Swiss People’s Party
“The Swiss People’s Party is a conservative party. It stands for the independence and freedom of our country. The People’s Party is committed to the security and welfare of the population, and lower taxes.”
Ueli Maurer, president
The forerunner of the People’s Party represented “farmers, traders and Swiss citizens” from rural areas. At the end of the First World War it grew into an opposition movement to the Radicals and eventually won a cabinet seat in 1929. It merged with a number of smaller, regional parties to become the Swiss People’s Party in 1971.
Until the 1990s, the People’s Party was the smallest of the parties represented in cabinet, with only 11 per cent of the vote. During the 1990s the party increased its share of the vote, attracting 22.5 per cent in 1999. The People’s Party has 45 members in the House of Representatives and seven in the Senate.
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