Swiss parliamentary elections 1905
The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1905 took place on October 29, 1905. There were 167 seats in the National Council for election . The elections were made according to the majority vote , with the country divided into 49 national council constituencies of different sizes . The Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) was able to further expand its position as the strongest force, while the Social Democrats lost seats due to an emotional election campaign directed against them. The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 20th legislative period on December 4, 1905.
Election campaign
The Bern daily newspaper Der Bund saw the elections as a “popular rally against the socialist-anarchist machinations” and as a “plebiscite about the hustle and bustle of the social democrats ”. They were accused of mocking all attempts by the liberalists, supporting anarchists , instigating violent strikes and conducting propaganda against the army and conscription. The Social Democrats complained that the liberals saw themselves as the sole representatives of all social classes without really knowing the needs of the workers. The irreconcilable class struggle replaced common interests such as democracy and social reform that still existed in the 1890s . The Democrats tried in vain to adopt a mediating stance between the two camps. Within the FDP, the influence of the young liberals made itself felt for the first time. They tried to dampen the parent party's claim to exclusivity and called for a more active social policy. In the canton of Ticino , the “extreme left” (estrema sinistra) of the free-minded represented a culture-fighting - free-thinking line with an anti-militarist tendency. The Social Democrats flowed under the influence of Otto Lang of orthodox Marxism into the party program, which the ditch to the civilian population even deeper left. The Catholic Conservatives were hardly noticed in the election campaign because they still lacked a central organization.
The drying up labor market combined with strong inflation meant that strikes were more frequent and violent. They could therefore be charged with class struggle symbolism by extremists from both camps. Entrepreneurs raised the (quite justified) accusation that the desire to strike in Switzerland was fueled from abroad; For example, in Zurich it was mostly foreign bricklayers who went on strike for seven weeks against the will of Swiss trade union officials. In particular, a metal workers' strike in Rorschach was viewed by some liberals as a punishable disruption of public order. Accordingly, they welcomed the army's commitment to dissolving the strike. An "anti-militarist league" further diminished the social democrats' chances, although the party vehemently distanced itself from them. The entrepreneurs who came under pressure also organized themselves and founded the employers' association of Swiss machine manufacturers to protect weaker companies from the unions. The influence of foreign workers on the unions also fueled xenophobic emotions.
During the 19th legislative period , there were ten replacement elections in nine constituencies due to vacancies, with only minor shifts in seats. In 1905 there were a total of 57 ballots (one less than three years earlier). In 41 of 49 constituencies, the elections were decided after the first ballot. With the last ballot on November 12, 1905, the National Council was complete. The turnout decreased by 0.3 percentage points compared to 1902. The canton of Schaffhausen usually had the highest value , where 96.0% cast their vote due to the mandatory voting requirement (this is the highest turnout ever achieved in Switzerland). The cantons of Aargau and St. Gallen also recorded over 80% participation . The turnout was lowest in the canton of Zug , where only 20.0% took part in the elections. Despite a slight loss in the share of the vote, the FDP again proved to be the election winner with four seats. The Social Democrats lost 5 seats despite a larger share of the vote.
Result of the National Council elections
Overall result
Of 779,835 male eligible voters, 440,383 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 56.5%.
The 167 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:
* 1 seat for the BVP |
|
Note: Candidates can only be assigned to parties and political groups to a limited extent (with the exception of the Liberals and Social Democrats). In line with the political reality of the early 20th century, one can rather speak of party currents or directions, the boundaries of which are partially 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 |
FDP | KK | LM | DL | SP | BVP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aargau
|
10 | 4th | 83.0% | 7th | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
 Appenzell Ausserrhoden
|
3 | 1 | 62.2% | 3 | |||||||||||
 Appenzell Innerrhoden
|
1 | 1 | 78.8% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Basel-Country
|
3 | 1 | 31.4% | 2 | 1 | +1 | - | −1 | |||||||
 Basel city
|
6th | 1 | 53.8% | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
 Bern
|
29 | 7th | 46.9% | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
 Freiburg
|
6th | 3 | 36.0% | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
 Geneva
|
7th | 1 | 51.3% | 2 | 1 | 4th | |||||||||
 Glarus
|
2 | 1 | 50.0% | - | −1 | 2 | +1 | ||||||||
 Grisons
|
5 | 1 | 53.1% | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
 Lucerne
|
7th | 3 | 65.2% | 3 | 4th | ||||||||||
 Neuchâtel
|
6th | 1 | 46.3% | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||
 Nidwalden
|
1 | 1 | 35.8% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Obwalden
|
1 | 1 | 20.3% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Schaffhausen
|
2 | 1 | 96.0% | 2 | |||||||||||
 Schwyz
|
3 | 1 | 28.4% | 1 | +1 | 2 | −1 | ||||||||
 Solothurn
|
5 | 1 | 59.3% | 4th | 1 | ||||||||||
 St. Gallen
|
13 | 5 | 85.0% | 5 | +1 | 6th | 1 | 1 | −1 | ||||||
 Ticino
|
7th | 2 | 37.4% | 5 | 2 | ||||||||||
 Thurgau
|
6th | 1 | 76.7% | 4th | −1 | 1 | +1 | 1 | |||||||
 Uri
|
1 | 1 | 44.8% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Vaud
|
14th | 3 | 37.3% | 10 | 4th | ||||||||||
 Valais
|
6th | 2 | 52.3% | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
 train
|
1 | 1 | 20.0% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Zurich
|
22nd | 4th | 72.6% | 18th | +4 | 3 | −1 | 1 | - | −3 | |||||
| Switzerland | 167 | 49 | 56.5% | 104 | +4 | 35 | ± 0 | 19th | −1 | 6th | +2 | 2 | −5 | 1 | ± 0 |
Council of States elections
The members of the Council of States in 18 cantons were able to choose who were eligible to vote : in the cantons of Aargau , Basel-Landschaft , Basel-Stadt , Geneva , Graubünden , Lucerne , Schwyz , Solothurn , Ticino , Thurgau , Zug and Zurich at the ballot box, in the cantons Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Appenzell Innerrhoden , Glarus , Nidwalden , Obwalden and Uri an der Landsgemeinde . In all other cantons, the election was made indirectly by the respective cantonal parliaments . In many cantons the elections to the Council of States did not take place at the same time as the elections to the National Council.
Distribution of seats
The distribution of seats in the Council of States was as follows:
| Political party | Elections 1905 | Elections 1902 |
|---|---|---|
| FDP | 26th | 26th |
| KK | 16 | 16 |
| LM | 1 | 1 |
| DP | 1 | 1 |
Elected Councils of State
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
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 760-761.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 761-762.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 762-764.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 767.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848–1919 , Volume 3, pp. 275–286
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 364.
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