SRG election barometer – Despite concerns about the climate: Greens are on a downward trend – News

According to the latest election barometer, there will be a corrective election in autumn: the Greens will lose a good part of the gains they made in the 2019 federal elections. In return, the SVP should partially correct the losses from back then.

The survey results show that if nothing major happens in the summer, the Greens are likely to lose. This is despite the fact that, according to the electoral barometer, climate change is still the greatest concern of the Swiss population – ahead of rising health insurance premiums or immigration. There are several answers as to why the Greens are still in the negative trend.

The most important answer: The climate strikes in 2019 helped the party to an unusually strong mobilization, especially among the young. The party can no longer create such a mobilization on its own. The green wave from back then is no longer there – even the GLP is only up by a minimal 0.5 percentage points.

In the shadow of the SP

Another answer: The Greens have not managed to step out of the shadow of the SP on the issues. According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, the SP and the Greens voted the same in over 94 percent of the votes last year. This year, however, there is an exception.

When it came to passing on war material, the Greens positioned themselves differently from the SP. While the SP changed direction and wants to allow third countries to transfer war material bought in Switzerland to Ukraine under certain conditions, the Greens remain firm on this. You differ from the SP with a position that does not sell well to all voters.

Without a Federal Council figurehead

Party President Balthasar Glättli also played a role in the Green Party’s poor performance, albeit a minor one. Because unlike the other major parties, the Greens lack a Federal Councilor as a flagship.

So Glättli plays a particularly important role as the driving force behind the Green Party. According to the survey, however, the Green President is the least popular among party presidents: only 42 percent of Green voters are satisfied with their own president.

In contrast, 68 percent of FDP voters ascribe a positive effect on the FDP’s performance to the best-placed FDP President, Thierry Burkart.

This is how the party leaders are perceived

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Legend:

Although the FDP has lost momentum compared to the election barometers of October 2022 and March 2023, the base of the FDP is still extremely satisfied with its president. 68 percent of FDP voters attribute Thierry Burkart to a positive effect on the party’s performance.

Keystone/Michael Buholzer

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Legend:

Middle President Gerhard Pfister is still in second place. However, the proportion of centrist voters who ascribe a positive effect to it has fallen significantly from 65 to 57 percent since March.

Keystone/Urs Flueeler

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Legend:

The co-presidium of the SP followed in third place with an approval rating of 54 percent. However, Mattea Meyer and Cédric Wermuth are the only ones who are criticized by a relevant part of the electoral base (10 percent).

Keystone/Peter Klaunzer

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Legend:

There is a steady upward trend with SVP President Marco Chiesa, in whom 53 percent of the base now see a good choice for the presidency. The fact that the SVP has gained ground in various cantonal elections and in election polls since the beginning of the year seems to have had a positive effect here.

Keystone/Urs Flueeler

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Legend:

Compared to the election barometer of October 2022, GLP President Jürg Grossen has increased: like Marco Chiesa, he has an approval rating of 53 percent. Hardly anyone certifies him, however, a negative influence on the party.

Keystone/Anthony Anex

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Legend:

Bringing up the rear is Balthasar Glättli, who is viewed by 42 percent of Green voters as his party’s driving force. Almost every fourth person who votes green states that they cannot assess the meaning.

Keystone/Alessandro della Valle

According to the election barometer survey, losses among the Greens are likely – the only question is how high they will be. The party president himself states that a trend reversal is still possible.

Christa Gall

Bundeshaus correspondent

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Christa Gall has been an editor at SRF since 2012 and for the TV Bundeshaus editorial team since 2018. Before joining SRF, she wrote for various newspapers and magazines.