Swiss Democrats

The Swiss Democrats (German: Schweizer Demokraten; French: Démocrates Suisses; Italian: Democratici Svizzeri; Romansh: Democrats Svizers) are a right-wing political party in Switzerland.

The party is not represented in the Federal Assembly, but has two members of the Grand Council of Aargau.

In the 2003 federal elections, the party won 1.0% of the vote and 1 out of 200 seats in the National Council. This seat was lost in the 2007 elections, where the SD fell to 0.5% of the popular vote. After their severe election loss, the party congress decided not to disband but to continue competing in elections, striving to return to parliament.

The Nationale Aktion was in origin a far right xenophobic movement pursuing an anti-immigration agenda during the 1960s. After a hostile split with James Schwarzenbach in 1971, the movement lost most of its momentum during the 1970s. It re-surfaced in the 1980s. After another hostile split with former president Valentin Oehen, it was renamed to its current name in 1990. After 1998, the party lost nearly all significance in national politics because of the absorption of far right votes into the growing Swiss People's Party.

Famous quotes containing the words swiss and/or democrats:

    “Which is more important to you, your field or your children?” the department head asked. She replied, “That’s like asking me if I could walk better if you amputated my right leg or my left leg.”
    —Anonymous Parent. As quoted in Women and the Work Family Dilemma, by Deborah J. Swiss and Judith P. Walker, ch. 2 (1993)

    In all history no class has been enfranchised without some selfish motive underlying. If to-day we could prove to Republicans or Democrats that every woman would vote for their party, we should be enfranchised.
    Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947)