The Geneva Citizens' Movement (french: Mouvement Citoyens Genevois), abbreviated to MCG, is a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develope ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or po ...

in the

Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On its own initiative, it started, and is a part of, the wider Romandy Citizens' Movement (french: Mouvement Citoyens Romand), abbreviated to MCR.

History

The MCG was co-founded in 2005 by Éric Stauffer and Georges Letellier. It established itself as the canton's third most powerful political party in the 2009 legislative election, winning 17 out of 100 seats in the

Grand Council of Geneva The Grand Council of Geneva (french: Grand Conseil de Genève) is the legislature of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva, styled as a 'Republic and Canton', has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council was established in its prese ...

. In 2010, the MCG formed a wider party organization with chapters throughout the cantons of

Romandy Romandy (french: Romandie or )Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (french: Suisse française) waalso used german: Romandie or , it, Romandia, rm, Romanda) is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 mill ...

, called the ''Mouvement Citoyen Romand'' (MCR). However, only the Geneva chapter has seen real success. The MCG made large gains in the March 2011 cantonal local elections, helping end a 20-year-old majority by left-of-center parties in the parliament of the city of Geneva. In 2013, the MCG further increased its share in the Grand Council of Geneva to 20 seats. In addition, it gained a seat in the Council of State of Geneva, the executive organ of the canton, with Mauro Poggia taking the seat. In the federal election of October 2011, the MCG won one of Geneva's eleven seats in the National Council, with Mauro Poggia (b. 1959), formerly of the Christian Democrats and also the Italian

Union of Christian and Centre Democrats The Union of the Centre ( it, Unione di Centro, UdC), whose complete name is "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" (''Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro'', UDC), is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy. Lore ...

. The MCG retained its one seat in the 2015 elections, later losing it in the 2019 elections.

Grand Council of Geneva election results

Ideology

The MCG calls itself neither left- nor

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

, but it is often referred to as

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, or

xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

by political opponents and the media. The MCG campaigns on a platform of opposition to established party politics ('' classe politique'') and to the 65,000 cross-border commuters from France, calling for the priority allocation of jobs to Swiss citizens. The MCG takes

eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

or nationalist positions, such as supporting the preeminence of

Swiss law Swiss law is a set of rules which constitutes the law in Switzerland. Structure and Sources There is a hierarchy of political levels which reflects the legal and constitutional character of Switzerland. The Federal law (german: Bundesrecht, f ...

before

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

, opposing the bilateral accords with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

, and supporting reducing immigration. In addition, it supported a strict implementation of the 2014 Swiss immigration referendum, which aimed to limit immigration through quotas. As of 2015, the MCG supports increased funding for

renewable energies Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. It believes more controls on social welfare are needed, but it does not support reducing benefits in order to reduce costs, preferring "a general reform of the system and not ineffective half-measures." As of 2015, the MCG supports registered partnerships for

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countrie ...

but opposes full legalization.

Presidents

* Georges Letellier (2005–2006) * Georges Jost (2006–2008) * Éric Stauffer (2008–2012) * Roger Golay (2012–2016) * Ana Roch (2016–)

References

External links

Geneva Citizens' Movement official website

Romandy Citizens' Movement official webpage (subpage of MCG website)
{{Authority control Political parties in the canton of Geneva Political parties established in 2005 2005 establishments in Switzerland National conservative parties Regionalist parties Right-wing populism in Switzerland Right-wing parties in Switzerland