Swiss parliamentary elections 1878

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the National Council in 18781881 →

Turnout: 56.9%

 %

40

30th

20th

10

0

34.8

26.3

23.2

9.4

5.1

0.2

1.0

FL

KK

LM

DL

HE

Soc.

Independent

Gains and losses

compared to

 % p

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

-3.4

+0.6

+5.3

-2.3

+0.3

+0.1

-0.6

FL

KK

LM

DL

HE

Soc.

Independent

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1878 took place on October 27, 1878. There was a choice of 135 seats in the National Council . The elections were made according to the majority vote , with the country divided into 48 national council constituencies of different sizes . The liberals (or radical liberals) remained the strongest force, although they again lost seats and share of the vote and achieved the worst result in the Majorz era. By contrast, Catholic conservatives and moderate liberals were able to gain. The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 11th legislative period on December 2, 1878.

Election campaign

The " Great Depression " caused by the crash of 1873 triggered an industrial structural crisis in Switzerland, which particularly affected the watch and textile industries . Agriculture was also affected by falling prices. The crisis in the private railway companies, which had reached its climax in 1877 with the bankruptcy of the Swiss National Railway and the foreclosure sale of the Bern-Lucerne Railway , had an impact on the election campaign . In addition, on January 19, 1879, a referendum was about to take place on a controversial federal subsidy for the Gotthard Railway, which was in dire straits . Empty state coffers, growing mountains of debt and falling wages also dominated the headlines. In various cantons, the people made use of the new right of referendum to bring down financial and tax proposals. The Grütliverein initiated constitutional revisions in the cantons of Aargau , Bern , Graubünden and St. Gallen , but these were not implemented until several years later. In the face of the ongoing crisis, the liberals as representatives of modern capitalism and liberalism were put on the defensive.

Despite the general dissatisfaction, the conservative forces did not succeed in profiting decisively from the weakness of the liberals and the democrats allied with them. Mainly responsible for this were the still weak organizational structures of the opposition. The "Eidgenössische Verein", an association of evangelical rights, founded in 1875, did not succeed in building up sections in various cantons and thus developing into a nationwide party. Social Democrats and Grütlians largely did without their own lists of candidates. In contrast to the Reichstag election in 1878 in the German Empire , the losses for the liberal forces were limited, which is due to their better organization.

During the 10th legislative period there were ten replacement elections in seven electoral districts due to vacancies, with the moderate liberals winning two seats. In 1878 there were a total of 58 ballots (one less than three years earlier). In 40 of 48 constituencies, the elections were already decided after the first ballot. In the second half of the 19th century it was common for the incumbent federal councilors to run 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. Joachim Heer decided not to run and announced his resignation as Federal Councilor in December. Numa Droz was no longer set up by the Neuchâtel radical democrats due to his moderate politics; Outside of his home canton, however, he was completely undisputed, so that the Federal Assembly confirmed him in office. With the last supplementary election on January 24, 1879, the National Council was complete.

Compared to 1875, the turnout was 2.2 percent lower. The highest value was recorded in the canton of Schaffhausen , where 95.1% cast their votes due to the mandatory voting there. Otherwise, only the cantons of Aargau and Appenzell Ausserrhoden had values ​​of over 80% . The least interest in the elections was in the canton of Schwyz, with a turnout of 26.7%. Clearly the losers in the election were the liberals and democrats with 6 and 5 lost seats. In contrast, the Catholic Conservatives and moderate Liberals gained 4 seats, the Protestant right by 3 seats. With a share of the vote of 34.8%, the Liberals achieved the worst result in the Majorz era that lasted until 1919.

Result of the National Council elections

→ Main article : Swiss parliamentary elections 1878 / results of the national council elections

Overall result

Of 634,080 adult male eligible voters, 360,542 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 56.9%.

The 135 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:

10

57

26th

5

37

10 57 26th 5 37 

A total of 135 seats

• DL : 10
• FL : 57
• LM : 26
• ER: 5
• KK : 37

Political party Seats 1875 before dissolution Seats 1878 +/- Share of voters +/- FL 63 62 57 −6 34.8% −3.4% KK 33 33 37 +4 26.3% + 0.6% LM 22nd 24 26th +4 23.2% + 5.3% DL 15th 14th 10 −5 09.4% −2.3% HE 2 2 5 +3 05.1% + 0.3% Soc - - - - 00.2% + 0.1% kl. Parties - - - - 00.1% + 0.1% Various - - - - 00.9% −0.7%

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 ( Democrats , Democratic Party ) Soz = social democrats

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		KK		LM		DL		HE
Aargau	10	3	82.2%	4th		3		3
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	2	1	84.4%	1	−1			1	+1
Appenzell Innerrhoden	1	1	77.6%			1
Basel-Country	3	1	35.5%	3	+2			-	−1	-	−1
Basel city	2	1	54.1%	1	−1			1	+1
Bern	25th	6th	38.0%	22nd	−2							3	+2
Freiburg	6th	2	57.3%			6th
Geneva	4th	1	56.9%	-	−4			4th	+4
Glarus	2	1	49.0%	1				1
Grisons	5	3	65.3%	2	-1	1		1				1	+1
Lucerne	7th	4th	47.8%	1		5		1
Neuchâtel	5	1	44.1%	5
Nidwalden	1	1	38.1%			1
Obwalden	1	1	50.4%			1
Schaffhausen	2	1	95.1%	1	+1					1	-1
Schwyz	2	1	26.7%			2
Solothurn	4th	1	68.4%	4th	+1			-	-1
St. Gallen	10	3	76.5%	1	-1	4th	+2	4th	+1	-	−2	1
Ticino	6th	2	57.8%			6th
Thurgau	5	1	73.5%	2				1		2
Uri	1	1	52.7%			1
Vaud	11	3	35.5%	9	+2			2	−2
Valais	5	3	56.1%	-	−2	5	+2
train	1	1	37.8%			1
Zurich	14th	4th	72.2%					7th	+1	7th	−1
Switzerland	135	48	56.9%	57	−6	37	+4	26th	+4	10	−5	5	+3

Council of States

The members of the Council of States were only able to choose who were eligible to vote in six cantons: in the cantons of Solothurn , Thurgau and Zurich at the ballot box, in the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Nidwalden and Obwalden by the municipality . In all other cantons, the election was made indirectly by the respective cantonal parliaments .

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).
• Political electoral map of Switzerland, elections of October 27th [1878]. List of the elected national councilors stating their political affiliation, listing according to constituencies and cantons. Bern: BF Haller, 1878.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848–1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 685–688.
2. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 689-690.
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. 220–221 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-81131 .
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. 692.
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. 157–169
8. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 355.