Magic Formula (Swiss Politics)
In Swiss politics, the magic formula (, , , ) is an arithmetic formula for dividing the seven executive seats on the Federal Council among the four coalition parties. The formula was first applied in 1959. It gave the Free Democratic Party (now FDP.The Liberals), the Catholic Conservative Party (later Christian Democratic People's Party, now The Centre) and the Social Democratic Party two seats each, while the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents (now the Swiss People's Party; SVP/UDC) received one seat. The formula is not a legal requirement but the result of an agreement among the four large coalition parties. After the 2003 general election, the formula was modified, giving two seats to the SVP at the expense of the Christian Democrats. This was because the Swiss People's Party received 29% of the votes in the election, making it Switzerland's largest party by vote share. History After the election of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf to the Federal Council in Autumn 2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Conservative Democratic Party Of Switzerland
The Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland (, BDP; , PBD; , PBD; , PBD; ''Swiss Democratic Bourgeois Party'') was a conservative political party in Switzerland from 2008 to 2020. After the 2019 federal election, the BDP had three members in the National Council. It was founded as a moderate splinter group from the national-conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC); it was created as a political party on the federal level on 1 November 2008. It was led by Martin Landolt. It had, until January 2016, one Federal Councillor, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, whose election in defiance of the SVP/UDC incumbent Christoph Blocher led to the creation of the party. It comprised most of the SVP/UDC's old centrist-agrarian wing, which had been overshadowed in recent years by its nationalist-activist wing. The party's name in German, French, Italian and Romansh came from "bourgeois", the traditional European term for a centre-right party. On 1 January 2021, the party merged with the Ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand coalition government composed of representatives of the country's major parties and language regions. While the entire Federal Council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland, each Councillor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. The president of the Swiss Confederation chairs the council, but exercises no particular authority; rather, the position is one of a first among equals and rotates among the seven Councillors annually. The Federal Council is elected as a body by the 246 members of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland for a term of four years after each federal parliamentary election, without the possibility of recall or a vote of no confidence. Incumbents are not term-limited a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Concordance System
Concordance democracy is a type of governing / ruling a country that aims to involve as many different groups as possible (parties, associations, minorities, social groups) in the political process and to make decisions by reaching a consensus. In this respect, concordance democracy is a form of consensus democracy. The counter-model to concordance democracy is called competitive democracy or majority democracy. In Swiss politics, the concordance system (German ''Konkordanzsystem'') is manifested by the integration of the major political parties into the seven-member Federal Council. The concordance system is based on two principles *an arithmetic rule of proportionality: the Federal Council should be representative of the political forces of the country, that is, its composition should be similar to that of the Federal Assembly. *a political rule of consensus: the government must reach a compromise, even though it is composed of antagonistic parties. One of the reasons ex ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2023 Swiss Federal Council Election
An election for all seven members of the Federal Council (Switzerland), Federal Council, Switzerland's government, were held on 13 December 2023 for the 2024–2028 term. It followed the 2023 Swiss federal election, federal election held a month earlier and partly depended on its results. All Federal Councillors except Alain Berset were running for re-election. Per an informal agreement between the political parties known as the Magic formula (Swiss politics), magic formula, incumbents are traditionally left unopposed and open seats are only contested by the incumbent's party, ensuring the partisan balance. The federal assembly elected Beat Jans to replace Alain Berset after three rounds of voting. All other councillors were re-elected. Elections for President of the Swiss Confederation and Vice President of the Federal Council, as well as for Chancellor of Switzerland, also took place; Federal Councillor Viola Amherd was elected president for the year 2024 following an informal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2015 Swiss Federal Council Election
An election for all seven members of the Federal Council, the Government of Switzerland, was held on 9 December 2015, following the federal election on 19 October 2015, for the 2016–2020 term. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, a member of the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD), announced she would not run for reelection after the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) won a record 29.4% of the vote, whilst her own party received 4.1% of the vote. The SVP/UDC was widely expected to fill her seat in the election; it chose Thomas Aeschi (Zug), Guy Parmelin (Vaud) and Norman Gobbi (Ticino) as candidates for the seat, with Aeschi being the favourite at the time. Guy Parmelin, of the SVP/UDC, was ultimately elected by the Federal Assembly on 9 December 2015. Parmelin, a farmer and winegrower from Bursins in the canton of Vaud, became the first Federal Councillor of the Swiss People's Party from the French-speaking part of Switzerland. There was a minor cabinet reshuffle after the elect ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Guy Parmelin
Guy Bernard Parmelin (; born 9 November 1959) is a Swiss Federal Councillor and head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he has been a member of the Federal Council since 2016, and has led the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research since 2019. He previously led the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports between 2016 and 2018. He served as president of Switzerland in 2021 and is currently serving as the vice president since 2025, having previously served as vice president of Switzerland in 2020. (Page visited on 9 December 2015). Early life and education Parmelin was born 9 November 1959 in Bursins, the oldest of three children, to Richard Parmelin, a farmer and winegrower, and Jeannine Parmelin (née Favre). He has a brother and a sister. He completed his Matura in 1977 and then completed a diploma in agriculture at the Cantonal Agricultural College Marcelin in Morges. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Swissinfo
SWI swissinfo.ch is a Swiss Multilingualism, multilingual international news and information company based in Bern. It is a part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). Its content is Swiss-centred, with top priority given to in-depth information on politics, the economy, the arts, science, education, and direct democracy. Switzerland's international political, economic and cultural relations are other key points of focus. The website is available in ten languages. History SWI swissinfo.ch emerged from the Swiss Radio International (SRI), a business unit of SRG SSR for foreign countries. It was founded in 1935 and had the task of informing the Swiss abroad about what is happening in Switzerland and promoting Switzerland's presence abroad. Originally, radio programs were broadcast via short wave and later via satellites. In the mid-1990s, economic circumstances forced swissinfo.ch to take a new strategic direction. The internet was advancing fast, heralding a new era ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2015 Swiss Federal Election
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 18 October 2015 for the National Council and the first round of elections to the Council of States, with runoff elections to the Council of States being held in various cantons until 22 November. Results showed a shift, due to voter concerns regarding refugee immigration, to the right and increased support for the three largest parties, with the strong showing of Swiss People's Party and FDP.The Liberals possibly affecting future reforms of energy, social security and tax issues, as well as the make-up of the seven-member government. The Swiss People's Party won a record number of seats, taking a third of the 200-seat lower house. The SVP received the highest proportion of votes of any Swiss political party since 1919, when proportional representation was first introduced, and it received more seats in the National Council than any other political party since 1963, when the number of seats was set at 200. The federal election was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ueli Maurer
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer (; born 1 December 1950) is a Swiss politician who served as a List of members of the Swiss Federal Council, Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2022. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019. Formerly head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (2009–2015), Maurer has headed the Federal Department of Finance from 2016 to 2022. From 2019 to 2022, he was the longest-serving sitting member of the Federal Council. An accountant by occupation, Maurer chaired the Swiss People's Party from 1996 to 2008. Elected by the Federal Assembly (Switzerland), Swiss Federal Assembly to succeed Federal Councillor Samuel Schmid in 2008 Swiss Federal Council election, 2008, he took office on 1 January 2009. Maurer served as Vice President of Switzerland for 2012 and 2018 and President of Switzerland for 2013 and 2019. He was reelected to the Federal Council in 2011 Swis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pierre Cormon
Pierre Cormon, born 1965 in Ambilly, France, is a Swiss writer and has published books in French, Brazilian Portuguese and English, including ''Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners''.Le Temps See Biography He began his career as a journalist with '' Le Nouveau Quotidien'' in 1992, then worked as a delegate for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, Yemen and Rwanda between 1993 and 1996. He resumed his career as a journalist with the '' Journal de Genève'', ''La Liberté'' and ''Entreprise romande''. At the same time, between 2000 and 2005, he studied the oud (oriental lute) at the Arabic Oud House in Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ..., under the guidance of the Iraqi master Naseer Shamma. He drew on this experience in his novel Le Tra� ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Samuel Schmid
Samuel Schmid (born 8 January 1947) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2000 to 2008. He was the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (notably acting as a defense minister for Switzerland). Schmid was born in Rüti bei Büren, Canton of Bern. He was elected to the Federal Council on 6 December 2000. He was a member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), and is now a member of The Centre. During his time in office he has held the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports. In 2004, he was the vice- President of the Confederation and President in 2005. Schmid was a member of the SVP's centrist/agrarian wing. He was put under pressure by the party's nationalist wing, led by National Councillor Christoph Blocher, for taking a moderate stance on certain issues. After the SVP became the largest party in the Federal Assembly in the 2003 federal elections, the SVP threatened to remove S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |