to make their policies into laws without help from other parties.

In Switzerland, if you want to change the constitution, you need to get people’s approval in a vote. Many of the anti-immigration laws that the SVP wants to make will have to go through a public vote, like the “10 million Switzerland” idea. Other parties can also force things to go to a vote if they get enough signatures. This means the biggest party can’t make laws easily because they can be sent back to a vote. Most people, 71.4%, didn’t vote for the SVP. It’s also important to know that, even though more people voted in 2023 compared to 2019, only 47% of Swiss citizens took part in the federal elections.

What the SVP Can Influence

Even though the SVP can’t easily change the laws, they can still set the topics that people talk about and that are important in the government sessions. Because they won the election, it’s likely that discussions about immigration and people from other countries living in Switzerland will continue to be a part of Swiss politics for a long time.