The national umbrella organizations of the economy are mobilizing together with the farmers. However, they do not recommend any parties or candidates – at least for the time being.
If the economy is doing well, Switzerland is doing well: the national business associations want to convey this message (business people in Geneva).
Climate? Migration? Europe? Unemployment? What will be the big issues to talk about in the weeks and months leading up to the national elections on October 22, 2023? The question is relevant because the topic trend for the outcome of the elections is likely to play a not insignificant role this year as well. If a party is well positioned in the virulent factual issues, it can hope for greater mobilization, possibly even for swing voters. If, for example, asylum policy dominates the headlines, the SVP is most likely to benefit.
The trend of the topics can be influenced. The “green wave” in the 2019 elections was evidently also the product of effective campaigns by environmental groups. Aid agencies and development organizations have also demonstrated several times in recent years how to set and manage issues; the debate about the social and ecological responsibility of corporations is only the most prominent example.
From corporations to farmers
On the other hand, what is allegedly the most influential lobby in Switzerland has recently been struggling to get its issues off the ground: the economy. That should change this year. The economy has learned from the left-green competition and no longer wants to concede control of the air in the debates before the elections without a fight. The national umbrella organizations for business and farmers announced a joint campaign last autumn. On Friday in Bern, the leaders of the association showed how they want to advertise the concerns and services of the economy under the slogan “Perspective Switzerland”. Economiesuisse, the trade, employer and farmer associations are also on board.
Ultimately, it is an old adage that should be conveyed to the public: money must first be earned before it can be spent on pensions, education or other government benefits. “We would like to remind the population of this with our joint commitment,” said the President of the Farmers’ Association, Central National Councilor Markus Ritter, on Friday. The campaign focuses on six themes: stability and security, social welfare, vocational training, sustainability, food security and energy supply. In all these areas – so the main message – Switzerland is dependent on the economy doing well.
What does “business-friendly” mean?
“Choose business-friendly”: This is the message on the first posters of the campaign. But what that means in concrete terms – which parties the associations actually recommend for election – remains in the dark. No recommendations for individual candidates or parties can be found either on the posters or in the documents. On Friday it was said that the focus was deliberately on setting general topics and pointing out the importance of the economy. At the national level, it should stay that way.
But not in the cantons. Here, where the national and state elections are decided, the new unity and determination of the economy should actually bring tangible advantages to the bourgeois parties. Cantonal associations have already supported candidates who they consider to be particularly business-friendly. This support is now intended to have greater impact by building on the national campaign and appearing visually as part of it. The question of which criteria the trade associations use to choose their favorites is likely to be a hot topic in the individual cantons over the next few weeks.