Social Democratic Party of Switzerland facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Social Democratic Party of Switzerland Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz (German) Parti socialiste suisse (French) Partito Socialista Svizzero (Italian) Partida Socialdemocrata da la Svizra (Romansh)

Abbreviation	SP/PS
President	Cédric Wermuth Mattea Meyer
Members in Federal Council	Élisabeth Baume-Schneider Beat Jans
Founded	21 October 1888; 136 years ago (1888-10-21)
Headquarters	Theaterplatz 4, 3011 Bern
Youth wing	Young Socialists Switzerland
Membership (2015)	c. 30,000
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists (associate)
International affiliation	Progressive Alliance
Colours	Red
Federal Council	2 / 7
Council of States	9 / 46
National Council	41 / 200
Cantonal executives	28 / 154
Cantonal legislatures	459 / 2,609
Website
(German) (French) (Italian)

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (often called SP or PS) is a major political party in Switzerland. It is also known as the Swiss Socialist Party. The SP has been part of the Swiss government, the Federal Council, since 1960. In the 2023 Swiss federal election, it received the second-highest number of votes.

The SP was started on October 21, 1888. It is currently the second-largest of the four main parties that work together to govern Switzerland. It is the only left-leaning party in the Federal Council, meaning its ideas are more focused on social fairness and public services. Currently, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider and Beat Jans are the party's representatives in the Federal Council. As of early 2024, the SP is the second-largest party in the Federal Assembly, which is Switzerland's parliament.

The SP is the biggest party in Switzerland that supports closer ties with Europe. Unlike most other Swiss parties, the SP believes Switzerland should join the European Union. The party also supports better rights for workers and wants to give tax benefits to companies that let their employees own shares in the company. The SP is part of international groups like the Progressive Alliance and the Party of European Socialists.

How the Social Democratic Party Started
- The Years Between World Wars
- The Social Democratic Party in Government
How the Social Democratic Party is Organized
What the Social Democratic Party Believes In
How the Social Democratic Party Performs in Elections
- National Council
- Party Strength Over Time
Presidents of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party Members in the Federal Council
Images for kids
See Also

How the Social Democratic Party Started

"The new relationship between workers and entrepreneurs", a cartoon of 1896 on bad working conditions in Swiss factories according to the Swiss labour movement in the satirical Zurich magazine Der neue Postillon.

Before the SP was created, there were many groups in Switzerland in the 1800s that worked to improve conditions for workers. These groups included the Grütli Union and the Swiss Trade Union Federation. Most of these early worker parties did not last long.

The Social Democratic Party was officially founded on October 21, 1888, which is now celebrated as Swiss Labour Day. Albert Steck wrote the party's first plan, which focused on democracy. It said that social problems should be solved through democratic ways, not by revolution. The first president of the party was Alexander Reichel.

Just two years later, Jakob Vogelsanger became the first Social Democrat to be elected to the National Council, which is one part of the Swiss parliament. In 1904, the party adopted a new plan based on Marxism. At first, the way elections were held (called "first-past-the-post voting") made it hard for the party to gain much power, even though more and more people supported them. They tried twice to change the voting system to "proportional voting" (where parties get seats based on the percentage of votes they receive), but these ideas were rejected.

The old records of the party are now kept at the Swiss Social Archives, which was started in 1906. In 1912, the party discussed women's suffrage (the right for women to vote) for the first time. The SP decided to work towards getting women the right to vote whenever they could.

The Years Between World Wars

Even though Switzerland stayed neutral during World War I, it still faced a big economic crisis. This led to a lot of social tension. In 1918, worker unions and the SP organized a big strike called the 1918 Swiss general strike. They wanted to change society in a big way. The Swiss government told the strikers to stop and sent the military to important places. The strike ended after four days.

However, the government quickly took action to help the workers. They introduced a 48-hour work week. Also, a public vote on proportional elections for the National Council passed in October 1918. In the 1919 Swiss federal election that followed, the SP doubled its number of elected members from 20 to 41.

In 1920, the party adopted a new plan that caused some disagreements. This plan talked about creating a "dictatorship of the proletariat" (a system where workers would have all the power) as a step towards a socialist society. This idea caused a lot of debate. In 1921, the party decided not to join the Communist International, a group of communist parties. Because of this, some members left the SP and formed the Communist Party of Switzerland. In 1926, the SP joined another international group called the Labour and Socialist International.

As the party gained more power in parliament, they also wanted to be part of the government. But their candidate for the Federal Council was not elected in 1929. However, the party did manage to get into cantonal (state-level) governments in 1933. Geneva was the first canton to have a socialist government, with Léon Nicole as its leader. In 1935, the SP changed its party plan again. They no longer supported the idea of a "dictatorship of the proletariat." Instead, they aimed to create a socialist society based on "free and agreed-upon foundations."

The Social Democratic Party in Government

Ernst Nobs, the first SP member of the Federal Council of Switzerland.

In the 1943 Swiss federal election, the SP had its best election ever and became the largest group in parliament. Ernst Nobs became the first SP member to be elected to the Federal Council. The party also helped create the "Old-age and survivors' insurance," which provides support for older people and families. This was something they had wanted since the big strike in 1918.

After a public vote on economic changes failed in 1953, the SP member in the Federal Council, Max Weber, and the party's General Secretary resigned. The SP stayed out of the government until 1959. That year, the "magic formula" was introduced. This system gave the SP two seats in the Federal Council. Since then, the SP has always been part of the main group of parties that govern Switzerland. In 1959, the party also updated its plan, focusing on "reformist socialism" based on "democratic foundations."

In the 1970s and 1980s, the SP gained new supporters from social movements that grew after the protests of 1968. But they also lost some of their traditional working-class voters. This led to arguments within the party and a drop in election results. After losing many seats in the 1987 Swiss federal election, the SP became only the third-largest party in the National Council. Some members even tried to start a new party, but it was not successful.

The party's sixth plan was released in 1982. It presented the SP as a modern party that supported democratic socialism and aimed for social justice. In 1983, the SP nominated Lilian Uchtenhagen for the Federal Council. She was the first woman ever to be a candidate for this high office. However, the parliament chose another candidate instead. Some party members wanted the SP to leave the government because of this, but the party decided to stay. Ten years later, in March 1993, Ruth Dreifuss became the first woman from the SP to serve in the Federal Council.

In 1990, the SP agreed to Switzerland joining the International Monetary Fund under certain conditions. They also elected Peter Bodenmann as party president. In 1992, the SP decided to support Switzerland joining the European Economic Area as a first step towards joining the European Economic Community. The SP also supported a 1994 public vote to protect the Alps by moving more goods transport from roads to trains. After Otto Stich resigned from the Federal Council in 1995, Moritz Leuenberger was elected to take his place. In the 1995 Swiss federal election, the SP recovered well and became the largest party in the Federal Council again.

In June 1997, the party chose Ursula Koch as its president. She was the first woman to hold this role. In the 1999 Swiss federal election, Koch was also elected to the Federal Council. She resigned from both roles in 2000 due to pressure within the party. Her successor was Christiane Brunner, who led the party until 2004.

In the 2007 Swiss federal election, the SP lost a lot of votes, getting only 19.5% and 43 seats in the National Council. In the next elections (2011 and 2015), their support stayed about the same. However, in the Council of States (the upper house of parliament), where the SP usually had few seats, they managed to gain more in the 2000s and now hold 12 out of 46 seats. In 2017, the party left the Socialist International and joined the Progressive Alliance. After losing votes to the Green party in the 2019 elections, the SP gained some back in the most recent 2023 elections. They now have 41 seats in the National Council and received 18.27% of the votes.

How the Social Democratic Party is Organized

Organisational structure of the SP.

The SP has about 900 local groups across Switzerland. These groups exist at the canton (state) and city levels. Each of the 32,000 party members belongs to a local group. This means they are also members of their canton's party and the national party. Local groups choose people called delegates to attend regular meetings for party members. These delegates can vote in canton-level party meetings.

Each of the 26 canton-level groups (Valais canton has two sections) chooses delegates for the national party meetings. The number of delegates from each canton is the same as the number of seats that canton has in the National Assembly.

The SP also has a youth party called the Young Socialists Switzerland (JUSO/JS). The JS is politically independent from the SP, but the SP helps them with money and support. Within the SP, the JS is treated like a canton-level group, so they can send delegates to party meetings. As of 2022, the president of the JS is Nicola Siegrist. There is also a smaller SP youth group called Junge SP in the Olten area.

What the Social Democratic Party Believes In

The SP's positions in the Swiss political spectrum in 2007.

The SP supports ideas that are common for social democratic parties, and also some democratic socialist ones. It is seen as one of the more left-leaning social-democratic parties in Europe. This means the SP believes the government should offer strong public services to everyone.

The SP is against too much economic liberalism, which means they don't want the government to reduce rules for businesses or lower taxes for rich people. They have some anti-capitalist ideas. They are in favor of social progressivism, which means they support new ideas for society. They also care a lot about environmental policy, especially stopping climate change. They want Switzerland to have an open foreign policy and a national security policy based on pacifism (peace).

In terms of money and social support, the SP does not like policies that reduce government rules or lower taxes for high-income people. They also don't want to cut government spending on social insurance (like unemployment benefits). The SP is against raising the retirement age. They want to increase spending in some areas, such as:

Publicly funded maternity leave (time off for new parents).
Universal health care (healthcare for everyone).
A flexible retirement age.

For taxes, the SP is against lowering taxes for rich people. They want to make tax rates more similar across Switzerland to help with redistribution (sharing wealth more evenly). The SP is careful about letting private companies take over state-owned businesses. However, they do want more competition in farming and for goods imported from other countries.

In social matters, the SP wants social fairness and an open society. They want to make working conditions easier for women with families by supporting more childcare centers and more part-time jobs. They also want to make sure men and women get paid the same for the same work. The SP supports civil unions for same-sex couples. They also do not want to make rules stricter for asylum seekers and immigrants. The party believes immigrants should be quickly processed when they enter the country.

In foreign policy, the SP wants Switzerland to be more involved in international groups. They support Switzerland joining the European Union right away, though they have recently supported agreements with the EU. The SP also wants Switzerland to be less strict about its neutrality and to do more internationally for peace and human rights. However, they want to keep military neutrality and are against joining NATO. Their peaceful stance also means they want to reduce the number of Swiss soldiers and make the army more professional, getting rid of conscription (forced military service). Another thing the SP wants is to end the tradition of widespread gun ownership.

The SP shares many environmentalist ideas with the Green Party of Switzerland. They support expanding "ecotaxes" (taxes on things that harm the environment) and more government help for saving energy and using renewable energies. The SP is against building new roads if possible. Instead, they want to move goods transport from roads to railways, especially across the Swiss Alps. They also want to expand public transportation and are against nuclear power.

How the Social Democratic Party Performs in Elections

Percentages of the SP at district level in 2011.

Strongest in urban areas, the SP's support is spread across the country as they hold roughly one-fifth of seats in cantonal parliaments, but are the largest party in only two, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft (coloured red above).

In 2003, the SP held 52 out of 200 seats in the National Council (the lower house of parliament). They also had 9 out of 46 seats in the Council of States (the upper house) and 2 out of 7 seats in the Federal Council (the government). By 2005, they held about 23.8% of seats in canton governments and 23.2% in canton parliaments. In the 2023 Swiss federal election, the party won 18.27% of the votes and 41 out of 200 seats in the National Council.

National Council

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Rank
1890	N/A	3.6 (#5)	1 / 147	1	5th
1893	N/A	5.9 (#5)	1 / 147		5th
1896	25,304	6.8 (#4)	2 / 147	1	4th
1899	35,488	9.6 (#4)	4 / 147	2	4th
1902	51,338	12.6 (#3)	7 / 167	3	4th
1905	60,308	14.7 (#3)	2 / 167	5	5th
1908	70,003	17.6 (#3)	7 / 167	5	4th
1911	80,050	20.0 (#2)	15 / 189	8	3rd
1914	34,204	10.1 (#3)	19 / 189	3	3rd
1917	158,450	30.8 (#2)	20 / 189	2	3rd
1919	175,292	23.5 (#2)	41 / 189	21	2nd
1922	170,974	23.3 (#2)	43 / 198	2	3rd
1925	192,208	25.8 (#2)	49 / 198	6	2nd
1928	220,141	27.4 (#1)	50 / 198	1	2nd
1931	247,946	28.7 (#1)	49 / 187	1	2nd
1935	255,843	28.0 (#1)	50 / 187	1	1st
1939	160,377	25.9 (#1)	45 / 187	5	2nd
1943	251,576	28.6 (#1)	56 / 194	11	1st
1947	251,625	26.2 (#1)	48 / 194	8	2nd
1951	249,857	26.0 (#1)	49 / 196	1	2nd
1955	263,664	27.0 (#1)	53 / 196	4	1st
1959	259,139	26.4 (#1)	51 / 196	2	1st
1963	256,063	26.6 (#1)	53 / 200	2	1st
1967	233,873	23.5 (#1)	50 / 200	3	1st
1971	452,195	22.9 (#1)	46 / 200	4	2nd
1975	477,125	24.9 (#1)	55 / 200	9	2nd
1979	443,794	24.4 (#1)	51 / 200	4	2nd
1983	444,365	22.8 (#2)	47 / 200	4	2nd
1987	353,334	18.4 (#3)	41 / 200	6	3rd
1991	373,664	18.5 (#2)	41 / 200	0	2nd
1995	410,136	21.8 (#1)	54 / 200	13	2nd
1999	438,555	22.5 (#2)	51 / 200	3	2nd
2003	490,392	23.3 (#2)	52 / 200	1	2nd
2007	450,308	19.5 (#2)	43 / 200	9	2nd
2011	451,236	18.7 (#2)	46 / 200	3	2nd
2015	475,071	18.8 (#2)	43 / 200	3	2nd
2019	408,128	16.8 (#2)	39 / 200	4	2nd
2023	466,714	18.3 (#2)	41 / 200	2	2nd

Party Strength Over Time

Percentage of the total vote for the SP in federal elections, 1971–2019

Canton	1971	1975	1979	1983	1987	1991	1995	1999	2003	2007	2011	2015	2019
Switzerland	22.9	24.9	24.4	22.8	18.4	18.5	21.8	22.5	23.3	19.5	18.7	18.8	16.8
Zürich	20.9	23.9	26.5	23.0	17.4	18.8	23.1	25.6	25.7	19.8	19.3	21.4	17.3
Bern	31.0	31.0	30.5	28.3	22.3	20.0	24.7	27.6	27.9	21.2	19.3	19.7	16.8
Luzern	12.4	13.4	12.5	11.8	9.0	11.0	11.7	10.0	11.1	11.5	11.5	13.6	13.5
Uri	*	*	23.0	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	21.5	*	22.3
Schwyz	29.0	29.3	22.6	21.0	14.3	19.4	19.9	16.4	17.6	13.9	15.7	13.1	13.8
Obwalden	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	11.6	*	*	2.9
Nidwalden	*	*	10.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glarus	57.2	64.7	*	*	*	53.7	83.9	85.7	67.1	55.5	24.6	45.0	28.2
Zug	*	35.7	30.9	22.8	22.6	16.1	17.0	23.3	13.4	9.1	5.3	13.8	9.3
Fribourg	19.9	25.7	30.7	24.0	22.2	18.6	17.3	20.3	21.5	22.7	26.7	24.2	21.2
Solothurn	26.3	31.4	28.4	27.8	22.3	19.8	24.2	27.2	25.4	19.5	18.3	20.0	18.4
Basel-Stadt	30.4	33.3	33.3	31.0	25.9	25.3	35.5	33.3	40.9	35.2	29.1	33.3	32.7
Basel-Landschaft	28.2	30.3	31.4	32.5	22.8	24.4	25.3	23.3	24.7	25.2	24.4	22.2	21.8
Schaffhausen	40.2	37.2	35.3	35.4	39.2	34.2	37.8	33.6	39.7	34.2	34.6	28.8	26.2
Appenzell A.Rh.	37.4	40.1	*	23.6	*	*	21.9	29.6	19.9	*	*	28.6	*
Appenzell I.Rh.	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	20.3	18.1	8.7
St. Gallen	14.6	15.1	18.0	16.3	11.4	13.1	16.2	17.1	18.4	14.7	16.7	14.2	12.7
Graubünden	13.9	15.2	20.5	24.6	19.5	21.2	21.6	26.6	24.9	23.7	15.6	17.6	17.1
Aargau	23.9	24.2	27.6	27.5	18.5	17.4	19.4	18.7	21.2	17.9	18.0	16.1	16.5
Thurgau	20.7	21.6	22.4	19.5	13.4	15.1	18.1	16.1	14.1	11.7	12.1	12.7	12.6
Ticino	13.1	13.9	15.2	13.8	9.3	6.7	17.1	18.8	25.8	18.1	16.6	15.9	14.1
Vaud	25.0	27.6	24.9	21.9	22.5	22.9	22.7	22.4	21.7	22.0	25.2	22.2	20.4
Valais	15.4	17.4	11.6	14.1	14.5	14.5	16.6	16.9	19.1	14.7	14.6	13.3	15.1
Neuchâtel	30.6	38.9	37.4	33.1	30.8	29.8	28.2	28.0	29.2	25.9	24.7	23.7	16.6
Genève	19.1	22.6	21.5	19.2	18.6	26.4	30.0	20.0	24.8	19.1	19.1	19.9	14.7
Jura			*	17.8	25.5	28.8	32.4	34.2	34.2	36.9	30.8	23.7	27.0

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 of the Social Democratic Party

1888–1889	Alexander Reichel
1890–1891	Albert Steck
1892–1894	Eugen Wullschleger
1894–1896	Wilhelm Fürholz
1897	Karl Zgraggen
1898	Paul Brandt
1898–1901	Otto Lang
1901–1902	Joseph Albisser
1902–1908	Gottfried Reimann
1909–1910	Eduard Kessler
1911	Hans Näher
1912–1916	Fritz Studer
1916–1917	Emil Klöti
1918	Jakob Gschwend
1919	Gustav Müller
1919–1936	Ernst Reinhard
1937–1952	Hans Oprecht
1953–1962	Walther Bringolf
1962–1970	Fritz Grütter
1970–1974	Arthur Schmid
1974–1990	Helmut Hubacher
1990–1997	Peter Bodenmann
1997–2000	Ursula Koch
2000–2004	Christiane Brunner
2004–2008	Hans-Jürg Fehr
2008–2020	Christian Levrat
2020—present	Cédric Wermuth Mattea Meyer

Social Democratic Party Members in the Federal Council

1943–1951	Ernst Nobs
1951–1953	Max Weber
1959–1969	Willy Spühler
1959–1973	Hans-Peter Tschudi
1969–1977	Pierre Graber
1973–1983	Willy Ritschard
1977–1987	Pierre Aubert
1987–1993	René Felber
1983–1995	Otto Stich
1993–2002	Ruth Dreifuss
1995–2010	Moritz Leuenberger
2003–2011	Micheline Calmy-Rey
2010–2022	Simonetta Sommaruga
2011–2023	Alain Berset
2023–present	Élisabeth Baume-Schneider
2024–present	Beat Jans

Images for kids

Logo of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland.
"The new relationship between workers and entrepreneurs", a cartoon of 1896 on bad working conditions in Swiss factories according to the Swiss labour movement in the satirical Zurich magazine Der neue Postillon.
Ernst Nobs, the first SP member of the Federal Council of Switzerland.
Organisational structure of the SP.
The SP's positions in the Swiss political spectrum in 2007.
Percentages of the SP at district level in 2011.
Strongest in urban areas, the SP's support is spread across the country as they hold roughly one-fifth of seats in cantonal parliaments, but are the largest party in only two, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft (coloured red above).