Swiss parliamentary elections 1908
The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1908 took place on October 29, 1908. 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 Free Democratic Party (FDP) achieved an absolute majority in terms of both mandates and voter share, while the Social Democrats were able to make up for the losses they had suffered three years earlier. The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 21st legislative period on December 7, 1908.
Election campaign
On the same day as the elections, there was also a vote on a constitutional provision on the use of hydropower, which, however, was largely undisputed in terms of party politics. As in 1905, the dominant electoral theme was the sharp contrast between the liberal and social democrats , although the gap between the two camps had become even deeper. The liberals felt compelled to deal primarily with social policy ; the comprehensive social security legislation they propagated was only implemented decades later. As a recession began, there were more than 200 strikes between 1905 and 1908 . To defuse the social situation, the left wing of the FDP advocated freedom of association and the introduction of arbitration courts, but this immediately provoked opposition from the business-friendly wing of the party. The cantonal governments of Zurich , Bern and Graubünden enacted anti-strike laws, which further fueled the mood.
Increasing military action against strikes (mainly an overreaction of local authorities to the completely new phenomenon of mass strikes) led to the alienation of the Social Democrats from the army. Numerous members of the Social Democratic Army refused to serve, which allowed the commoners to portray their political opponents as unpatriotic. Extremists from both camps drowned out those willing to compromise. A free-spirited social-democratic alliance in the canton of Ticino met with suspicion within the FDP, but it was based on a revival of the Kulturkampf and mainly served to defend a secular school law. Within the Catholic-Conservative camp, the Christian social wing pushed for an understanding between business and workers, which was thematically close to the Democrats .
During the 20th legislative period there were 17 substitute elections in 13 constituencies due to vacancies, with only minor shifts in seats. In 1908 there were a total of 56 ballots (two fewer than three years earlier). In 42 of 49 constituencies, the elections were decided after the first ballot. With the last ballots on November 15, 1908, the National Council was complete. The turnout fell by 3.8 percentage points compared to 1905. The canton of Aargau had the highest value , where 83.1% cast their vote. The cantons of Thurgau and Schaffhausen also recorded over 80% participation . It was lowest in the canton of Zug , where only 16.1% took part in the elections. The FDP was able to maintain its position as the strongest force and achieved a voter share of over 50%. The election winner was the SP, which was able to make up for its five seat losses in 1905 at the expense of the liberal center. The conservative Bern People's Party was unable to defend the seat of its late party leader Ulrich Dürrenmatt and subsequently played no role.
Result of the National Council elections
Overall result
Of 809,508 adult male eligible voters, 426,752 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 52.7%.
The 167 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:
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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 | SP | DL | BVP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aargau
|
10 | 4th | 83.1% | 7th | 3 | +1 | - | −1 | |||||||
 Appenzell Ausserrhoden
|
3 | 1 | 69.7% | 2 | −1 | 1 | +1 | ||||||||
 Appenzell Innerrhoden
|
1 | 1 | 75.6% | 1 | +1 | - | −1 | ||||||||
 Basel-Country
|
3 | 1 | 31.0% | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
 Basel city
|
6th | 1 | 47.5% | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
 Bern
|
29 | 7th | 41.0% | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | +1 | - | −1 | |||||
 Freiburg
|
6th | 3 | 40.3% | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
 Geneva
|
7th | 1 | 42.9% | 3 | +1 | - | −1 | 4th | |||||||
 Glarus
|
2 | 1 | 57.2% | 2 | |||||||||||
 Grisons
|
5 | 1 | 53.0% | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
 Lucerne
|
7th | 3 | 29.8% | 3 | 4th | ||||||||||
 Neuchâtel
|
6th | 1 | 32.7% | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||
 Nidwalden
|
1 | 1 | 24.6% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Obwalden
|
1 | 1 | 34.4% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Schaffhausen
|
2 | 1 | 80.0% | 2 | |||||||||||
 Schwyz
|
3 | 1 | 61.8% | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
 Solothurn
|
5 | 1 | 52.3% | 4th | 1 | ||||||||||
 St. Gallen
|
13 | 5 | 79.2% | 5 | 6th | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
 Ticino
|
7th | 2 | 55.9% | 5 | 1 | −1 | 1 | +1 | |||||||
 Thurgau
|
6th | 1 | 82.6% | 4th | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
 Uri
|
1 | 1 | 36.3% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Vaud
|
14th | 3 | 21.8% | 11 | +1 | 3 | −1 | ||||||||
 Valais
|
6th | 2 | 45.0% | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
 train
|
1 | 1 | 16.1% | 1 | |||||||||||
 Zurich
|
22nd | 4th | 74.9% | 18th | ± 0 | 2 | −1 | 2 | +2 | - | −1 | ||||
| Switzerland | 167 | 49 | 52.7% | 105 | +1 | 35 | ± 0 | 15th | −4 | 7th | +5 | 5 | −1 | - | −1 |
Council of States
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 1908 | Elections 1905 |
|---|---|---|
| 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. 768-769.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 770-772.
- ↑ 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. 774.
- ↑ 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. 287-298
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 365.
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