Contents
A large majority of “dialog” users think that a second FDP seat is no longer justified.
Even Harry Potter can no longer help: the Federal Council magic formula has lost its magic. At least that’s what almost three quarters of the users of the SRG platform “dialog” think. After the 2023 parliamentary elections, it can no longer be justified that two seats each go to the three largest parties and one seat to the fourth largest, according to the vast majority of debaters.
Specifically, the FDP’s second Federal Council seat is being questioned: “How can a party that barely makes up more than 14 percent of the electorate occupy two of seven seats in the Federal Council?” asks the user “Chroniqueur Romanesque”, for example. And with a view to the Greens’ election results: “Why shouldn’t a party that makes up almost ten percent of the electorate get a seat sooner?” For these two questions, she receives more support from the community than any other comment.
Also for «J.-F. “Impliqué”, the current Federal Council formula is just mumbo jumbo. “The distribution should correspond as closely as possible to the proportion of those elected,” he believes. And even questions the number of seats themselves: “With seven Federal Councilors you need around 14 percent of the votes to claim a seat, while with nine Federal Councilors the proportion drops to 11 percent. This would be a double advantage, because a reorganization of the offices would make it possible to raise the profile of issues that are somewhat less in the spotlight.
However, most “dialog” users believe that the magic formula was not just changed because of the current election results. “We have more parties today than we had years ago. “So a change is necessary,” writes “Florian Précise”. “The magic formula was formed at the end of the 1950s and is based on political questions at the time. Above all, the composition should also take long-term thinking into account on certain topics (e.g. AI systems, global warming, mobility, etc.),” writes Intervenant Enchanté.
But what speaks for the current composition of the Federal Council? According to the 27 percent of users who want to stick to the magic formula: stability and balance. «Beyond the current percentages, the formula must reflect a medium to long-term balance. And so far it’s working and preventing dangerous drift,” writes user “Milli Vanilli.”
User “Joe Di Maggio” agrees: “In contrast to the majority governments we have in most European countries, our system is characterized by its stability. In our neighboring countries you can see that when there is a change of government after every election, it is impossible to pursue long-term projects because a new government from a different camp will simply abandon them, which fortunately is not the case here.
What do you think about it? What should the Federal Council look like in the future? Join the discussion!