The Politics of Switzerland: Continuity and Change in a Consensus Democracy Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander H

Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-60631-8 - The Politics of Switzerland: Continuity and Change in a Consensus Democracy Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander H. Trechsel Frontmatter More information

The Politics of Switzerland

Despite Switzerland’s small size, its political system is one of the most complex and fascinating among contemporary democracies. The rich, complex mixture of centuries-old institutions and the refined political arrangements that exist today constitute a veritable laboratory for social scientists and their students. Often presented as the paradigmatic case of political integration, consensus democracy and multinational federalism, the Swiss model has become a benchmark case for analyses in comparative politics, political behaviour and other related fields. Written by two leading experts on Swiss politics, this book presents a definitive overview for scholars and students interested in Switzerland’s political system at the beginning of the twenty-first century. By focusing on its intricacies but also taking in larger issues of general interest, the broad scope of this study will appeal to all those interested in contemporary European politics and democratic systems.

hanspeter kriesi is Professor of Comparative Politics in the Depart- ment of Political Science at the University of Zurich.

alexander h. trechsel is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute, Florence.

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-60631-8 - The Politics of Switzerland: Continuity and Change in a Consensus Democracy Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander H. Trechsel Frontmatter More information

The Politics of Switzerland

Continuity and Change in a Consensus Democracy

hanspeter kriesi

alexander h. trechsel

University Printing House, Cambridge cb2 8bs, United Kingdom

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521606318 © Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander H. Trechsel 2008 Th is publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2008, 2011 Second Edition 2012 Reprinted 2010, 2013 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Kriesi, Hanspeter. Th e politics of Switzerland / Hanspeter Kriesi, Alexander H. Trechsel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-84457-4 – isbn 978-0-521-60631-8 (pbk.) 1. Switzerland – Politics and government – 21st century. I. Trechsel, Alexandre H. II. Title. dq212.k74 2008 320.4494 – dc22 2008031947 isbn 978-0-521-84457-4 Hardback isbn 978-0-521-60631-8 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

List of ﬁgures page viii List of tables ix Preface xi List of abbreviations xiv 1 The development of the modern Swiss nation-state 1 1.1 State formation 1 1.2 Nation building 6 1.3 Switzerland: a nation-state? 10 1.4 Conclusion 16 2 Neutrality 18 2.1 Introduction 18 2.2 The traditional meaning of neutrality 19 2.3 Swiss neutrality today: orphan of its substance? 23 2.4 The future of neutrality: living with the empty shell 30 3 Federalism 34 3.1 The gradual consolidation 34 3.2 Cantonal autonomy vis-a-vis` the federal level 36 3.3 Federal dependency at the cantonal level 38 3.4 Cooperative federalism 40 3.5 Assessing Swiss federalism 42 3.6 Conclusion: reforming Swiss federalism 46 4 Direct democracy 49 4.1 The institutions of direct democracy 49 4.2 The logic and use of referendums and popular initiatives 56 4.3 Voting in direct-democratic processes 61 4.4 Conclusion 66

vi Contents

5 The Swiss system of government 69 5.1 Introduction 69 5.2 The Federal Parliament 69 5.3 The Federal Council 75 5.4 The future of the Swiss system of government 81 6 The party system 84 6.1 Introduction 84 6.2 The fragmentation of the Swiss party system 84 6.3 The structuring of the party system 86 6.4 The parties as organizations 90 6.5 The transformation of the party system 93 6.6 Conclusion 98 7 Interest associations and labour relations 99 7.1 Introduction 99 7.2 The structuring of the system of business interest associations 100 7.3 The structuring of the unions 104 7.4 Labour relations: social partnership 106 7.5 Other associations and actors 110 7.6 Conclusion 112 8 The decision-making process 115 8.1 Introduction 115 8.2 The pre-parliamentary phase 117 8.3 The parliamentary phase 119 8.4 The direct-democratic phase 120 8.5 The implementation phase 123 8.6 The transformation of the decision-making process: internationalization 125 8.7 The transformation of the decision-making process: the changing national context 128 8.8 Conclusion 130 9 Economic policy: liberalization under constraints 132 9.1 Introduction 132 9.2 Structural reforms 136 9.3 Other factors 145 9.4 Conclusion 152

Contents vii

10 Social policy: the Swiss welfare state 155 10.1 Introduction 155 10.2 The origins of the speciﬁcities of the Swiss welfare state 156 10.3 Factors behind the catching-up 162 10.4 Factors contributing to the structural transformation 166 10.5 Conclusion 168 11 Foreign policy: Switzerland and the EU 172 11.1 Introduction 172 11.2 Historical overview 172 11.3 Prospects for accession 183 11.4 Switzerland’s European future: customized quasi-membership 186 Appendix 191 References 193 Index 218

Figures

1.1 Shares of public revenues obtained by the three levels of government page 6 2.1 Number of Swiss mandates as a protecting power, 1950–2004 27 6.1 Development of party strength, 1971–2003: share of votes in National Council elections 94 6.2 Development of party strength, 1971–2003, in selected cantons: share of votes in National Council elections 95 6.3 Strength of moderate right in National Council and Council of States: share of votes (NC) and share of seats (CS) 98 7.1 Development of union membership, 1980–2000 106 9.1 Growth of the Swiss economy in comparison with the US, EU ﬁfteen and other countries 135 9.2 Standardized unemployment rate 146 9.3 Foreign direct investments 151 11.1 Public opinion in favour of Switzerland’s EU accession, 1993–2005 186

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Tables

2.1 Pride and importance of neutrality for the future of Switzerland page 31 3.1 Expenditures for public policies (percentage 1998) 41 3.2 Pride and importance of federalism for the future of Switzerland 46 3.3 Attachment to the canton 47 4.1 Swiss federal institutions of direct democracy 50 4.2 The use of direct democratic institutions from 1848 to 2007 57 4.3 Pride and importance of direct democracy for the future of Switzerland 66 A1 Elections to the National Council, 1963–2007: percentages of votes 191 A2 Elections to the Council of States, 1939–2007: distribution of seats 192

Preface

Despite Switzerland’s small size, the Swiss political system is in many respects one of the most complex and fascinating among contemporary western democracies. It not only builds upon historical developments that started centuries ago, but the unique structure of its society, the richness of its political institutions, its complex political arrangements and the multifaceted pressures for reform constitute a laboratory for any scholar in the social sciences. Often presented as the paradigmatic case of political integration, consensus democracy, multinational federalism and direct-democratic decision making, the Swiss political system has become a benchmark case for analyses in comparative politics, political behaviour, European studies and related ﬁelds. Surprisingly, however, social scientists and policy experts outside Switzerland rarely include the Swiss case in their comparative work. This is in large part due to the still (quantitatively) meagre research output published in English and the limited availability of data and sources on the Swiss political system. Of course, these two shortcom- ings interact and create a vicious circle. With the present introduction to Swiss politics, we hope to take a step towards bringing Switzerland into the mainstream of comparative work. The present volume starts out with the development of the modern state and focuses on the process of state formation within the federalist framework. In addition, the introductory chapter discusses the ambiguous concepts of Swiss nationhood and Swiss political cul- ture. Chapters 2 to 5 introduce the Swiss polity, the structures and institutions of the Swiss political regime. This regime is characterized by a unique combination of institutional structures, which is crucial for understanding its functioning. In these four chapters we provide a thorough overview of the three main political institutions – neutrality, federalism and direct democracy – as well as of the Swiss system of government. Although neutrality, federalism and direct democracy are not exclusive features of Switzerland, it is their combination inside the

xii Preface

same constituency which is unparalleled. This institutional framework accounts for Switzerland’s status as the paradigmatic case of consensus democracy and offers a structure with an exceptionally large number of veto points. Having laid the structural and institutional bases for understanding the Swiss political system, we then focus on politics involving the citi- zens, political parties and interest associations in chapters 6, 7 and 8. The discussions cover fundamental processes in the Swiss political system. Voting behaviour in elections and referendums, the role of interest associations within the policy process, as well as a comprehensive pre- sentation of the Swiss party system and cleavage structure, constitute the main topics discussed in this part of the book. The remaining chapters 9, 10, and 11 address three major policy domains. We concentrate on the issues which are currently most salient in Swiss politics. First, we discuss economic policies. This is not only one of the most important policy domains in any liberal democracy, but Swiss economic policy has also undergone profound changes in the more recent past. Second, public policies related to social welfare receive particular attention and allow us to put the Swiss model into a comparative perspective. Finally, Switzerland’s relationship with the European Union is of utmost importance for the Swiss political system and is therefore carefully discussed in the closing chapter of this book. For many years, we have taught classes on Swiss politics from under- graduate to PhD level in Swiss, European and American universities. We are grateful to our students who have enriched our understanding of this complex topic by engaging with us in discussions and debates throughout the years. The same goes for our colleagues in the field, many of whom have helped us by providing detailed suggestions and critique to earlier versions of our arguments. They are too numerous to be mentioned here individually but our gratitude reaches out to all of them. More specifically, we would like to thank a number of persons who have helped us in finding the data and information we used for this book: Dominik Furgler, Roman Kolakovic, Stefan Schmid and Karin Siegwart (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Berne), Tobias Zellweger (Research and Documentation Centre on Direct Democ- racy, Geneva). Furthermore, we acknowledge the substantial feedback on earlier versions of the manuscript provided by Fernando Mendez (European University Institute). Special thanks go to Mel Marquis,

Preface xiii

Andrew Glencross and Mario Mendez (European University Institute) who greatly helped us in the copy-editing of the volume. We would also like to thank Gabriella Unger for her professional secretarial assistance. Finally, our gratitude goes to John Haslam from Cambridge University Press. His help was essential for completing this book.

Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander H. Trechsel Zurich and Florence

Abbreviations

ACS Automobil Club der Schweiz/Automobile Club de Suisse AHV/AVS Alters- und Hinterbliebenen-Versicherung/ Assurance vieillesse et invalidite´ ASM/APSM Arbeitgeberverband der Schweizer Maschinenindustrie/Association patronale suisse de l’industrie des machines ASTAG Schweizerischer Nutzfahrzeugverband/ Association suisse des transports routiers AUNS/ASIN Aktion fur¨ eine unabhangige¨ und neutrale Schweiz/Action pour une Suisse independante´ et neutre CNG/CSCS Christlich-nationaler Gewerkschaftsbund/ Confed´ eration´ des syndicats chretiens´ de Suisse CSP/PCS Christlichsoziale Partei/Parti chretien-social´ CVP/PDC Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei/Parti democrate-chr´ etien´ EDU Eidgenossisch-Demokratische¨ Union EVP/PEP Evangelische Volkspartei/Parti evang´ elique´ suisse FDP/PRD Freisinnig-demokratische Partei/Parti radical-democratique FPS Freiheitspartei/Autopartei GPS/PES Grune¨ Partei der Schweiz/Les Verts GBI/SIB Gewerkschaft Bau und Industrie/Syndicat industrie et batimentˆ GSOA Gruppe fur¨ eine Schweiz ohne Armee LdU/AdI Landesring der Unabhangigen/Alliance¨ des independants´ Lega Lega dei Ticinesi LPS/PLS Liberale Partei der Schweiz/Parti liberal´ suisse

xiv

List of abbreviations xv

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OFCOM Ofﬁce of Telecommunications OFEA Ofﬁce of Foreign and Economic Affairs PdA/PdT Partei der Arbeit/Parti du Travail POCH Progressive Organizations of Switzerland SAV/UPS Schweizerischer Arbeitgeberverband/Union patronale suisse SBV/USP Schweizerischer Bauernverband/Union suisse des paysans SBV/SSE Schweizerischer Baumeisterverband/Societ´ e´ suisse des entrepreneurs SD/DS Schweizer Demokraten/Democrates´ suisses SGB/USS Schweizerischer Gewerkschaftsbund/Union syndicale suisse SGV/USAM Schweizerischer Gewerbeverband/Union suisse des arts et metiers´ SMUV/FTMH Schweizerischer Metall- und Uhrenarbeiterverband/Fed´ eration´ suisse des travailleurs de la metallurgie´ et de l’horlogerie SP/PS Sozialdemokratische Partei/Parti socialiste suisse SVP/UDC Schweizerische Volkspartei/Union democratique´ du centre TCS Touring Club der Schweiz/Touring Club de Suisse VCS/ATE Verkehrs-Club der Schweiz/Association transport et environnement VHTL/FCTA Gewerkschaft Verkauf, Handel, Transport, Lebensmittel/Fed´ eration´ du commerce, des transports et d’alimentation VKMB Vereinigung zum Schutz kleiner und mittlerer Bauern VSA/FSE Verein schweizerischer Angestelltenverbande/¨ Fed´ eration´ des societ´ es´ suisses d’employes´ VSM/SSCM Verein schweizerischer Maschinen- Industrieller/Societ´ e´ suisse des constructeurs de machines