Parties compete for the Swiss Abroad vote

The major parties are campaigning for votes among the Swiss Abroad. © Keystone / Anthony Anex

At least 200,000 votes are at stake - the strength of the Swiss Abroad voters should not be underestimated.

If only the votes of the Swiss Abroad had counted in the last federal elections in 2019, there would not have been a green wave, but a green tsunami. During that vote, one in four Swiss Abroad voted Green. That is more than twice as many as in Switzerland itself.

For Green Party Secretary General Rahel Estermann, it is therefore clear that her party will focus even more strongly on the Swiss diaspora for the coming elections in autumn: “We are in the process of drafting a motion calling for direct representation of this group in the House of Representatives and the Senate.”

800,000 Swiss Abroad

When the Swiss electorate votes for a new parliament in autumn, it will also include those who cast their ballots from abroad. More than 800,000 Swiss people live abroad, and around a quarter of them have registered to vote in Switzerland.

Not so left-wing

The Swiss Abroad voted disproportionately for the Green parties in 2019, but also disproportionately for the Swiss People’s Party. Parliamentarian Roland Rino Büchel represents the Swiss People’s Party on the Council of the Swiss Abroad. He is convinced that his party will be able to gain ground again among the Swiss Abroad. “The pendulum is swinging back – and I’m pretty sure that standing by Switzerland’s values will help the Swiss People’s Party, to succeed,” said Büchel.

According to political geographer Michael Hermann, the Swiss Abroad are by no means as left-wing as the election results of 2019 would suggest. When it comes to votes, things look different, he recently told SWI Swissinfo.

For example, he said they voted in favour of raising the retirement age for women to an above-average extent, this contrary to the recommendation of the left. “The profile of the Swiss Abroad would therefore correspond more to the profile of the Green Liberals,” Hermann said.

But the Green Liberal Party could not benefit from this four years ago. That might change this year. The party wants to better reach the Swiss Abroad with the newly founded Green Liberal Party International. In addition, the Green Liberal Party is campaigning for the introduction of e-voting.

Demand for e-voting

Centre-right politician Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, who is also a member of the Foreigners’ Advisory Council, is also fighting for this. “E-voting is absolutely essential for the Swiss Abroad” – because it could increase the below-average voter share of the Swiss Abroad.

Social Democratic Party parliamentary group leader Roger Nordmann is more sceptical on this issue. He is not prepared to compromise on the security of voting. “Currently, there is no secure solution for e-voting.”

The Social Democratic Party was previously the only party to have a Swiss Abroad in the House of Representatives, Tim Guldimann. However, after two and a half years of commuting from Berlin to Bern, that was the end of it. For Nordmann, this model is not practicable. Working as a parliamentarian is a full-time job that cannot be done from abroad, he says.

Swiss Abroad increasingly important

For the Green Liberal Party, too, the direct election of Swiss Abroad to the national parliament is not the primary goal. Swiss Abroad would only be listed on sub-lists for election in order to support the main lists and candidates, says Green Liberal Party International President Thomas Häni. He himself lives in Ulm, Germany, and is running on a Green Liberal Party sub-list in canton Basel-Stadt.

One thing is certain: the Swiss Abroad is becoming increasingly important politically. Their number is becoming increasingly more significant every year. No party can afford to neglect them any more.

This article was originally published by SRF on May 29, 2023.External link