On 22 October 2023, Switzerland will hold its four-yearly parliamentary federal election. A poll published on 23 March 2023 suggests the biggest loser, compared to the last vote in 2019, could be the Green Party.
The Swiss People’s Party (26.6%) and Socialist Party (17.8%), which continued to lead the poll, both progressed by 1 percentage point compared to 2019, while the PLR/FDP (15.6%) in third place gained 0.5 percentage points, reported RTS.
The biggest loser was the Green Party (10.7%), which lost 2.5 percentage points, followed by the Centre Party, which lost 0.5 percentage points.
In contrast to the Green Party, support for the Liberal Green Party (8.3%) rose 0.5 percentage points in the poll. The Liberal Green party combines a liberal economic stance with policies focused on the environment. This means it tends to compete more with the PLR/FDP. The Green Party by contrast tends to compete for voters with the Socialist Party, which has jumped more in the polls than the PLR/FDP.
While climate change continues to head voters’ list of concerns, with the exception of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), the issue has now been incorporated into the plans of the other parties. This makes a party focused on this single issue less distinctive. In addition, immigration has risen up the list of concerns as the number of asylum seekers has grown – 30% of voters list this issue as a concern, making it one of the top three. This issue is taken most seriously by the UDC/SVP making it the party most likely to benefit from rising concerns in this area.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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