Switzerland is a
semi-direct democratic federal republic. The federal
legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the
Federal Assembly: the
National Council and the
Council of States. The
Federal Council holds the executive power and is composed of seven power-sharing Federal Councillors elected by the Federal Assembly. The
judicial branch is headed by the
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, whose judges are elected by the Federal Assembly.
Switzerland has a tradition of
direct democracy. For any change in the constitution, a
referendum is mandatory (
mandatory referendum
A mandatory referendum, also known as an obligatory referendum, is a referendum that is legally required to be held under specific circumstances. This is in contrast to an optional referendum, which comes from either by public or legislative r ...
); for any change in a
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
, a referendum can be requested (
optional referendum
The optional referendum is a referendum which comes from a request by governmental authorities or the public. The best known types of optional referendums is the popular initiative to request a law, and the popular (or abrogative) referendum to ...
). In addition, the people may present a
constitutional popular initiative to introduce amendments to the
federal constitution. The people also assume a role similar to the constitutional court, which does not exist, and thus act as the guardian of the rule of law.
Cantonal and municipal politics vary in the different cantons, which may have different systems.
Direct representation
Switzerland features a system of government not seen in any other nation: direct representation, sometimes called half-direct democracy (this may be arguable, because theoretically, the sovereign of Switzerland is actually its entire electorate).
Referendums on the most important laws have been used since the
1848 constitution.
Amendments to the Federal Constitution of Switzerland, the joining of international organisations, or changes to federal laws that have no foundation in the constitution but will remain in force for more than one year must be approved by the majority of both the people and the
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, ...
, a
double majority.
Any citizen may challenge a law that has been passed by parliament. If that person is able to gather 50,000 signatures against the law within 100 days, a national vote has to be scheduled where voters decide by a
simple majority of the voters whether to accept or reject the law.
[Pierre Cormon, Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners], Editions Slatkine, 2014, ]
Furthermore, any citizen may seek a decision on an
Constitutional amendment, amendment they want to make to the constitution. For such a
federal popular initiative to be organised, the signatures of 100,000 voters must be collected within 18 months. Such a
federal popular initiative is formulated as a precise new text (general proposal initiatives have been canceled in 2009) whose wording can no longer be changed by parliament and the government. After a successful signature gathering, the
Federal Council may create a counterproposal to the proposed amendment and put it to vote on the same day as the original proposal. Such counterproposals are usually a compromise between the ''
status quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...
'' and the wording of the initiative. Voters will decide in a national vote whether to accept the initiative amendment, the counterproposal put forward by the government if any, or both. If both are accepted, one has to additionally signal a preference. Initiatives (that are of constitutional level) have to be accepted by a
double majority of both the popular votes and a majority of the cantons, while counter-proposals may be of legislative level and hence require only simple majority.
Federal level
Federalism refers to a vertical separation of powers. The aim is to avoid the concentration of power in a forum, which allows a moderation of state power and the easing of the duties of the federal state.
In Switzerland, it is above all a matter of designating the independence of the cantons vis-à-vis the Confederation.
Executive branch
The
Swiss Federal Council is a seven-member executive council that heads the
federal administration, operating as a combination
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
and
collective presidency
President is a common title for the head of state in most republics. The president of a nation is, generally speaking, the head of the government and the fundamental leader of the country or the ceremonial head of state.
The functions exercis ...
. Any Swiss citizen eligible to be a member of the
National Council can be elected; candidates do not have to register for the election, or to actually be members of the National Council. The Federal Council is elected by the
Federal Assembly for a four-year term. Present members are:
Viola Amherd (DM/LC),
Guy Parmelin (SVP/UDC),
Ueli Maurer
Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer (; born 1 December 1950) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2009. A member of the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 20 ...
(SVP/UDC),
Ignazio Cassis (FDP/PLR),
Simonetta Sommaruga
Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2010. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and 202 ...
(SP/PS),
Karin Keller-Sutter
Karin Keller-Sutter (born 22 December 1963) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2019. A member of FDP.The Liberals, she is the head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police. Keller-Sutter pr ...
(FDP/PLR) and
Alain Berset
Alain Berset (; born 9 April 1972) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2012. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he has headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs since he took off ...
(SP/PS).
The largely ceremonial
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and Vice President of the Confederation are elected by the Federal Assembly from among the members of the Federal Council for one-year terms that run concurrently. The President has almost no powers over and above his or her six colleagues, but undertakes representative functions normally performed by a president or prime minister in single-executive systems. The current () President and Vice President are
Ignazio Cassis and
Alain Berset
Alain Berset (; born 9 April 1972) is a Swiss politician who has served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2012. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he has headed the Federal Department of Home Affairs since he took off ...
, respectively.
The Swiss executive is one of the most stable governments worldwide. Since 1848, it has never been renewed entirely at the same time, providing a long-term continuity. From 1959 to 2003 the Federal Council was composed of a coalition of all major parties in the same ratio: two each from the (now-defunct)
Free Democratic Party,
Social Democratic Party and (now-defunct)
Christian Democratic People's Party and one from the
Swiss People's Party. Changes in the Federal Council occur typically only if one of the members resigns (merely four incumbent members were voted out of the office in over 150 years); this member is almost always replaced by someone from the same party (and often also from the same linguistic group).
The Federal Chancellor is the head of the
Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, which acts as the general staff of the Federal Council. The Chancellery is divided into three distinct sectors. The Chancellor, currently
Walter Thurnherr
Walter Thurnherr (born 11 July 1963) is a Swiss government official who has served as Chancellor of Switzerland since 2016. Although he holds a traditionally nonpartisan office, he was elected as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Pa ...
, is the formal head of the Federal Chancellor Sector, comprising the planning and strategy section, the Internal Services section, the political rights section, the federal crisis management training unit of the Federal Administration and the Records and Process Management section.
Two sectors are headed by the
Vice-Chancellors: the Federal Council sector headed by
Viktor Rossi
Viktor Rossi (born 31 October 1968 in Bern) is a Swiss politician and civil servant. A member of the Green Liberal Party, he became Vice-Chancellor of Switzerland on 1 May 2019.
Biography
Rossi attended primary and secondary school in the canto ...
manages the agenda of the Federal Council's meeting. This sector comprises the Section for Federal Council Affairs, the Legal Section, the Official Publications Centre and the Central Language Services. The Information and Communications Sector is led by Vice-Chancellor
André Simonazzi
André Simonazzi (born 1968) is a Swiss journalist born in Monthey. He currently holds the office of Vice Chancellor and spokesman for the Swiss Federal Council, since April 2009.
Simonazzi attended thCollège de l’Abbayein St. Maurice, where ...
; this role also has expanded to become the official spokesman for the Federal Council in 2000. This sector includes the e-Government Section, the Communication Support Section and the Political Forum of the Confederation.
The federal government has been a coalition of the four major political parties since 1959, each party having a number of seats that roughly reflects its share of electorate and representation in the federal parliament. The classic distribution of 2 CVP/PDC, 2 SP/PS, 2 FDP/PRD and 1 SVP/UDC as it stood from 1959 to 2003 was known as the "
magic formula".
This "magic formula" has been repeatedly criticised: in the 1960s, for excluding leftist opposition parties; in the 1980s, for excluding the emerging Green Party; and particularly after the
1999 election, by the Swiss People's Party, which had by then grown from being the fourth-largest party in the National Council to being the largest. In the
2003 federal election, the Swiss People's Party received (effective 1 January 2004) a second seat in the Federal Council, reducing the share of the Christian Democratic Party to one seat.
Legislative branch
Switzerland has a
bicameral parliament called the
Federal Assembly, which is composed by:
* the
Council of States (46 seats, 2 seats per canton, except for six cantons which only have 1), also known as the upper chamber
* the
National Council (200 seats, split between the cantons based on population), also known as the lower chamber
The Federal Assembly convenes to elect the members of the Federal Council.
The two chambers are equal (perfect bicameralism). This power-sharing system serves to avoid monopolization of federal politics by more populated cantons to the detriment of smaller and rural cantons.
Members of both houses serve for 4 years and only serve as members of parliament part-time (so-called "Milizsystem" or
Citizen legislature
A citizen legislature is a legislative chamber made up primarily of citizens who have a full-time occupation besides being a legislator. Such citizen legislatures can be found on the state level, as in some U.S. states, or on the national level as ...
).
Political parties and elections
Switzerland has a rich party landscape. The four parties represented in the Federal Council are generally called the government parties:
The Liberals (FDP/PLR), the
Social Democratic Party (SP/PS),
The Centre (DM/LC) and the
Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC).
Judicial branch
Switzerland has a
Federal Supreme Court, with judges elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly. The function of the
Federal Supreme Court is to hear appeals of cantonal courts or the administrative rulings of the federal administration.
Switzerland does not have a Constitutional Court, and the Supreme Court cannot comment on law put forward by the parliament. This role is assumed by the people, which acts as a guardian and can repeal any legislation or constitutional change.
Administrative divisions
There are 26
cantons in Switzerland. Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts.
In
Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Inner-Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Innerrhoden rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadens; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Interno) is one of the 26 cantons ...
and
Glarus citizens assemble each year for the ''
Landsgemeinde'' (general assembly) to elect the cantonal government and judiciary and to vote on several issues on the agenda (
direct democracy)
Executive branch
Legislative branch
Political conditions
Switzerland has a stable government, with democratic power sharing through
consociationalism
Consociationalism ( ) is a form of democratic power sharing. Political scientists define a consociational state as one which has major internal divisions along ethnic, religious, or linguistic lines, but which remains stable due to consultation a ...
. Most voters support the government in its philosophy of armed neutrality underlying its foreign and defense policies. Domestic policy poses some major problems, to the point that many observers deem that the system is in crisis but the changing international environment has generated a significant reexamination of Swiss policy in key areas such as defense, neutrality, and immigration. Quadrennial national elections typically produce only marginal changes in party representation.
In recent years, Switzerland has seen a gradual shift in the party landscape. The
right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), traditionally the junior partner in the four-party
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
, more than doubled its voting share from 11.0% in 1987 to 22.5% in 1999, rising to 28.9% in 2007, thus overtaking its three coalition partners. This shift in voting shares put a strain on the "
magic formula", the power-broking agreement of the four coalition parties. From 1959 until 2004, the seven-seat cabinet had comprised 2 Free Democrats, 2 Christian Democrats, 2 Social Democrats, and 1 Swiss People's Party, but in 2004, the Swiss People's Party took one seat from the Christian Democrats. In 2008 the
Conservative Democratic Party split from the SVP, taking both of their Federal Council seats with them. However, the SVP eventually retook both seats, in 2009 and 2015 respectively.
The
Swiss Federal Constitution limits federal influence in the formulation of
domestic policy and emphasizes the roles of
private enterprise and
cantonal government. However, in more recent times the powers of the Confederation have increased with regard to
education,
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
health,
energy, the
environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
,
organized crime, and
narcotics.
According to
Freedom House, an American
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active i ...
, Switzerland is among the freest countries in the world, with a 2020 score of 39/40 on
political rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
and 57/60 on
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
(for a combined score of 96/100). Switzerland has a high level of
press freedom
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...
, ranking 8th internationally (out of 180 countries) in the 2020
Press Freedom Index published by
Reporters Without Borders. Additionally, Switzerland is perceived to be among the least
politically corrupt nations in the world, ranking 3rd internationally (tied with
Sweden and
Singapore) in the 2020
Corruption Perceptions Index
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index which ranks countries "by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entru ...
published by
Transparency International.
Foreign relations
Switzerland has avoided alliances that might entail military, political, or direct economic action. In June 2001, Swiss voters approved new legislation providing for the deployment of armed Swiss troops for international peacekeeping missions under
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
or
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe auspices as well as international cooperation in military training. The Swiss have broadened the scope of activities in which they feel able to participate without compromising their neutrality.
Switzerland maintains diplomatic relations with almost all countries and historically has served as a
neutral intermediary and host to major international treaty conferences. The country has no major disputes in its bilateral relations.
Energy politics
The
energy generated in Switzerland comprises 55.2%
hydroelectricity, 39.9% from
nuclear power, about 4% from conventional sources and about 1% other.
On 18 May 2003, two
referendums regarding the future of nuclear power in Switzerland were held. The referendum ''Electricity Without Nuclear'' asked for a decision on a
nuclear power phase-out and ''Moratorium Plus'' asked about an extension of an existing law forbidding the building of new
nuclear power plants
A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ele ...
. Both were turned down: Moratorium Plus by a margin of 41.6% for and 58.4% opposed, and Electricity Without Nuclear by a margin of 33.7% for and 66.3% opposed. The former ten-year
moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants was the result of a
federal popular initiative voted on in 1990 which had passed with 54.5% Yes vs. 45.5% No votes (see
Nuclear power in Switzerland
Nuclear power in Switzerland is generated by three nuclear power plants, with a total of four operational reactors ''(see list below)''. In 2013, they produced 24.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, down 5.8% from 2007, when 26.4 TWh w ...
for details).
In May 2011, due to the
Fukushima accident in Japan, the Swiss government decided to abandon plans to build new nuclear reactors. The country's five existing reactors will be allowed to continue operating, but will not be replaced at the end of their life span. The last will go offline in 2034.
See also
*
Modern history of Switzerland
This article deals with the history of Switzerland since 1848.
See Early Modern Switzerland for the Early Modern period, Switzerland in the Napoleonic era for the period of 1798–1814, and Restoration and Regeneration (Switzerland) for the ...
*
Demographics of Switzerland
This article about the demographics of Switzerland features the population of the Swiss Confederation, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects ...
*
Semidirect democracy
*
Federal popular initiative
*
Referendum,
List of Swiss federal referendums
*
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. ...
*
Constitutional conventions of Switzerland
*
Voting in Switzerland
Notes and References
Bibliography
* Pierre Cormon,
Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners', Editions Slatkine, 2014,
*
*
*
*
*
* Wolf Linder, Yannis Papadopoulos, Hanspeter Kriesi, Peter Knoepfel, Ulrich Klöti, Pascal Sciarini:
**
Handbook of Swiss Politics', Neue Zürcher Zeitung Publishing, 2007, .
**
Handbuch der Schweizer Politik / Manuel de la politique suisse', Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 2007, .
* Vincent Golay and Mix et Remix, ''Swiss political institutions'', Éditions loisirs et pédagogie, 2008. .
External links
Swiss government site
Swiss parliament sitein English
Political rights at the federal level*
ttps://www.ch.ch/en/swiss-political-system Swiss political system
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of Switzerland