Swiss parliamentary elections 1854

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1851General election of
the National Council in 1854
1857
Turnout: 45.7%
 %
60
50
40
30th
20th
10
0
59.5
15.8
14.3
7.4
1.6
1.4
HE
Independent
Gains and losses
compared to
 % p
   8th
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
+6.4
+2.2
-1.2
-6.1
-2.5
+1.2
HE
Independent
Distribution of seats in the National Council
2
82
16
6th
14th
82 16 6th 14th 
A total of 120 seats
  • DL : 2
  • FL : 82
  • LM : 16
  • ER: 6
  • KK : 14

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1854 took place on October 29, 1854. There was a choice of 120 seats in the National Council . The elections were made according to the majority vote , with the country divided into 49 national council constituencies of different sizes . As in the two previous elections, the liberals (or radical liberals) achieved a clear victory. They were able to increase both in terms of the share of the vote and the number of seats. While the liberal center stagnated, the other political groups suffered slight losses. In all cantons the elections to the Council of States were indirect and took place through the respective cantonal parliaments . The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 3rd legislative period on December 4, 1854.

Election campaign

After the fear of a European reaction had shaped the election campaign of the dominant liberals in 1848 - and to a lesser extent in 1851 - the achievements of the Swiss federal state were no longer seen as endangered. According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung , the old condition can no longer be restored. The conservative opposition gradually began to make friends with the federal institutions, while individual cantons complained about the increasing influence of the federal administration . The election campaign was characterized by the term “fusion”. In the canton of Bern in particular , but also in the cantons of St. Gallen , Schwyz , Graubünden , Thurgau and Basel-Stadt , this meant a reconciliation and rapprochement between camps that were once hostile. This was mainly due to the fact that in 1853 the former Sonderbund cantons were exempted from the reparations payments that were still outstanding and that Switzerland was enjoying an economic upswing thanks to the construction of the railway. Only in the canton of Lucerne did the old contradictions between liberals and Catholic conservatives initially remain insurmountable. The "merger" in French-speaking Switzerland and in the canton of Ticino had a different meaning : Here the left-wing “ultra-democrats” or “ultra-radicals” allied themselves with the conservatives for tactical reasons, in order to stir up a mood against increasing centralization. The free-thinking majority viewed this alliance of convenience as an "unnatural alliance" between two "principally heterogeneous elements".

During the second legislative period , there were a total of twelve replacement elections due to vacancies , which corresponded to one sixth of all national councilors. This resulted in only marginal party political shifts. In the elections of 1854 there were 68 ballots, eight fewer than three years earlier. In 30 constituencies, the elections were already decided after the first round. The fact that a relatively large number of additional ballots were necessary was not due to fierce competition between political camps, but was primarily a result of poor organization, as a result of which numerous candidates with similar political orientations faced each other and caused a split in votes. All seven federal councilors ran for a compliment election , i. In other words, they stood for election as national councilors in order to have the voters confirm their legitimacy as members of the state government. Ulrich Ochsenbein , who ran unsuccessfully in two Bernese constituencies, was voted out of office in December by the Federal Assembly and replaced by Jakob Stämpfli . Stefano Franscini had more luck, although he narrowly failed in his home canton of Ticino, but then successfully took part in the third and fourth ballots in the canton of Schaffhausen . This maneuver to confirm his legitimacy might not have been necessary, because the Ticino elections were declared invalid after an appeal and had to be repeated three months later. Ultimately, it took until March 27, 1854, for all supplementary and repeat elections to be concluded and for the National Council to be complete.

The election campaign was quite slack, which was partly directly related to the conciliatory mood of the "merger". Apart from 1848, the nationwide voter turnout of 45.7% in the first ballot was the lowest in the Majorz era. There were once again very large differences between the cantons. The voter turnout was highest in the canton of Schaffhausen and amounted to 85.2% (a consequence of the mandatory voting there ). It was lowest in the canton of Zurich with only 7.7%, in the second ballot in constituency 1 (city of Zurich and the surrounding area) only 3.6% wanted to participate. Some Bern newspapers commented that this could no longer be a question of a people's representation, but of a small circle that proposes and chooses itself.

Result of the National Council elections

Overall result

Of the 517,641 male eligible voters, 236,760 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 45.7%. The cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Appenzell Innerrhoden , Glarus , Obwalden , Nidwalden and Uri are not included in these figures : There the election was made by the respective regional municipality , which is why no exact results are available.

The 120 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:

Political party Seats
1851
before
dissolution
Seats
1854
+/- Share of
voters
+/-
FL 78 71 82 +4 59.5% + 6.4%
LM 16 17th 16 ± 0 15.8% + 2.2%
KK 16 13 14th −2 14.3% −1.2%
HE 7th 7th 6th −1 07.4% −6.1%
DL 3 4th 2 −1 01.6% −2.5%
Various - - - - 01.4% +1.2%
  • FL = liberal left ( liberal , radical, radical democrats)
  • LM = Liberal Middle (Liberals, Liberal Democrats)
  • KK = Catholic Conservative
  • ER = Evangelical Rights (Evangelical / Reformed Conservatives)
  • DL = Democratic Left (extreme left)

Note: An assignment of candidates to parties and political groups is only possible to a limited extent. In line with the political reality of the 19th century, one can rather speak of party currents or directions, the boundaries of which are partly fluid. The party names used are therefore an ideological assessment.

Results in the cantons

The table below shows the distribution of seats won by cantons.

Canton seats
total
electoral
circles
participating
pation
FL LM KK HE DL
Kanton AargauKanton Aargau Aargau 10 3 82.0% 7th +3 2 −1 1 −2
Canton of Appenzell AusserrhodenCanton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden 2 1 - 2 *
Canton of Appenzell InnerrhodenCanton of Appenzell Innerrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden 1 1 - 1
Canton of Basel-CountryCanton of Basel-Country Basel-Country 2 1 23.9% 2 +1 - −1
Canton of Basel-StadtCanton of Basel-Stadt Basel city 1 1 22.9% 1
Canton BernCanton Bern Bern 23 6th 49.9% 18th +3 1 +1 - −3 4th −1
Canton of FriborgCanton of Friborg Freiburg 5 2 74.1% - −5 2 +2 3 +3
Canton of GenevaCanton of Geneva Geneva 3 1 73.4% - −3 3 +3
Canton of GlarusCanton of Glarus Glarus 2 1 - 2 +1 - −1
canton of Grisonscanton of Grisons Grisons 4th 4th 45.7% 2 +1 1 −1 1
Canton lucerneCanton lucerne Lucerne 7th 3 23.7% 4th 1 2
Canton of NeuchâtelCanton of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel 4th 1 17.3% 4th
Canton of NidwaldenCanton of Nidwalden Nidwalden 1 1 - 1
Canton of ObwaldenCanton of Obwalden Obwalden 1 1 - 1
Canton of SchaffhausenCanton of Schaffhausen Schaffhausen 2 1 85.2% 1 −1 1 +1
Canton of SchwyzCanton of Schwyz Schwyz 2 1 10.9% 1 +1 - −1 1
Canton of SolothurnCanton of Solothurn Solothurn 3 1 32.3% 1 −2 2 +2
Canton of St. GallenCanton of St. Gallen St. Gallen 8th 4th 61.3% 7th 1
Canton of TicinoCanton of Ticino Ticino 6th 2 61.7% 6th +2 - −2
Canton of ThurgauCanton of Thurgau Thurgau 4th 1 75.4% 3 −1 1 +1
Canton of UriCanton of Uri Uri 1 1 - 1
Canton of VaudCanton of Vaud Vaud 10 3 39.1% 9 +4 - −4 1
Canton of ValaisCanton of Valais Valais 4th 3 48.1% 2 2
Canton of ZugCanton of Zug train 1 1 14.7% 1
Canton ZurichCanton Zurich Zurich 13 4th 07.7% 11 1 1
Switzerland 120 49 45.7% 82 +4 16 ± 0 14th −2 6th −1 2 −1

* Incl. Jakob Kellenberger , whose party direction is not exactly clear.

literature

  • Erich Gruner : The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , first part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1442-9 .
  • Erich Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , second part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1443-7 .
  • Erich Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 2 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1444-5 (notes).
  • Erich Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 3 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1445-3 (tables, graphics, maps).

Individual evidence

  1. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 627-629.
  2. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 629-630.
  3. Paul Fink: The «choice of compliments» by incumbent Federal Councilors in the National Council 1851-1896 . In: Allgemeine Geschichtsforschende Gesellschaft der Schweiz (Hrsg.): Swiss journal for history . tape 45 , issue 2. Schwabe AG , 1995, ISSN  0036-7834 , p. 217-218 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-81131 .
  4. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 631.
  5. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 630.
  6. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
  7. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 632.
  8. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
  9. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848–1919 , Volume 3, pp. 41–55
  10. Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 347.