Green parties scored a historic victory yesterday in the Swiss parliamentary elections, at the expense of parties on both the right wing and the left. Final results show that The Greens received 13% of the votes – almost half more than in 2015 and their best result ever.
Additionally, the centrist liberal Greens also increased their share to 7.9% from 4.6%. The right-wing People’s Party remains the largest faction in parliament, ahead of the left-wing Social Democrats. The leading right-wing Swiss People’s Party and the left-wing Social Democrats lost voter support – 3.6% and 2.2% respectively – compared to 2015.
Overall, left and center parties have made gains, sparking speculation in Bern about a possible reshuffle of the multi-party government. The seven-member coalition currently consists of members from the four main parties, but does not include the Greens.
Swiss voters were concerned about climate issues and want parliament to act accordingly, as most Swiss media summarize the result. Environmental issues dominated the campaigns leading up to Sunday’s vote. In the past ten months, numerous street protests across Switzerland have demanded action against climate change.
The ‘green’ election outcome follows earlier gains by The Greens in the European elections, parliamentary elections in Scandinavia, and regional elections in Germany.