Swiss political parties reveal their colours
Not sure who to vote for ahead of Swiss federal elections on October 18? swissinfo.ch asked the country’s main political parties where they stand on key issues such as relations with the European Union, immigration and banking secrecy.
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- Are bilateral accords with the EU indispensable for Switzerland?
- Should the mass immigration initiative be strictly implemented?
- Should the government be able to intervene in exchange rates, or should the Swiss National Bank (SNB) continue to have full independence?
- Should banking secrecy also be dropped for Swiss citizens?
- Should renewable energies receive more funds?
- Does Switzerland place too much value on public transport – to the detriment of private transport?
- Is the army’s current budget enough?
- Should the list of benefits for basic health insurance be limited in order to combat rising health costs?
- Should the age of retirement be adjusted given increasing life expectancy?
- Is it too easy to get social welfare in Switzerland?
- Should the asylum policy be tightened further?
- Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- Should funds for development aid be increased?
- Should Swiss law come before international law?
- Should the right to launch initiatives be limited?
We received no information from the Christian Social Party Obwalden, which has one seat in the House of Representatives
Are bilateral accords with the EU indispensable for Switzerland? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | For the moment yes |
| Radical Party | Yes |
| Christian Democratic Party | Yes |
| Green Party | Yes |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Yes |
| Protestant Party | Yes |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No |
Should the mass immigration initiative be strictly implemented? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | Yes |
| Christian Democratic Party | Yes, but without jeopardising relations with the EU |
| Green Party | No. An EU-compatible arrangement is needed in order to retain the bilateral accords |
| Liberal Green Party | No. Retaining the bilateral path with the EU has priority |
| Conservative Democratic Party | The will of the people should be respected without jeopardising the bilateral accords |
| Protestant Party | It’s dangerous to question a referendum. We must renegotiate within the framework of the bilateral accords |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes |
Should the government be able to intervene in exchange rates, or should the Swiss National Bank (SNB) continue to have full independence? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Independence |
| Social Democratic Party | Independence, but the SNB should be accountable to parliament |
| Radical Party | Independence |
| Christian Democratic Party | Independence |
| Green Party | Independence |
| Liberal Green Party | Independence |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Independence |
| Protestant Party | Independence |
| Lega dei ticinesi | The government should keep a certain room to manoeuvre open regarding intervention |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Independence |
Should banking secrecy also be dropped for Swiss citizens? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | Yes |
| Radical Party | No |
| Christian Democratic Party | This issue must be discussed |
| Green Party | Yes |
| Liberal Green Party | We lean towards no |
| Conservative Democratic Party | No, but it shouldn’t be abused in order to hide criminal behaviour |
| Protestant Party | Yes |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No |
Should renewable energies receive more funds? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | Yes |
| Radical Party | Yes, with incentives but without subsidies |
| Christian Democratic Party | Yes, but without distorting the market |
| Green Party | Yes |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Yes |
| Protestant Party | First an incentive scheme for renewable energies must be promoted |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes |
Does Switzerland place too much value on public transport – to the detriment of private transport? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | No. A joint development of the entire transport system is needed |
| Christian Democratic Party | No. Road and rail are not in competition – they complement each other |
| Green Party | No. More value should be placed on ‘soft mobility’ (enabling people to get around without a car) |
| Liberal Green Party | No |
| Conservative Democratic Party | It’s not necessary to set the two forms of transport against each other |
| Protestant Party | No. Public transport has ‘right of way’ |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes. Car drivers are criminalised and fleeced – in particular by Via Sicura (a government programme to reduce road accidents) |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes |
Is the army’s current budget enough? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | Yes |
| Radical Party | We support an army with a budget of CHF5 billion |
| Christian Democratic Party | Yes |
| Green Party | Yes, by a large margin |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Yes |
| Protestant Party | Yes |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes, but the current level should not be reduced |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No. We must maintain a strong and credible army |
Should the list of benefits for basic health insurance be limited in order to combat rising health costs? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | Yes |
| Christian Democratic Party | No, but the benefits should be steered towards quality and effectiveness |
| Green Party | No. What’s needed are more health promotion programmes and a better organisation of the system |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Not necessarily, but no new ones should be added |
| Protestant Party | No, but the health system should be made more transparent |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No. What’s needed is a general reform of the system and not ineffective half-measures |
Should the age of retirement be adjusted given increasing life expectancy? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | Yes, we need a flexible age of retirement |
| Christian Democratic Party | No |
| Green Party | No. Rather we need a sliding pension system that takes into account the age at which people start working |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Yes |
| Protestant Party | Yes. Raising the retirement age is preferable to lowering pensions |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No. Older employees are already excluded too much from the labour market |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes, but the sliding age of retirement should be handled flexibly |
Is it too easy to get social welfare in Switzerland? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | Yes. Currently there are abuses of the system which need to be sorted out |
| Christian Democratic Party | No |
| Green Party | No |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | No, but controls should not be relaxed |
| Protestant Party | No, although priorities must be reviewed and more weight placed on reintegration into the workplace |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes, immigrants in particular |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes. There are not enough controls |
Should the asylum policy be tightened further? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | No. The existing measures should be applied |
| Christian Democratic Party | No. The priority is applying the existing legislation |
| Green Party | No |
| Liberal Green Party | We lean towards no, but cases should be dealt with faster and abuses dealt with firmly |
| Conservative Democratic Party | No |
| Protestant Party | No. The international context should be taken into account. But cases must be dealt with faster |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes |
Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | Yes |
| Radical Party | We have supported reforms for a registered partnership |
| Christian Democratic Party | No |
| Green Party | Yes. They should also have the right to adopt |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Yes |
| Protestant Party | No |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No. A registered partnership is enough |
Should funds for development aid be increased? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | Yes |
| Radical Party | Yes |
| Christian Democratic Party | No. Parliament has committed to raising funds to 0.5% of GDP. We support that |
| Green Party | Yes. The budget should be raised from 0.5% to 0.7% of GDP, the target of the UN |
| Liberal Green Party | Yes |
| Conservative Democratic Party | No |
| Protestant Party | Yes. Development aid must be raised to at least 0.7% of GDP |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No. They should be reduced |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No |
Should Swiss law come before international law? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | Yes |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | No, but international law should be approved by the Swiss before being implemented |
| Christian Democratic Party | In principle yes, but obligatory standards of international law take precedence over national law |
| Green Party | No |
| Liberal Green Party | No |
| Conservative Democratic Party | Yes |
| Protestant Party | When it’s a question of human rights, the Swiss can’t go their own way. International law guarantees basic rights in Switzerland |
| Lega dei ticinesi | Yes |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | Yes |
Should the right to launch initiatives be limited? |
|
|---|---|
| Swiss People’s Party | No |
| Social Democratic Party | No |
| Radical Party | No |
| Christian Democratic Party | No, but some regulations should be clarified |
| Green Party | Yes. Initiatives must respect the principles of the European Human Rights Convention |
| Liberal Green Party | No |
| Conservative Democratic Party | No |
| Protestant Party | No. The right to launch initiatives represents a democratic and valuable achievement and is an indispensable counterforce of the people |
| Lega dei ticinesi | No |
| Geneva Citizens‘ Movement | No |
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