The first Green party in Switzerland, MPE, was founded as a local party in 1971 in the town of Neuchâtel. In 1979, Daniel Brélaz was elected to the National Council as the first Green MP on the national level (in Switzerland and in the world). Local and regional Green parties and organisations were founded in many different towns and cantons in the following years.
In 1983, two different national green party federations were created: in May, diverse local green groups came together in Fribourg to form the Federation of Green Parties of Switzerland, and in June, some left-alternative groups formed the Green Alternative Party of Switzerland in Bern. In 1990, an attempt to combine these organisations failed. Afterward, some of the member groups from the Green Alternative Party joined the Federation of Green Parties which has become the de facto national Green party. In 1993, the Federation of Green Parties changed its name to the Green Party of Switzerland.[7]
In 1986, the first two Green members of a cantonal government became members of the Regierungsrat of Bern.
In the 1990s, members of the Green Party became town mayors, members of the high court, and even the president of a cantonal government (Verena Diener in 1999).
With the rise of right-wing and populist attitudes, the Greens continued to lose support in Switzerland. In the 2023 federal election, they came in fifth place, after their split from the “liberals”.[8]
The Green Party's positions in the Swiss political spectrum (2007).
The party has been described as being centre-left[9][10] to left-wing.[9][11] The traditional emphases of the party's policies lie in environmentalism and green means of transportation. In terms of foreign policy, the greens set out on the course of openness and pacifism. In economic policy, the Greens are centre-left. The majority of Greens support an accession of Switzerland to the European Union.[12] In immigration policy, the greens support further integration initiatives for immigrants. The Greens support measures to increase energy efficiency, oppose nuclear power, and support raising energy and fuel prices. According to their policy, the resulting revenues should be allocated to social security spending.
Popular support
Percentages of the Green Party at district level in 2011
On the national level, in 2003 the Green Party was not represented in the Council of States or Federal Council. In 2007, two Green Party members were elected to the Council of States.[13]
^Federal Chancellery, Communication Support (2016). The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide. Switzerland: Swiss Confederation. p. 18. Archived from the original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
