Main article about the 2023 elections: Now Switzerland is back to normal

You can call this a shift to the right. But what is more appropriate is that Switzerland has leveled off again. After the historic climate elections, it was clear to everyone, probably even to the Greens, for a long time that the Greens would lose. However, they have themselves to blame for the extent of the defeat: those who do not convert success like 2019 into real politics should not be surprised if voters turn to the SP list again or stay at home entirely.

Back to normality

But: 2019 was the exception. By 2023, Switzerland will be back to normal. After these elections, the country seems to be an oasis of stability, a tower of strength, which has been particularly frightening in recent years, months and weeks with a pandemic, wars and terrorist attacks.

Despite all the uncertainty, the Swiss did not vote radically. The Corona measures critics from Mass-Voll, Aufrecht and so on are not disappointed, and the SVP cannot surpass its record result from 2015.

The election results also mean stability for the composition of the state government, at least for the time being. The Greens’ dreams of a seat in the Federal Council vanished into thin air on Sunday (even if they haven’t understood it yet). The SP will be able to fill Alain Berset’s seat with its own seat, as it is clearly the second strongest party. Even Ignazio Cassis hardly has to worry; the other parties have indicated that they will not vote out any of the sitting federal council members. The magic formula discussion will happen, but not yet in December.

Small shifts will be discussed

So everything is back to normal? Not quite: smaller shifts, such as the battle for third place between the center and the FDP, will shape the discussions in the coming months. The new self-confidence of the center, which can count itself among the election winners, will certainly become clear. The SP leadership can also enter the new legislature in a stronger position, because it has not been able to reverse the downward trend of recent years, but it can stop it. Election night is bitter for the GLP. Although it only loses a few voters, it loses one more seat than the Greens.

But something remains the same: the problems that Switzerland must solve. Climate change has not stopped just because the eco-parties lost the elections. Rising health insurance premiums are as unlikely to disappear into thin air as the lack of affordable housing and many people’s concerns that immigration will lead to more traffic jams, more housing shortages and even more crime.

The new and re-elected politicians will have to tackle all these pressing problems. The hope is that they will do this with more success than in the past four years.