The Swiss Parties and Europe – a look at the parties on the ground and an explanation for the success of the Swiss People’s Party Conference on Alpine Political Culture and the EU, Fiesole (Italy) October 24-25, 2003 Andreas Ladner Kompetenzzentrum für Public Management, Universität Bern

Switzerland and Europe EEA (December 6, 1992), 50.3 % no-votes but only six cantons approved the EEA. Pro: Radicals, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats; Against: Swiss People‘s Party and the Greens. Since then: Bilateral Agreements I (May 21, 2000), Bilateral II (since June, 2001)

Voter share of the parties represented in the Federal Council in National Council elections, 1919-2003

Questions of interest: Are there differences between the national parties’ positions and the parties on the ground? To what extent the rank and file party members support the official line of the national parties. Do the characteristic cleavages found among the voters also exist within the parties? Are the same differences between the language areas and between urban and rural areas to be found among the members of the parties? Finally, is there something like an alpine culture, which could be made responsible for the differences within the parties?

Conclusion There is something like an anti-European alpine factor to be found. Especially among the members of the Christian Democrats. The party elite of the Christian Democrats on national level was responsible for the success of the Swiss People‘s Party.