Swiss federal election, 2007

Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, October 21, 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, or 25 November 2007. For the 48th legislative term of the federal parliament (2007–2011), voters in 26 cantons elected all 200 members of the National Council as well as 43 out of 46 members of the Council of States. The other three members of the Council of States for that term of service were elected at an earlier date.The date of the election of the members of the Council of States is a matter of cantonal law. 24 cantons have chosen to let the elections coincide with the federally regulated National Council elections. Two cantons are electing their members of the Council of States at an earlier date: Zug reelected its incumbents Peter Bieri and Rolf Schweiger on 29 October 2006, while Appenzell Innerrhoden elected Ivo Bischofsberger as its one representative in that Council on 29 April 2007.]

On 12 December 2007, the newly elected legislature elected the Swiss federal government, the Swiss Federal Council, for a four-year-term.

The main result was the consolidation of the leading position of the populist Swiss People's Party, at 29% of the popular vote, and the growth of the Green and Green Liberal parties at the expense of the Social Democrats. [main migration of voters was from SPS to GPS and GLP. Minor movements from CVP to GLP, and some migration from all of SPS, CVP and FDP to SVP [http://www.tagblatt.ch/index.php?artikelxml=1416150&ressort=tagblattheute/inland&jahr=2007&ressortcode=&ms=] ] .

Results

National Council

The Swiss People's Party successfully defended its clear position as the strongest party, rising another 2.3% to 29.0% of the popular vote. Support of the Social Democrats eroded to the benefit of the Green and Green Liberal parties.

The right wing with 63 seats (the SVP with 62 seats plus a single seat of the Christian right Federal Democratic Union) is numerically neutralized by the left-wing Red-Green block (43+20 seats). The centrist CVP and the centre-right FDP are likewise symmetrical, with 31 seats each. The remaining 12 seats are taken by the minor parties: 9 in the political center (Liberals, 4 seats; Green Liberals, 3 seats; Evangelical People's Party, 2 seats), besides the regionalist Ticino League, the Christian-left Christian Social Party and the far-left Labour Party with a single seat each.

59 of 200 seats (29.5%) were won by women, as compared to 50 in 2003. Ricardo Lumengo (Social Democrats, born in Angola) is notable as the first black Swiss national councillor. 23 incumbents did not get re-elected and lost their mandate, among them Zürich right wing politician Ulrich Schlüer (SVP).The turnout of the election was 48,9% a rise of 3,7% from the previous elections in 2003.

Council of States

Contrary to the developments in the National Council, the Council of States remains dominated by the traditional "center" parties FDP and CVP.

Robert Cramer (Geneva) is the first member of the Green Party to be elected to the Council of States, joined in the second round by Luc Recordon of Vaud. Verena Diener (Zurich), formerly of the Green Party, wins a Council of States seat for the newly-founded Green Liberal Party. Christine Egerszegi of Aargau (FDP) is the first woman councillor elected in that canton.

econd rounds

The Council of States election was not finalized with the first run on 21 October; twelve seats remained to be distributed in second round elections on 11 November, 18 November or 25 November 2007. [ [http://tagi.ch/dyn/news/schweiz/805079.html Der erste Grüne im Ständerat - Schweiz - Tages-Anzeiger ] ]

The second round saw a number of notable races, for instance the election for the second seat in Zürich, where SP candidate Chantal Galladé agreed to withdraw and support GLP candidate Verena Diener against SVP candidate Ueli Maurer, increasing the centre-left's changes in the second round. [ [http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/zuerich/aktuell/chantal_gallade_verzichtet_1.575094.html Chantal Galladé verzichtet (Zürich , NZZ Online) ] ] In St. Gallen, where no one was elected in the first round, FDP candidate Erika Forster and CVP candidate Eugen David, both incumbents, started a common campaign for reelection against SVP candidate Toni Brunner. [ [http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schweiz/aktuell/brunner_staenderat_st_gallen_1.575039.html CVP und FDP gemeinsam gegen Toni Brunner (Schweiz, NZZ Online) ] ] Four candidates contested the election for the two seats in Tessin -- Dick Marty (FDP, over 40,000 votes in the first round), Filippo Lombardi (CVP), Franco Cavalli (SP) -- both of whom had over 30,000 votes -- and finally Attilio Bignasca (Lega). [ [http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schweiz/aktuell/lombardi_erhaelt_schuetzenhilfe_von_der_lega__1.576581.html Lombardi erhält Schützenhilfe von der Lega (Schweiz, NZZ Online) ] ] The two incumbents from the FDP and CVP were reelected on 18 November.

The second seat for Lucerne was handed to CVP candidate Konrad Graber in so-called "silent election" when no other candidate filed to run against him in the second round. Graber had narrowly failed to be elected in the first round. [ [http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schweiz/aktuell/stille_wahl_im_kanton_luzern_1.574544.html Stille Ständeratswahl im Kanton Luzern (Schweiz, NZZ Online) ] ] The second mandate in Fribourg and Wallis was also decided in this way.

Results

References

* [http://sotomo.geo.unizh.ch/publi "Political Map of Switzerland" "Hermann, M. und Leuthold, H. (2003): Die politische Landkarte des Nationalrats 1999-2003. In: Tages-Anzeiger, 11. Oktober, 2003, Zürich."]
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Footnotes

ee also