This is a list of political parties in Switzerland.
Switzerland has a multi-party system. Since 1959, the four largest parties have formed a coalition government, according to a Zauberformel or "magic formula". This arithmetic formula divides the seven cabinet seats among representatives of the four largest parties.[1]
The following parties are represented either in the Swiss Federal Assembly as of 2022 or in cantonal parliaments and executive councils as of 2021.[2] For their names in the four national languages of Switzerland, see #Names in the national languages below.
For more detailed information on the political positions of some of the parties listed below, see here:[3] For Swiss political party strength on the municipal level, see here:[4]
Party | Website | Leader | Main ideology | Position | Members in | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FC | CS | NC | C exec | C leg. | Members | |||||||
SVP/UDC | Swiss People's Party | svp.ch | Marco Chiesa | National conservatism | Right-wing | 2 / 7 |
7 / 46 |
53 / 200 |
26 / 154 |
554 / 2,594 |
90,000 (2015)[5] | |
SP/PS | Social Democratic Party | sp-ps.ch | Cédric Wermuth Mattea Meyer |
Social democracy | Left-wing | 2 / 7 |
6 / 46 |
39 / 200 |
30 / 154 |
438 / 2,594 |
30,000 (2015)[5] | |
FDP/PLR | FDP.The Liberals | fdp.ch | Thierry Burkart | Classical liberalism | Centre to centre-right | 2 / 7 |
12 / 46 |
29 / 200 |
36 / 154 [a] |
507 / 2,594 [b] |
120,000 (2015)[5] | |
DM/LC/AdC | The Centre | die-mitte.ch | Gerhard Pfister | Christian democracy | Centre to centre-right | 1 / 7 |
14 / 46 |
28 / 200 |
39 / 154 |
424 / 2,594 |
- | |
GPS/PES | Green Party | gruene.ch | Balthasar Glättli | Green politics | Left-wing | 0 / 7 |
5 / 46 |
28 / 200 |
7 / 154 |
258 / 2,594 |
7,500 (2015)[5] | |
GLP/PVL | Green Liberal Party | grunliberale.ch | Jürg Grossen | Green liberalism | Centre | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
16 / 200 |
2 / 154 |
157 / 2,594 |
3,800 (2015)[5] | |
EVP/PEV | Evangelical People's Party | evppev.ch | Lilian Studer | Christian democracy | Centre | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
3 / 200 |
1 / 154 |
42 / 2,594 |
4,600 (2015)[5] | |
Lega | Ticino League | lega-dei-ticinesi.ch | Attilio Bignasca | Ticino regionalism | Right-wing | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
1 / 200 |
2 / 154 |
14 / 2,594 |
1,500 (2015)[5] | |
CSP OW | Christian Social Party of Obwalden | csp-ow.ch | Christian Schäli Sepp Stalder |
Christian left | Centre-left | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 154 |
1 / 154 |
6 / 2,594 |
250 (2015)[5] | |
PdA/PST/POP | Swiss Party of Labour | pst-pop.ch | Norberto Crivelli | Communism | Left-wing[6] to far-left | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
1 / 200 |
0 / 154 |
13 / 2,594 |
||
MCG | Geneva Citizens' Movement | mcge.ch | Ana Roch | Geneva regionalism | Right-wing | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 200 |
0 / 154 |
14 / 2,594 |
1,500 (2015)[5] | |
Sol | Solidarity | solidarites.ch | – | Anti-capitalism | Left-wing to far-left | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
1 / 200 |
1 / 154 |
1 / 2,594 |
||
EDU/UDF | Federal Democratic Union | edu-schweiz.ch | Hans Moser | Right-wing populism | Right-wing | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
1 / 200 |
0 / 154 |
19 / 2,594 |
3,000 (2011)[7] | |
CSP/PCS | Christian Social Party | csp-pcs.ch | Marius Achermann | Christian left | Centre-left | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 200 |
1 / 154 |
14 / 2,594 |
1,500 (2011)[7] | |
AL-ZH | Alternative List | al-zh.ch | – | Socialism | Left-wing | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 200 |
0 / 154 |
0 / 2,594 |
||
AL-BE | Alternative Left Bern | al-be.ch | – | Democratic socialism | Left-wing | 0 / 7 |
0 / 46 |
0 / 200 |
0 / 154 |
10 / 2,594 |
2,000 (2011)[7] | |
Total | 7 | [c] | 200 | 154[d][8] | 2594[e][9] |
The following groups or parties are not represented at either the cantonal or national level (but may hold positions in municipal parliaments).
Abbr. | Name | W | Leader | Ideology | Founded | Popular vote[f] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PPS | Pirate Party | [1] | Denis Simonet | Pirate politics, liberalism | 2009 | 0.27% (2019) | |
SD/DS | Swiss Democrats | [2] | Bernhard Hess | Right-wing, national conservatism | 1961 | 0.13% (2019) | |
SLB/MSL | Social Liberal Movement | [3] | Samuel Schmid | Centre-right, social conservatism | 2011 | 0.1% (2015) | |
LP/PL | Libertarian Party | [4] | Simon Scherrer | Libertarianism | 2014 | 0.01% (2019) | |
FPS/PSL | Freedom Party | [5] | Peter Commarmot | Right-wing, national liberalism | 1984 | n/a | |
HPS/PHS | Swiss Humanist Party | [6] | Daniel Horowitz | Humanist Movement | 1984 | n/a | |
KVP | Catholic People's Party | [7] | Lukas Brühwiler-Frésey | Catholic social teaching | 1994 | n/a | |
TPS/PSpA | Tierpartei Schweiz | [8] | Thomas Märki | Animal rights | 2010 | 0.15% (2015) | |
Parteifrei | [9] | Lukas Harder | Voluntary association of independent politicians formed for the 2011 elections; opposing party politics | 2011 | 0.19% (2015) | ||
MontagnaViva | [10] | Germano Mattei | Regionalism (Alpine Ticino) | 2011 | 0.08% (2015) | ||
Alpenparlament | [11] | Alternative medicine | 2011 | 0.06% (2015) | |||
Konfessionslose | [12] | Separation of church and state | 2011 | 0.05% (2015) | |||
Volksaktion | [13] | Eric Weber | Right-wing populism (Basel-Stadt) | 2002 | 0.03% (2015) | ||
La gauche combative | [14] | Communism (Geneva) | 2002 | 0.03% (2015) | |||
Les Rauraques | [15] | Jura separatism (Bernese Jura) | 2011 | 0.03% (2015) |
Abbr. | Party | German | French | Italian | Romansh | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SVP/UDC | Swiss People's Party | Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) | Union démocratique du Centre (UDC) | Unione Democratica di Centro (UDC) | Partida populara Svizra (PPS) | |
SP/PS | Social Democratic Party | Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz (SP) | Parti socialiste suisse (PS) | Partito Socialista Svizzero (PS) | Partida socialdemocratica da la Svizra (PS) | |
FDP/PRD | Free Democratic Party | Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der Schweiz (FDP) | Parti radical-démocratique suisse (PRD) | Partito Liberale Radicale (PLR) | Partida liberaldemocrata da la Svizra (PLD) | |
Mitte/Centre | The Centre | Die Mitte (DM) | Le Centre (LC) | Alleanza del Centro (AdC) | Allianza dal Center (AdC) | |
GPS/PES | Green Party | Grüne Partei der Schweiz (Die Grünen) | Parti écologiste suisse (Les Verts) | Partito Ecologista Svizzero (I Verdi) | Partida ecologica svizra (Ils Verds) | |
CSP/PCS | Christian Social Party | Christlich-soziale Partei (CSP) | Parti chrétien-social (PCS) | Partito Cristiano Sociale (PCS) | Partida cristiansociala da la Svizra (PCS) | |
CVP/PDC | Christian Democratic People's Party | Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz (CVP) | Parti démocrate-chrétien suisse (PDC) | Partito Popolare Democratico (PPD) | Partida Cristian-democratica da la Svizra (PCD) | |
BDP/PBD | Conservative Democratic Party | Bürgerlich-Demokratische Partei Schweiz (BDP) | Parti bourgeois démocratique Suisse (PBD) | Partito borghese democratico Svizzera (PBD) | Partida burgais democratica Svizra (PBD) | |
EVP/PEV | Evangelical People's Party | Evangelische Volkspartei der Schweiz (EVP) | Parti évangelique suisse (PEV) | Partito Evangelico Svizzero (PE) | Partida evangelica svizra (PEV) | |
FPS/PSL | Freedom Party | Freiheits-Partei der Schweiz (FPS) | Parti suisse de la liberté (PSL) | Partito svizzero della Libertà (PSL) | Partida svizra da la libertad (PSL) | |
LPS/PLS | Liberal Party | Liberale Partei der Schweiz (LPS) | Parti libéral suisse (PLS) | Partito Liberale Svizzero (PLS) | Partida liberal-conservativa Svizra (PLC) | |
AL | Alternative Left | Alternative Linke (AL) | La Gauche (LG) | La Sinistra (LS) | Alternativa sanestra (AS) | |
SD/DS | Swiss Democrats | Schweizer Demokraten (SD) | Démocrates suisses (DS) | Democratici Svizzeri (DS) | Democrats svizers (DS) | |
Lega | Ticino League | Liga der Tessiner | Ligue des Tessinois | Lega dei Ticinesi | Liga dals Tessinais | |
EDU/UDF | Federal Democratic Union | Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union (EDU) | Union démocratique fédérale (UDF) | Unione Democratica Federale (UDF) | Uniun democrata federala (UDF) | |
PdA/PST | Swiss Party of Labour | Partei der Arbeit der Schweiz (PdA) | Parti suisse du travail – Parti ouvrier et populaire (PST-POP) | Partito Svizzero del Lavoro – Partito Operaio e Popolare (PC) | Partida svizra da la lavur (PdL) | |
GLP/PVL | Green Liberal Party | Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz (GLP) | Parti vert'libéral (PVL) | Partito Verde Liberale (PVL) | Partida verda-liberala (PVL) | |
MCG | Geneva Citizens' Movement | Genfer Bürgerbewegung | Mouvement citoyens genevois (MCG) | Movimento dei Cittadini Ginevrini | ||
CSP OW | Christian Social Party of Obwalden | Christlichsoziale Partei Obwalden (CSP OW) | Parti chrétien-social d'Obwald | |||
Sol | Solidarity | Solidarität | solidaritéS | Solidarità | Solidaritad | |
SLB/MSL | Social Liberal Movement | Sozial-Liberale Bewegung | Mouvement socio-libéral | Movimento social-liberale | ||
SD/DS | Swiss Democrats | Schweizer Demokraten (SD) | Démocrates suisses (DS) | Democratici Svizzeri (DS) | Democrats svizers (DS) | |
FPS/PSL | Freedom Party | Freiheits-Partei der Schweiz | Parti suisse de la liberté | Partito svizzero della Libertà | Partida Svizra da la Libertad | |
HPS/PHS | Swiss Humanist Party | Humanistische Partei der Schweiz | Parti Humaniste de la Suisse | Partito Umanista della Svizzera | Partida umanistica da la Svizra | |
KVP | Catholic People's Party | Katholische Volkspartei | Parti populaire catholique | Partito Popolare Cattolico | Partida populara catolica | |
PPS | Pirate Party | Piratenpartei Schweiz | Parti Pirate Suisse | Partito Pirata Svizzera | Partida da Pirats Svizra | |
TPS/PSpA | Tierpartei Schweiz | Tierpartei Schweiz (TPS) | Parti suisse pour les animaux (PSpA) | Partito svizzero per gli animali (PSpA) | Partida svizra d'animals (PSA) | |
up! | The Swiss Independence Party up! | Unabhängigkeitspartei up! | Parti suisse de l'indépendance | up! Switzerland |
Sources: The Swiss Federal Chancellery
Party | Number of elected representatives at the federal, cantonal and communal levels |
---|---|
FDP.The Liberals | 2,011
|
Social Democratic Party | 1,863
|
Swiss People's Party | 1,511
|
Christian Democratic Party | 1,205
|
Conservative Democratic Party | 173
|