Switzerland
The story
Switzerland's constitution sets it apart from every other country in the index: power is highly decentralised to the cantons, direct democracy operates through frequent referendums, and a permanent multi-party coalition governs by convention rather than election-driven turnover. The index covers Switzerland from 1971, when women gained the right to vote at federal level; only Liechtenstein introduced women's suffrage later.
1971–1999 · The Swiss People's Party's rise
The Swiss People's Party (SVP), formed in 1971 by merging the agrarian Farmers, Traders and Citizens' Party with the Democratic parties of Glarus and Graubünden, carried internal tension between conservatism and liberalism from the outset. Transformed under Christoph Blocher and its Zurich branch during the 1980s and especially the 1990s, it expanded rapidly in the 1990s on hardline immigration and anti-elite positions, and in 1999 it became Switzerland's largest party — a position it has held in every election since.
Since Blocher · A durable, uncompromising formula
The SVP campaigns against immigration on both economic and cultural grounds, has opposed strict Covid-era measures and sanctions against Russia, and remains conservative on social issues. Right-leaning on economics — reduced welfare, tax cuts — it is nonetheless protectionist and pro-farm-subsidy, and stands among Switzerland's most eurosceptic parties, sceptical of any international entanglement at all. Unusually, the SVP combines radical-right politics with long-standing government participation: its predecessor joined the Federal Council in 1929. A pair of minor 1980s–90s challengers, the Swiss Democrats and the Freedom Party of Switzerland, never established themselves nationally (the Freedom Party peaked at 5.1% in 1991), and the SVP absorbed most of their space.
2026 · THE SVP AND THE POPULATION CAP
Under Blocher and his successors, the SVP has combined participation in Switzerland’s consensus-based institutions with a confrontational, anti-establishment style. Immigration and asylum remain its core issues, framed in strongly nationalist and at times xenophobic terms. In 2026 it backed a referendum to cap the resident population at 10 million until 2050, which would have meant ending the EU free-movement agreement if the population passed 9.5 million. Voters rejected it by 54.8 to 45.2 percent, though the strong support showed immigration’s salience. The SVP also defends sovereignty and neutrality, opposes EU membership, opposed many COVID-19 restrictions and criticises Swiss participation in sanctions against Russia.
SVP
Swiss People's Party
- Economics Right
- Social issues Conservative
- EU Hard euroscepticism
- Authoritarianism Medium