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2 Executive branch
Main articles: Swiss Federal Council and Federal
administration of Switzerland
See also: List of members of the Swiss Federal Council
and List of Presidents of the Swiss Confederation
Direct representation
The Swiss Federal Council is a seven-member executive council that heads the federal administration, operating as a combination cabinet and collective presidency. Any Swiss citizen eligible to be a member of
the National Council can be elected;[4] candidates do not
have to register for the election, or to actually be members of the National Council. The Federal Council is
elected by the Federal Assembly for a four-year term.
Present members are: Doris Leuthard (CVP/PDC),
Guy Parmelin (SVP/UDC), Ueli Maurer (SVP/UDC),
Didier Burkhalter (FDP/PRD), Simonetta Sommaruga
(SP/PS), Johann Schneider-Ammann (FDP/PRD) and
Alain Berset (SP/PS).
6 POLITICAL CONDITIONS
has almost no powers over and above his or her six col- Assembly, made up of:
leagues, but undertakes representative functions normally
the Council of States (46 seats - members serve fourperformed by a president or prime minister in singleyear terms) and
executive systems. The current (As of 2016) President
and Vice President are Johann Schneider-Ammann and
the National Council (200 seats - members serve
Doris Leuthard, respectively.
four-year terms and are elected by popular vote on
The Swiss executive is one of the most stable governa basis of proportional representation)
ments worldwide. Since 1848, it has never been renewed
entirely at the same time, providing a long-term continu- The previous elections (before those held in 2011, below)
ity. From 1959 to 2003 the Federal Council was com- to the National Council were held in 2007, see 2007 elecposed of a coalition of all major parties in the same ratio: tions for more details. The ve parties that hold seats in
2 each from the Free Democratic Party, Social Demo- the Federal Council dominate both chambers of the Ascratic Party and Christian Democratic Peoples Party and sembly; they currently hold a supermajority of 167 seats
1 from the Swiss Peoples Party. Changes in the coun- in the National Council, and 41 in the Council of States.
cil occur typically only if one of the members resigns
Most hearings in the parliament are open to everyone, in(merely four incumbent members were voted out of the
cluding foreigners.
[5]
oce in over 150 years); this member is almost always
replaced by someone from the same party (and often also
from the same linguistic group).
The Swiss government has been a coalition of the four
major political parties since 1959, each party having a
number of seats that roughly reects its share of electorate
and representation in the federal parliament. The classic
distribution of 2 CVP/PDC, 2 SPS/PSS, 2 FDP/PRD and
1 SVP/UDC as it stood from 1959 to 2003 was known as
the "magic formula".[5]
This magic formula has been repeatedly criticised: in
the 1960s, for excluding leftist opposition parties; in the
1980s, for excluding the emerging Green party; and particularly after the 1999 election, by the Peoples Party,
which had by then grown from being the fourth largest
party on the National Council to being the largest. In the
elections of 2003, the Peoples Party received (eective
January 1, 2004) a second seat in the Federal Council,
reducing the share of the Christian Democratic Party to
one seat.
Legislative branch
5 Judicial branch
Switzerland has a Federal Supreme Court, with judges
elected for six-year terms by the Federal Assembly. The
function of the Federal Supreme Court is to hear appeals
of cantonal courts or the administrative rulings of the federal administration.
6 Political conditions
Switzerland has a stable government. Most voters support
the government in its philosophy of armed neutrality unThe Federal Palace, in Bern, hosts the Federal Assembly and the derlying its foreign and defense policies. Domestic policy
poses some major problems, to the point that many obFederal Council.
servers deem that the system is in crisis[7] but the changSwitzerland has a bicameral parliament called the Federal ing international environment has generated a signicant
3
by Reporters Without Borders (with a score 0.5 points,
zero being the perfect score).
7 Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Switzerland
Political positions of the Swiss political parties based on their referendum voting recommendations, 1985-90 and 2010-14
Switzerland has avoided alliances that might entail military, political, or direct economic action. In June
2001, Swiss voters approved new legislation providing
for the deployment of armed Swiss troops for international peacekeeping missions under United Nations or
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
auspices as well as international cooperation in military
training. The Swiss have broadened the scope of activities in which they feel able to participate without compromising their neutrality.
8 Energy politics
12
See also
International relations of Switzerland
Modern history of Switzerland
Demographics of Switzerland
Direct democracy
Federal popular initiative
Referendum, List of Swiss federal referendums
Concordance system
Constitutional conventions of Switzerland
10
EXTERNAL LINKS
11 Bibliography
Pierre Cormon, Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners, Editions Slatkine, 2014, ISBN 978-2-83210607-5
Hirschbhl, Tina (2011a), The Swiss Government
Report 1, Federal Department of Foreign Aairs
FDFA, Presence Switzerland via YouTube
Hirschbhl, Tina (2011b), The Swiss Government
Report 2, Federal Department of Foreign Aairs
FDFA, Presence Switzerland via YouTube
Hirschbhl, Tina (2011c), How Direct Democracy
Works In Switzerland - Report 3, Federal Department of Foreign Aairs FDFA, Presence Switzerland via YouTube
Hirschbhl, Tina (2011d), How People in Switzerland Vote - Report 4, Federal Department of Foreign
Aairs FDFA, Presence Switzerland via YouTube
Hirschbhl, Tina (2011e), Switzerland & the EU:
The Bilateral Agreements - Report 5, Federal Department of Foreign Aairs FDFA, Presence Switzerland via YouTube
Wolf Linder, Yannis Papadopoulos, Hanspeter
Kriesi, Peter Knoepfel, Ulrich Klti, Pascal Sciarini:
Handbook of Swiss Politics, Neue Zrcher
Zeitung Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-303823-136-3.
Handbuch der Schweizer Politik / Manuel de la
politique suisse, Verlag Neue Zrcher Zeitung,
2007, ISBN 978-3-03823-136-3.
Vincent Golay and Mix et Remix, Swiss political institutions, ditions loisirs et pdagogie, 2008. ISBN
978-2-606-01295-3.
12 External links
Swiss government site (in English)
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Content license