Furthermore,
Two parties front dilemma:
The new PLR management presents itself. Consequently, to the media. Consequently, The party is still looking for the right position to adopt in the face of new agreements with the EU. In addition,
Keystone / Gian EhrenzellerThe center. In addition, the PLR seek to define their position in the face of new agreements with the EU. Furthermore, The stakes are high for the two parties, because it is their power. Moreover, And the European debate precisely conceals considerable potential, for one as for the other. Meanwhile, Analysis. For example, – Two parties front dilemma
We are mid-legislature. However, New agreements with the EU have been on the table since June. Consequently, It is the “hour of truth” in the European file, a decisive moment. However, The consultation continues until the end of October. Furthermore, All interest groups, as well as political parties, are now in the process of asserting their position. In addition,
The task is simple for those who have displayed a clear line for a long time: opposition without compromise. Moreover, like the UDC, a conservative right -handed; Or readable support, as in the Greens and the Vert’liberals.
The situation is special for socialists. Furthermore, After an initial mistrust linked to the protection of wages, influential unions are now mounted on board. In addition, The party is thus firmly stored in the supporters’ camp. Similarly, But the intensive campaign formerly carried out against the risks of wage dumping may still resonate within the base. Therefore, Internally, there are adjustments to find.
The European question. Similarly, a challenge for the PLR and the center – Two parties front dilemma
However, the real difficulty concerns the two parties divided on the “bilateral III”: the PLR, of liberal-economic inspiration, and the center, in the conservative anchoring of the values. However, For them. For example, the problem is all the more thorny since it is two parties front dilemma acquired as the new agreements with the EU will undoubtedly mark the next federal elections. Therefore, In other words, the question will weigh directly in the ballot boxes. However,
And it is just as clear that the parties must take a stand; Impossible to be content to maneuver. Furthermore, “The question is too important so that we can afford not to answer it. In addition, ” said Sean Müller, professor of political science at the University of Lausanne.
The evolution of bilateral relations between Switzerland and the European Union is essential for the Swiss from abroad. It concerns more than 460,000 Swiss living in an EU country. The bilateral agreements guarantee central rights such as the two parties front dilemma free movement of people. facilitate access to social insurance and ensure the recognition of diplomas.
But the election bases of the parties are divided on this central question, which opens a dilemma for the 2027 elections. If these are too clear, they risk losing the part of their electorate which thinks differently on the European agreements. If they maintain too many ambiguities. they run the risk of seeing part of their voters and electricity turning to other parties with sharper positions.
The PLR and the center are currently trying to choose the least bad of these two options.
So far, the Liberal-Radical PLR has held this line: first study the agreements, then decide. His latest position paperExternal link On the subject dates from 2022. at the time when Berne and Brussels were still in negotiations. But since last year, an internal working group has been working on two parties front dilemma the file. It was deliberately made up of six opposite people. and six favorable people, to the new agreements – which was immediately interpreted as a new proof of the extent of the divisions within the Party.
Two parties front dilemma
“I’m still undecided”
But the time of choices is approaching. The PLR must renew its presidency in October. A co -president is preparing to take orders this week. On the one hand, the national councilor Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher, favorable to new agreements with the EU. On the other, the adviser to the States Benjamin Mühlemann, who declares: “I am still undecided.”
This sentence perfectly sums up the current situation of the traditional liberal-radical party, torn between yes and no. “The two camps must quickly find a path. in order to also show the base in which direction to go,” warns political scientist Cloe Jans.
The German newspaper Neue two parties front dilemma Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) writes that the PLR is looking for “a common position. clear enough to be understood – and quite vague not to divide the party”.
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Strong voices in both camps
This indecision is not incongruous: the Swiss economy itself. in the name of which the PLR is often expressed, is divided against the new European agreements. The sectors turned towards export see it as an economic necessity so as not to seize the market. Finance and service providers also put institutional policy in the balance.
The two camps have powerful. audible voices far beyond the party, such as the umbrella organization of economies, favorable, or the Kompass-European network, opposed to agreements.
For the political scientist Sean Müller, the European two parties front dilemma question, however, conceals a major opportunity for the PLR. “It can allow it to loom as an authentic and pragmatic defender of the economy,” he said. A role that corresponds well to the party and is not yet occupied in the current political landscape. “If. in addition, he displays a social conscience, defends equality and assumes leadership on security issues, I see a lot of potential for the PLR,” adds Sean Müller. In his eyes, the new party leadership has the means to make this position credible.
It is even possible that an external element tips the scales: Donald Trump’s price blow. The establishment of 39% customs duties on Swiss exports to the United States suddenly strengthened the attraction of the European market.
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So far. the PLR has suffered from a persistent erosion from its electorate. In the federal elections of 2023, he lost two seats in Parliament. Since then, 11 other PLR seats have still escaped him for the benefit of other two parties front dilemma parties in the cantons.
The center has less to lose. With a little luck. know-how, he could even win in 2027 a second seat on the Federal Council-that of the PLR. Between the 14.3% of the PLR and the 14.1% of the center in the 2023 elections, the race remains open.
Within the party. a current strongly pleads in favor of the new agreements, led in particular by the national councilor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter. It is expressed both as a representative of the Basel economy and a member of the Economiesuisse committee. Conversely. the circles of the center near the agricultural world and rural regions are much more skeptical, at the forefront of which the powerful entourage of the president of the Swiss Union of Peasants, Markus Ritter.
Two parties front dilemma
Passage in electoral campaign mode
At the start of this second half of the legislature. the center also two parties front dilemma renewed its presidency – a clear sign that the party enters into an electoral campaign mode.
On the European issue, the new Philipp president Mathias Bregy preferred to remain prudent during his inauguration speech. “The future of our economy depends on stable relations with the European Union. ” he said to declare, before stating some conditions: “We expect clarifications on wages, social insurance and institutional issues.” According to him, it will first take a vast debate among the population.
In an interview with the NZZ. Philipp Mathias Bregy said that the party would only take a position after a debate on internal implementation. two parties front dilemma In other words. management may wait to have clues to the state of mind of the Swiss electorate, or at least on its own base.
A situation conducive to compromises
The political scientist Sean Müller also sees potential in the European issue. for a party in the center still wait. According to him, this dossier is actually much less polarized than we often believe. “No one wants the total absence of relations with the EU, and no one wants membership,” he said. Between black. white, this set of agreements therefore leaves many gray areas and a great need for nuanced responses, including within the electorate.
“The package of agreements with the EU is a vast compromise,” says Sean Müller. “And who could better defend the compromise than the parties located in the center of the political chessboard?”
Text reread and verified by Samuel Jaberg / Marc Leutenegger, translated two parties front dilemma from German by Pauline Turban using an automatic translation tool
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Further reading: Val-de-Travers: the H10 road closed 5 days to secure cliffs – The Swiss Stock Exchange ignores customs duties – Switzerland has attracted a “new audience”, according to Dominique Blanc – Collision in Italy: a Swiss family decimated in a tragic accident – Switzerland blamed for welcoming Putin relatives.
