Swiss parliamentary elections 1857

← 1854General election of
the National Council in 18571860 →

Turnout: 46.5%

 %

70

60

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

60.4

16.8

15.9

4.3

2.0

0.6

FL

KK

LM

HE

DL

Independent

Gains and losses

compared to

 % p

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

+0.9

+2.5

+0.1

-3.1

+0.4

-0.8

FL

KK

LM

HE

DL

Independent

Distribution of seats in the National Council

79

15th

5

21st

79 15th 5 21st 

A total of 120 seats

• FL : 79
• LM : 15
• ER: 5
• KK : 21

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1857 took place on October 28, 1857. 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 . Despite a slight loss of seats, the liberals (or radical liberals) were again the strongest force . 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 4th legislative period on December 7, 1857.

Election campaign

The reconciliation efforts of 1854 had led to a certain rapprochement between the ruling liberals and the conservatives. The confessional and ideological differences did not disappear, but they faded into the background. The liberals no longer suspected their opponents of planning treason after they had also defended themselves against Prussian aggression in the Neuchâtel trade of 1856 . Only in the cantons of St. Gallen and Lucerne did the old lines of conflict still emerge with their old sharpness. Instead, the dominant election campaign topic was the construction of the railways, specifically the dispute between supporters of different routes. A special focus - with national appeal - was the dispute over the main axis from Bern to the still railroad-free Romandie , the so-called Oron Railway Conflict . At the time of the elections, the decision in favor of the route via Friborg and Oron had already been made, but the supporters of the route via Murten and Yverdon did not want to give up. Common economic interests briefly overcame ideological boundaries: for example, free-spirited and conservative Freiburgers or free-spirited Bernese allied with socialist Vaudois. There were further disputes, especially within the free-thinking faction, in the cantons of Neuchâtel ( Franco-Suisse line versus Jura-Industriel line ), Solothurn ( Gäubahn ) and Schaffhausen (connection to the Baden Hochrheinbahn ).

During the 3rd legislative period there were a total of ten replacement elections in nine electoral districts due to vacancies ; the liberals were able to gain four seats. In 1857 there were a total of 74 ballots, six more than three years earlier. In 28 constituencies, the elections were decided after the first round. The relatively large number of additional ballots were due to the fact that numerous candidates of similar political orientation faced each other, which led to a split in votes. Often the defeated candidates achieved a share of the vote of just under 50%, which suggests tight decisions. On the other hand, there was practically no election campaign in some constituencies because one of the political camps saw the hopelessness of the undertaking. As usual in the second half of the 19th century, the incumbent federal councilors ran for a compliment election ; d. 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. The necessary additional elections to complete the National Council dragged on until February 28, 1858.

The nationwide voter turnout of 46.5% was slightly higher than three years earlier, but was still one of the lowest in the Majorz era. There were once again striking differences between the individual cantons. It was highest in the canton of Schaffhausen at 86.4%, a consequence of the mandatory voting there . It was again lowest in the canton of Zurich at just 8.9%. Overall, the liberal and liberal center had to accept seat losses despite a slight increase in the proportion of voters. The electoral winners were the Catholic Conservatives, who were able to increase from 14 to 21 seats; however, they were far from being able to take on an effective opposition role. The faction of the Democratic Left was temporarily banned entirely from the National Council.

Result of the National Council elections

→ Main article : Swiss parliamentary elections 1857 / results of the national council elections

Overall result

Of 526,693 male eligible voters, 244,774 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 46.5%. 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 1854 before dissolution Seats 1857 +/- Share of voters +/- FL 82 86 79 −3 60.4% + 0.9% LM 16 15th 15th −1 15.9% + 0.1% KK 14th 14th 21st +7 16.8% + 2.5% HE 6th 4th 5 −1 04.3% −3.1% DL 2 1 - −2 02.0% + 0.4% Various - - - - 00.6% −0.8%

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
Aargau	10	3	80.8%	5	−2	4th	+2	1
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	2	1	-	1	−1	1	+1
Appenzell Innerrhoden	1	1	-					1
Basel-Country	2	1	20.1%	2
Basel city	1	1	27.9%			1
Bern	23	6th	38.8%	19th	+1	-	−1			4th
Freiburg	5	2	54.9%			1	−1	4th	+1
Geneva	3	1	42.5%	2	+2	1	−2
Glarus	2	1	-	-	−2	2	+2
Grisons	4th	4th	45.2%	2		1				1
Lucerne	7th	3	26.8%	5	+1	-	−1	2
Neuchâtel	4th	1	55.2%	4th
Nidwalden	1	1	-	1	+1			-	−1
Obwalden	1	1	-					1
Schaffhausen	2	1	86.4%	2	+1	-	−1
Schwyz	2	1	20.6%	-	−1			2	+1
Solothurn	3	1	81.8%	2	+1	-	−2	1	+1
St. Gallen	8th	4th	78.0%	5	−2	-	−1	3	+3
Ticino	6th	2	52.0%	6th
Thurgau	4th	1	73.7%	3		1
Uri	1	1	-					1
Vaud	10	3	42.2%	7th	−2	3	+3					-	−1
Valais	4th	3	48.8%	-	−2			4th	+2
train	1	1	11.2%					1
Zurich	13	4th	08.9%	13	+2					-	−1	-	−1
Switzerland	120	49	46.5%	79	−3	15th	−1	21st	+7	5	−1	-	−2

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. 632-634.
2. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 635.
3. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
4. ^ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 639.
5. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
6. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, pp. 57-70
7. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 348.