Swiss parliamentary elections 1860

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Turnout: 49.1%

 %

70

60

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

48.2

21.6

21.2

4.0

2.9

2.1

FL

LM

KK

HE

DL

Independent

Gains and losses

compared to

 % p

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

  -8th

-10

-12

-14

-12.2

+5.7

+4.4

-0.3

+0.9

+1.5

FL

LM

KK

HE

DL

Independent

Distribution of seats in the National Council

1

64

36

3

16

1 64 36 3 16 

A total of 120 seats

• DL : 1
• FL : 64
• LM : 36
• ER: 3
• KK : 16

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1860 took place on October 28, 1860. 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 . The previously dominant liberals (or radical liberals) only achieved a narrow absolute majority of the seats, while the moderate liberals were able to increase significantly - a consequence of opposing positions in rail and foreign policy. 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 5th legislative period on December 3, 1860.

Election campaign

The controversy between two groups within the free-thinking liberal camp, on the one hand radical liberals and on the other the representatives of the interests of the large railway companies led by the powerful entrepreneur Alfred Escher , shaped the election campaign . In cantons that were not or only poorly served by railways, the success of the private railway companies triggered a feeling of inferiority. In addition, there was the impression of being exploited by a small economic upper class. Radical liberal circles around Federal Councilor Jakob Stämpfli called for independence from foreign railroad capital, and the influence of French banks in particular was perceived as harmful. Members of the Helvetia student union founded a national committee in 1858 to initiate a mass movement against the "railroad barons". The mistrust of France reached its peak in the spring of 1860 with the events of the Savoy trade , which almost sparked war. The diplomatic defeat only spurred Helvetia on: Parliament was to be "cleansed" of those people who had taken a conciliatory stance towards France.

Helvetia tried to unleash a storm of nationalist enthusiasm and emphatically recalled the heroes of Swiss history. Gottfried Keller wrote an election manifesto with this in mind, and Helvetia received further support from the Grütliverein . Specific demands included the banishment of all railway interest representatives from parliament, social equality and the expansion of democratic rights. Strongholds of the Helvetia were next to the French-speaking cantons of Bern , Graubünden and Solothurn , while their propaganda in the rest of the country showed little effect. The reasons for this were the lack of candidates with a national profile and the fact that voters often felt that cantonal issues were more important. Overall, the free-thinking liberal bloc grew, while the Catholic conservatives lost seats despite a larger share of the vote. At the same time, the elections for the first time created a clearly noticeable rift between the radicals and the moderate liberals. The 15 seat losses of the first group are mainly due to the fact that the Escher supporters from the canton of Zurich joined the middle fraction. The radicals then only had a wafer-thin majority.

During the fourth legislative period , there were five replacement elections in as many constituencies due to vacancies , in which the liberal center was able to gain three seats. In 1860 there were a total of 63 ballots (eleven fewer than three years earlier), for which 223 candidates ran (in 1857 202). In 35 constituencies, the elections were decided after the first round. As usual in the second half of the 19th century, all incumbent federal councilors ran for a compliment election ; that is, 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 were completed on January 13, 1861, with which the National Council was complete.

Throughout Switzerland, the turnout in the first ballot was 49.1%, which is an increase of 2.6% compared to the last elections. The cause of this increase is essentially the commitment of Helvetia. Once again, striking differences between the individual cantons were discernible. In the canton of Schaffhausen , one of the few cantons with compulsory voting , the participation was 86.4%. The cantons of Aargau and Solothurn also recorded values ​​of over 80% . The participation was again lowest in the canton of Zurich at 8.9%.

Result of the National Council elections

→ Main article : Swiss parliamentary elections 1860 / Results of the National Council elections

Overall result

Of 541,670 adult male eligible voters, 265,730 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 49.1%. 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 1857 before dissolution Seats 1860 +/- Share of voters +/- FL 79 78 64 −15 48.2% −12.2% LM 15th 18th 36 +21 21.6% + 05.7% KK 21st 19th 16 −5 21.2% + 04.4% HE 5 5 3 −2 04.0% - 00.3% DL - - 1 +1 02.9% + 00.9% Various - - - - 01.1% + 00.5% kl. Parties - - - - 01.0% + 01.0%

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%	4th	−1	5	+1	1
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	2	1	-	-	−1	2	+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%	21st	+2					2	−2
Freiburg	5	2	54.9%			1		4th
Geneva	3	1	42.5%	2		1
Glarus	2	1	-			2
Grisons	4th	4th	45.2%	3	+1	1				-	−1
Lucerne	7th	3	26.8%	5				2
Neuchâtel	4th	1	55.2%	4th
Nidwalden	1	1	-	-	-1	1	+1
Obwalden	1	1	-					1
Schaffhausen	2	1	86.4%	1	−1	1	+1
Schwyz	2	1	20.6%					2
Solothurn	3	1	81.8%	2				1
St. Gallen	8th	4th	78.0%	4th	−1	3	+3	-	−3			1	+1
Ticino	6th	2	52.0%	5	−1			1	+1
Thurgau	4th	1	73.7%	3		1
Uri	1	1	-					1
Vaud	10	3	42.2%	6th	−1	4th	+1
Valais	4th	3	48.8%	2	+2			2	−2
train	1	1	11.2%			1	+1	-	−1
Zurich	13	4th	08.9%	-	−13	12	+12			1	+1
Switzerland	120	49	49.1%	64	−15	36	+21	16	−5	3	−2	1	+1

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. 639-641.
2. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 641-642.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 644.
4. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
5. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 647.
6. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
7. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, pp. 71-83
8. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 349.