TY - JOUR
T1 - The 2015 National Elections in Switzerland
T2 - Renewed Polarization and Shift to the Right
AU - Bochsler, Daniel
AU - Gerber, Marlène
AU - Zumbach, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - ABSTRACT: The 2015 election to the Swiss Parliament marks a return to an already observed trend that was only interrupted in 2011: a shift to the right and an increase in polarization. The vote share of the nationalist-conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP) has now reached a historical height of 29.4% (+2.8). This note discusses why cantons matter in the Swiss national elections, and to what degree elections have become nationalized. Institutionally, the 26 cantons serve as electoral districts. This leads to a highly disproportional electoral system and has magnified the minor vote shifts to a slightly more pronounced shift in seats, with the right now holding a tiny majority of 101 of 200 seats in the first chamber. The two winners, the SVP and the Liberals, also had most campaign funds at their disposal. They were able to guide an extensive nationwide campaign in which they advocated their core issues instead of candidates. Other parties only advertised at the cantonal level.
AB - ABSTRACT: The 2015 election to the Swiss Parliament marks a return to an already observed trend that was only interrupted in 2011: a shift to the right and an increase in polarization. The vote share of the nationalist-conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP) has now reached a historical height of 29.4% (+2.8). This note discusses why cantons matter in the Swiss national elections, and to what degree elections have become nationalized. Institutionally, the 26 cantons serve as electoral districts. This leads to a highly disproportional electoral system and has magnified the minor vote shifts to a slightly more pronounced shift in seats, with the right now holding a tiny majority of 101 of 200 seats in the first chamber. The two winners, the SVP and the Liberals, also had most campaign funds at their disposal. They were able to guide an extensive nationwide campaign in which they advocated their core issues instead of candidates. Other parties only advertised at the cantonal level.
KW - Elections
KW - Switzerland
KW - election campaign
KW - party nationalization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960153204&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13597566.2016.1147029
DO - 10.1080/13597566.2016.1147029
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84960153204
SN - 1359-7566
VL - 26
SP - 95
EP - 106
JO - Regional and Federal Studies
JF - Regional and Federal Studies
IS - 1
ER -