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 develop ...

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 p ...

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. 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 Éric Stauffer, born on October 24, 1964 in Carouge, is a Swiss politician from Homberg. He chairs the Genevan Citizens Movement from 2008 to 2012 . Early life and family Stauffer was born in Caprioli on 24 October 1964, to a Genevan father an ...

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 pres ...

. 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 milli ...

, 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 Council of State of Geneva (french: Conseil d'État de Genève) is the executive organ of the République and Canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. Geneva has a seven-member '' Conseil d'État''. The last elections were held on 28 March 2021. M ...

, 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 __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

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 The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015. Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burun ...

, later losing it in the 2019 elections.

Grand Council of Geneva election results

Ideology

The MCG calls itself neither left- nor right-wing, 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 Establ ...

, far-right, 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 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 de ...

, 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 countries ...

but opposes full legalization.

Presidents

* Georges Letellier (2005–2006) * Georges Jost (2006–2008) *

(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