61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

partly due to reasons of foreign policy vis-à-vis neighbouring Germany. The
Swiss Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz, SPS) won
its first seat in the Federal Council in December 1943 when it increased its
electoral share to 28.6% after the turnabout in the war in 1943 (from 25.9% in
1939) and became the strongest parliamentary faction. The national consensus
which was consolidated during the Cold War era after 1945 created the «magic
formula» («Zauberformel») in 1959 which still exists today: namely the Socialists
(SPS), the Radicals sometimes referred to as the Liberal Democrats (Freisinnig-
Demokratische Partei der Schweiz, FDP), and the Catholic Conservatives (today:
the CVP) with two seats each, and the BGB (today: Swiss People’s Party –
Schweizerische Volkspartei, SVP) with the remaining seat. This broad governmental
coalition was based both on anti-communism and the conviction that
Switzerland was a «special case» that was able to go it alone amongst the international
power plays.
The compromise in party politics was accompanied by moves among political
associations. In 1929, the historian Emil Dürr had spoken of «an economisation
of political motives and parties» giving an indication of the increasing significance
of economic associations in domestic politics that became evident in the
First World War. 20 Industry, trade, agriculture and the labour force had begun
to represent their interests on an organised basis in the latter third of the
19 th century. By the beginning of the 20 th century, these four economic associations
had already risen to become important political participants and «private
governments». The ability of these associations to bring parliamentary bills to
a plebiscite via a referendum contributed to the establishment of a pre-parliamentary
consultation process. These centralised associations compensated for
the relative weakness of the fragmented cantonal party system. Important
political decisions were made on this level of para-state structures, which
became increasingly influential, and Vorort (Schweizerischer Handels- und Industrieverein,
SHIV – Swiss Federation of Commerce and Industry), played a
dominant role in the crucial area of foreign trade. Also included in these structures
were the National Bank, since the First World War, and the Clearing
Office in the 1930s. The right of freedom of trade, established in the Federal
Constitution in 1874, seemed increasingly anachronistic during the economic
crisis of the 1930s. In 1937 the Federal Council spoke of a «politicisation of the
economy» in its official message about the amendment of the articles in the
constitution regarding the economy, and a parallel «economisation of
politics». 21 This new «constitutional reality» was not sanctioned in a plebiscite
until 1947, but thereafter the legislative decision-making powers of the associations
– contrary to those of the parties – became constitutional. 22
This system of private and semi-private forces and their powerful influence on
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