Social Democratic Party (Switzerland)
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The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (, SP; ), also called the Swiss Socialist Party (; , PS), is a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. The SP has had two representatives on the
Federal Council Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...
since 1960 and received the second-highest number of votes in the
2023 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 22 October 2023 to elect all members of the National Council (Switzerland), National Council and Council of States (Switzerland), Council of States. The elections were followed by 2023 Swiss Federal ...
. The SP was founded on 21 October 1888 and is currently the second-largest of the four leading coalition political parties in Switzerland. It is the only left-leaning party with representatives on the Federal Council, positioning itself at the
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
. Currently,
Élisabeth Baume-Schneider Élisabeth Baume-Schneider (; born 24 December 1963) is a Swiss politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) and a current member of the Federal Council. She was elected on 7 December 2022, the first elected member from the Can ...
and
Beat Jans Beat Jans (; born 12 July 1964) is a Swiss environmental scientist and politician who serves as a member of the Federal Council, after being elected in 2023 to succeed Alain Berset, assuming office on 1 January 2024. A member of the Social Demo ...
represent the party. As of January 2024, the SP is the second-largest political party in the Federal Assembly. Amongst all
pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina AratĂł, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...
parties in Switzerland the SP is the largest and unlike most other Swiss parties, the SP supports Swiss membership in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. Additionally, it supports labour rights and tax incentives for companies that offer shares to employees. The party is a member of the
Progressive Alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...
and an associate member of the
Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a Social democracy, social democratic European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all the European Economic Area, European economic area states (EEA) plus the Unit ...
.


History

Before the establishment of the national SP, there were various 19th-century
labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
s in Switzerland such as the
GrĂĽtli Union The GrĂĽtli Union (; ) was a political party in Switzerland. History The Union was established in Geneva on 20 May 1838 by Johannes Niederer, and was initially a discussion club for tradespeople. The name was taken from RĂĽtli, an important locat ...
, the
Swiss Trade Union Federation The Swiss Trade Union Federation (, SGB; ; , USS) is the largest national trade union center in Switzerland. History The federation was founded in 1880. The SGB has close ties with the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SPS). Ruth Dreifuss ...
and several local
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
parties. Most of these labour parties only lasted a short time, until the foundation of the Social Democratic Party on 21 October 1888 (the Swiss
Labour Day Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the labour movement and its labor rights, achievements. It has its origins in the trade union, labour union movement, specifically the Eight-hour day movement, eight-hour day movement, which advoca ...
).
Albert Steck Albert Steck (19 December 1843 – 28 November 1899) was a Swiss politician and co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. Life Albert Steck was son of Ludwig Franz Julius Steck, a member of the Bürgergemeinde of Bern and was a ...
of Bern composed the party's
platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...
which emphasised
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
, rejected revolutionary aspirations, and mandated a democratic solution to the social question. The first party president was Alexander Reichel of Bern. Two years after the party's foundation, Jakob Vogelsanger was the first Social Democrat to be elected to the National Council. In 1904, the moderate party platform was replaced at a party conference in Aarau with a
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
program written by Otto Lang. The
first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...
system for elections to the National Council and the borders of the electorates initially prevented the party from achieving serious political power on the national level, despite growing numbers of supporters. Two
popular initiatives A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...
for the introduction of a
proportional voting Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (political parties) among voters. The aim ...
system were rejected. The party's historical archives are hosted today by the
Swiss Social Archives The Swiss Social Archives (, ) in Zurich is a historical archive, an academic library, a collection of documentation and a research facility specialising in social issues and social movements. The Swiss Confederation recognizes the archives as the ...
, which was founded in 1906 by Paul PflĂĽger. At a 1912 party conference in
Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
, the question of women's suffrage was debated for the first time. The SP accepted a proposal that committed the party to take any opportunity to "agitate for the introduction of women's suffrage."


Interwar period

Although Switzerland remained
neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, it did not avoid the spiralling economic crisis that accompanied it. The resulting social tension was unleashed in 1918 by the labour unions and the SP who organised the
1918 Swiss general strike The 1918 Swiss general strike () took place from 12 to 14 November and involved around 250,000 workers. Background Although Switzerland Switzerland in World War I, remained neutral during World War I, it did mobilize its army. The military call ...
. The goal of the strike was a fundamental reorganisation of society. The
Federal Council Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...
issued an ultimatum to the strikers and allowed the military occupation of central points. In this way the strike was ended after four days. Political action was quickly taken to conciliate the strikers with the introduction of a 48-hour working week and a popular initiative on proportional elections to the National Council in the
1918 Swiss referendums Two referendums were held in Switzerland during 1918. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1907 The first was held on 2 June on introducing a direct federal tax, and was rejected by a majority of voters and ca ...
which passed on 13 October 1918. In the
1919 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 26 October 1919.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1894 The Free Democratic Party emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 60 of t ...
, the SP doubled its mandate from 20 to 41 members."Social Democratic Party"
Swissinfo.ch. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
With the third party platform, adopted in 1920, disagreement within the party grew ever greater. In particular the fact that the platform called for the foundation of a dictatorship of the proletariat during the transitional phase from a
capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
class-based society to a socialist commune sparked violent dispute within the party. In 1921, the party decided not to join the
Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
. The left-wing of the party then split from the SP and founded the
Communist Party of Switzerland The Communist Party of Switzerland (; KPS) or Swiss Communist Party (; ; PCS) was a communist party in Switzerland between 1921 and 1944. It was the Swiss section of the Communist International (Comintern). History The Communist Party of Switz ...
. In 1926, the SP joined the
Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...
and continued to be a member of until 1940. With increasing power in parliament, the party now also demanded membership of the government, but their candidate in 1929 was not elected to the Federal Council. On the other hand, the party managed to enter the executive at a cantonal level in 1933.
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the RhĂ´ne exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
was the first canton to have a socialist government, with
Léon Nicole Léon Nicole (10 April 1887 – 28 June 1965) was a prominent trade unionist, journalist, politician and member of the Grand Council of Geneva and the Swiss National Council. In 1933, he was a member of the first Cantonal government in Switzerland ...
as president. In the fourth party platform, promulgated in 1935, the SP rejected the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat, but supporting the creation of a socialist society on "free and consensual foundations" remained the party's goal.


In government

In the
1943 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 31 October 1943.Dieter Nohlen, Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1895 The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, Social Democratic Party emerged as the largest ...
, the SP achieved the greatest electoral success in its history and became the largest
parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political party, political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller politic ...
.
Ernst Nobs Ernst Nobs (14 July 1886, in Seedorf, Bern – 15 March 1957) was a Swiss politician. Nobs was involved in the 1918 Swiss general strike. In 1919, a military court found him guilty of publishing subversive texts and sentenced him to four weeks i ...
was the first member of SP to be elected to the Federal Council. With introduction of the , a further demand dating back to the time of the Landesstreik was achieved. After the failure of an SP referendum on economic reforms in 1953, the SP member of the Federal Council,
Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...
, and the general-secretary, David Farbstein, resigned. The SP remained in opposition until the introduction of the " magic formula" in 1959, which gave it two seats on the Federal Council. Since that time the SP has been a member of the grand coalition which governs Switzerland. In 1959, the fifth party platform was also agreed in which the party committed itself to reformist socialism on "democratic foundations". In the 1970s and 1980s, the SP gained new followers from the
new social movements The term new social movements (NSMs) is a theory of social movements that attempts to explain the plethora of new movements that have come up in various Western world, western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i.e. in a post-industrial economy ...
that arose from the
protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...
, but lost part of their traditional voter base in the working class. This change led to fierce internal disputes and led to a decline in electoral success. After serious losses in the
1987 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 18 October 1987. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1895 The Free Democratic Party remained the largest party in the National Council, winning 51 of the 200 s ...
, the SP was only the third-largest party in the National Council. This resulted in the foundation of a breakaway Democratic-Social Party, which was not a success. The sixth party platform was promulgated in 1982. This presented the party as a modern people's party that supported democratic socialism and had social justice as its highest goal. In 1983, the SP nominated
Lilian Uchtenhagen Lilian Uchtenhagen (7 September 1928 – 6 September 2016) was a Swiss politician and economist. She was one of the ten first women elected to the National Council (Switzerland), National Council, the Swiss Parliament's house and first women to b ...
as their candidate for the Federal Council, the first time that a woman had been a candidate. The parliamentary majority elected
Otto Stich Otto Anton Stich (10 January 1927 – 13 September 2012) was a Swiss professor and politician. He served as a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1984 to 1995 and held the President of the Swiss Confederation, Swiss presidency in 1988 and 199 ...
instead. Part of the party demanded that the SP withdraw from the governing coalition as a result of this, but this was rejected by a party conference. Ten years later in March 1993,
Ruth Dreifuss Ruth Dreifuss (born 9 January 1940) is a Swiss economist, unionist and politician who served as a member of the Federal Council from 1993 to 2002. She served as Vice President of Switzerland in 1998 and as President of Switzerland in 1999 for t ...
was elected as the first SD woman to serve in the Federal Council. On that occasion too, the
United Federal Assembly The Federal Assembly, also known as the Swiss Parliament, is the federal bicameral parliament of Switzerland. It comprises the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace. The house ...
did not choose the official candidate of the SP (
Christiane Brunner Christiane Brunner (23 March 1947 – 18 April 2025) was a Swiss politician and lawyer. Career Brunner occupied several government positions. She was Deputy of the Great Council of the Canton of Geneva from 1981 to 1990 and a member of the ...
), but the unofficial candidate Dreifuss (the ). In 1990, the SP party conference accepted Switzerland's accession to the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
with clear conditions and elected the Valais canton councillor, Peter Bodenmann, as party president. At the 1992 party conference in Genf, the SP decided to support accession to the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...
as a first step towards membership of the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
and endorsed a drug policy involving the decriminalisation of drug consumption, controlled sale of drugs for medicinal purposes, and eventual legalisation of drugs. The following year, the SP supported the national people's initiative "for a reasonable drug policy" which envisioned the legalisation of
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
. The SP supported the 1994 national initiative "for the protection of the Alps" which sought a substantial shift of transport of goods through the Alps from road to rail. After Otto Stich's resignation from the Federal Council in 1995, the Federal Councillor
Moritz Leuenberger Moritz Leuenberger (born 21 September 1946) is a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1995 to 2010. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 20 ...
was elected as his successor. In the
1995 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on October 22, 1995.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1895 The Social Democratic Party emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 54 of ...
, the SP made a substantial recovery and was once again the largest party in the Federal Council. In June 1997, the party conference chose Zurich city councillor, Ursula Koch as party president (the first woman to hold the role), rather than the favourite . In the
1999 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 24 October 1999.Dieter Nohlen & Pjilip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1895 Although the Swiss People's Party received the most votes for the first time in the party's histo ...
, Koch was also elected to the Federal Council. She resigned as party president and Federal councillor in 2000, due to internal party pressure. Her successor was Christiane Brunner, who led the party until 2004. In the
2007 Swiss federal election Elections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, 21 October 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, and 25 Novembe ...
, the SP suffered massive losses, falling to 19.5% of the vote, with only 43 seats in the National Council. In the following federal elections (
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
and
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
), their electoral support remained at the same level. In the Council of States, where the SP traditionally have had only a few seats, the party was able to increase its representation over the 2000s and now hold 12 out of 46 seats. In 2017, the party withdrew from the
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism, consisting mostly of Social democracy, social democratic political parties and Labour mov ...
and joined the
Progressive Alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of progressive and social democratic political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Socia ...
. After losing a large vote share in the
2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in cou ...
to the green party the SP regained some of its 2019 losses in the most recent
2023 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2023. The National Democratic Institute also maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2023 United Nations Security Council election * 2023 national electoral calendar * 2023 local elec ...
and currently holds 41 seats on the National Council obtaining 18.27% of the vote.


Structure

The SP is composed of around 900 sections across Switzerland, which exist at cantonal and municipal levels. Each of the 32,000 party members are registered in a local section and thus are members of both the cantonal and national parties. Local sections elect delegates to attend the regular party members' conferences; these delegates are entitled to vote in cantonal party conferences. Each of the 26 cantonal sections (
Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
is divided into two sections, namely ''Oberwallis'' and ''Valais Romand'') elect delegates for national party conferences. The number of delegates for each canton is equivalent to the number of seats that the canton has in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. The SP has a youth party called the
Young Socialists Switzerland Young Socialists Switzerland () or Swiss Socialist Youth (, , ), colloquially called “Juso”, is a youth organization in Switzerland connected to the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland but legally independent and following a different politi ...
(JUSO/JS). The JS are independent of the SP in political terms but are supported by it financially and institutionally. Within the SP, the JS are seen as equivalent to a cantonal section and so they are entitled to send some delegates to party conferences. As of 2022, the president of the JS is Nicola Siegrist. There is also a separate, smaller SP youth party called Junge SP in the
Olten Olten (; High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten grew into a town during the Middle Ages at the location of a bridge over the Aare. After a period of de ...
region.


Ideology

The SP supports classical
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
policies, as well as some
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
ones, and has been described as one of the more left-leaning social democratic parties in Europe. To that rule, the SP stands for a government offering strong
public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...
. The SP is against far-reaching
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...
and has
anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...
tendencies, and is in favor of
social progressivism Progressivism is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human ...
,
environmental policy Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem ...
with
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...
, for an open foreign policy and a national security policy based on
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...
. In economic, financial, and social
welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...
policy, the SP rejects policies of
economic liberalisation Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...
such as
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
, lowering taxes for high-income citizens, and decreases in
government spending Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...
on
social insurance Social insurance is a form of Social protection, social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of Welfare spend ...
. The SP also opposes raising the retirement age. In addition, the SP is a proponent of increasing welfare spending in some areas such as for a publicly financed
maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...
,
universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...
and a flexible retirement age. In tax policy, the SP opposes the notion of lowering taxes for high-income citizens. By campaigning for the harmonisation of all tax rates in Switzerland, the SP seeks more redistribution. The SP is skeptical toward the
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of state enterprises. Nonetheless, the SP also promotes more
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
in the areas of agriculture and
parallel imports Parallel may refer to: Mathematics * Parallel (geometry), two lines in the Euclidean plane which never intersect * Parallel (operator), mathematical operation named after the composition of electrical resistance in parallel circuits Science a ...
. In social policy, the SP is committed to social equity and an
open society Open society () is a term coined by French-Jewish philosopher Henri Bergson in 1932, and describes a dynamic system inclined to moral universalism.Thomas Mautner (2005), 2nd ed. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy'' Open society" entry p. ...
. The SP aims at making working conditions for women in families easier by promoting more external childcare centers and more opportunities for
part-time job A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are commonly considered to be part-time if they work fewer than 30 hours per week. Their hours of work may be organised in shifts. The shifts a ...
s. It also aims at reinforcing sexual equality in terms of eliminating wage differences based on gender, supports
civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...
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 ...
and takes an easier stance toward abortions. The SP also rejects strengthening restrictions on asylum seekers and immigrants. The party supports the integration of immigrants by which the immigrants are assigned to immigration procedures immediately after entering the country. The SP has a liberal stance toward drugs and is in favor of publicly regulated heroin consumption and the legalization of
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
. Nevertheless, the SP supports the
smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor employ ...
in restaurants and bars. In foreign policy, the SP promotes further participation by Switzerland in international organizations. It supports immediate entry of Switzerland into the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, while recently supported EU bilateral accords The SP also stands for a less strict neutrality of Switzerland, and supports increased international efforts on the part of Switzerland in the areas of peace and human rights. However, the SP supports keeping the military neutrality and opposes entry into
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
. Its pacifist stance is also reflected in its military policy as the SP supports reducing the number of Swiss militia while making the military apparatus more professional and scrapping
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
. Another demand of the SP is to end the tradition of
gun ownership In 2018, the Small Arms Survey reported that there are over one billion small arms distributed globally, of which 857 million (about 85 percent) are in civilian hands.
, using severe and recent examples of abuse in terms of murder as proof. The SP has common
environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
policies with the
Green Party of Switzerland The Green Party of Switzerland (; ; ; ) is a green political party in Switzerland. It is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council. History The first ...
which are reflected in the expansion of
ecotax An environmental tax, ecotax (short for ecological taxation), or green tax is a tax levied on activities which are considered to be harmful to the environment and is intended to promote environmentally friendly alternatives via economic incentive ...
reforms and increased state support for energy saving measures and
renewable energies Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Bioenergy and ...
. The SP is against the construction of new roads where possible and instead proposes to shift the transportation of goods from the roads to the railways and the introduction of a cap and trade and traffic management system when it comes to transportation across the
Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...
. Furthermore, the SP stands for an expansion of the public transportation system network and opposes
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
.


Electoral performance

In 2003, the party held 52 mandates out of 200 in the National Council (lower chamber of the Swiss parliament); nine out of 46 in the Council of States (upper chamber) and two out of seven mandates in the
Federal Council Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...
(executive body). By 2005, it held 23.8% of the seats in the Cantonal governments and 23.2% in the Cantonal parliaments (index BADAC, weighted with the population and number of seats). At the
2023 Swiss federal election Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 22 October 2023 to elect all members of the National Council (Switzerland), National Council and Council of States (Switzerland), Council of States. The elections were followed by 2023 Swiss Federal ...
, the party won 18.27% of the popular vote and 41 out of 200 seats on the National Council.


National Council


Party strength over time

:1.* indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. :2.It was part of the Canton of Bern until 1979.


Presidents


Members of the Federal Council


References


External links


www.sp-ps.ch Official website
(in French and German)
www.ps-ticino.ch Official website
(in Italian)
Social Democratic Party
at th
History of Social Security in Switzerland
{{Portal bar, Politics, Socialism, Switzerland Political parties established in 1888 1888 establishments in Switzerland Full member parties of the Socialist International Members of the Labour and Socialist International Non-interventionist parties Parties related to the Party of European Socialists Pro-European political parties in Switzerland Progressive Alliance Social democratic parties Socialist parties in Switzerland Swiss Climate Alliance