Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland

The Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (German: Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union, EDU; French: Union Démocratique Fédérale, UDF; Italian: Unione Democratica Federale, UDF; Romansch: Uniun Democrata Federala, UDF) is a national-conservative[2] political party in Switzerland. Its ideology is politically conservative, Protestant fundamentalist, and right-wing populist.[3] It is similar to the Christian right in the United States, and its top goals were to promote "biblical values" and oppose other cultures and values.[3]

Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland

Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union (EDU) (German)
Union Démocratique Fédérale (UDF) (French)
Unione Democratica Federale (UDF) (Italian)
Uniun Democrata Federala (UDF) (Romansh)
PresidentHans Moser
Founded1975
Split fromEvangelical People's Party of Switzerland
HeadquartersFrutigenstrasse 8
3601 Thun
Membership (2011)3,000[1]
IdeologyChristian right[2][3]
Right-wing populism[3]
National conservatism[2]
Social conservatism[2]
Euroscepticism
Political positionRight-wing
ColoursSwiss Red
Federal Council
0 / 7
National Council
1 / 200
Council of States
0 / 46
Cantonal legislatures
19 / 2,609
Website
www.edu-schweiz.ch

Founded in 1975, the party's current president is Hans Moser. The EDU is a minor political party that polls around 1% of the vote and holds one seat in the Swiss National Council as of 2019.

History

The EDU was founded in 1975 as a split of the Republican Movement and the Nationale Aktion.[4] The EDU maintains that it split from the Evangelical People's Party.[4]

At the beginning of its existence, the EDU's platform was strongly influenced by the ideology of Otto Strasser, revolutionary nationalism, and solidarism.[5] Despite being nationalistic and patriotic, the party supported socialist economic policies as opposed to capitalism or communism.[5] In the early 1980s, the EDU underwent an ideological shift, with fundamentalist Christianity and the Bible becoming the most important parts of its ideology.[5] It promoted socially conservative policies.[5] At the same time, the EDU adopted right-wing populist positions on issues such as immigration, integration into supranational unions, and Islam.[6] It adopted strongly pro-Israel views.[7]

In the 1970s and 1980s, support of the EDU grew particularly with conservative free-church groups, both traditional and newly established. The language of the EDU was influenced during this time by a directive and on the basis of interest in dispensationalism from an eschatological tone.[8]

In 1991, the EDU entered the Swiss National Council with one seat,[9] and in 2003, it gained a second seat. Despite remaining a small, fringe party, it grew from having section in nine cantons in 1991 to twenty-three in 2003.[10] The EDU had its greatest electoral success in the Canton of Bern[9] and became relatively strong in the canton.[11] In addition, its party newspaper, the EDU Standpunkt, had a circulation of between 31,000-45,000 and even up to 500,000 during national elections.[10] The party created a French newspaper with a circulation of about 10,000.[10] The EDU sponsored several referendums, attempting to block socially liberal legislation, but its attempts were unsuccessful.[10]

In May 2007 the party became a member of the European Christian Political Movement, which claims: "The source of these Christian values are the Bible and the Christian tradition. These sources are in itself not a political program. These sources call us to serve the people of Europe...".[12] The EDU is no longer listed as being a member of the ECPM.

The EDU received 1.3% of the popular vote in the 2007 elections, and retained one of its two seats in the Swiss National Council, held by Andreas Brönnimann, who represented the canton of Berne.

However, in the 2011 elections, the party lost its seat in the Swiss National Council, even though it still received the same percentage of the popular vote. In the 2019 elections the party won one seat in the Swiss National Council, regaining representation.

Percentages of the EDU at district level in 2011

Ideology

The EDU is a politically conservative, Protestant fundamentalist, and right-wing populist party.[3] It is similar to the Christian right in the United States, and its top goals were to promote "biblical values" and oppose other cultures and values.[3] The party has also been described as "ultra-conservative."[13]

The EDU sees itself as a Christian party and uses the Bible as the guideline for its policies. On questions concerning the environment, the EDU stands rather center-left,[14] however with family, social, and educational policy, the EDU takes a conservative stance. The EDU want a debt-free state.

The EDU has close connections to free churches.[15]

Social policy

The EDU rejects equating homosexual and heterosexual marriages and is committed against abortion, euthanasia, and the exploitation of women by sexist advertising. Thus, the EDU calls that abortion should not be financed by public funds and suicide tourism should be prohibited. Also, the EDU is against heroin clinics and calls for a smoking ban in restaurants and bars. The EDU supports traditional families. The EDU is skeptical of the equalization of both genders, saying that is neglecting of children, and believes that the main caregivers of children are ideally the parents.[16][17] The EDU opposes the criminalization of homophobia.[18]

The EDU sponsored an unsuccessful[19] referendum, held on November 27, 2016 in the Canton of Zürich, that would have defined marriage as only between one man and one woman.[20]

Foreign policy

The EDU is critical of the European Union, the UN, and NATO. As a Eurosceptic party, it is against membership in the EU, however it supports bilateral treaties with it. The EDU views the increased immigration to Switzerland as an integration problem and says that to increase security, adjusting the freedom of movement, the Schengen Agreement, and the Dublin Regulation with the EU is necessary. Also, the EDU is in support for permanent neutrality and is against peace-keeping missions of the Swiss military. The EDU supported the Swiss minaret ban, and the federal popular initiative "Against mass immigration".

Environmental policy

In environmental policy, the EDU does not see the real problem as in climate change, but rather in the enormous consumption of resources and energy. Thus, the EDU supports a dedicated, time-limited incentive tax on the oil tax for fossil fuels and propellants and calls the replacement of the Climate Cent and the CO2 tax (gasoline, etc.). The proceeds of this incentive tax would go to renewable energy sources such as water, wind, and solar energy and would promote energy efficiency. In the long term, the EDU wants to phase out nuclear energy in Switzerland.[21] The EDU supports the expansion of the public transportation system, but only supports the implementation of large projects when funding is secured.

Party presidents

See also

Bibliography
  • Skenderovic, Damir (2009). The radical right in Switzerland: continuity and change, 1945-2000. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-580-4.

References
  1. Der Bund kurz erklärt (in German). Swiss Confederation. 2011. p. 21. Archived from the original on 2012-01-24.
  2. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2015). "Switzerland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  3. Skenderovic 2009, p. 92.
  4. Skenderovic 2009, p. 93.
  5. Skenderovic 2009, p. 96.
  6. Skenderovic 2009, pp. 97-99.
  7. Skenderovic 2009, pp. 98.
  8. Protestantische Parteien und evangelisch-konservative Christen Retrieved March 27, 2014
  9. Skenderovic 2009, p. 94.
  10. Skenderovic 2009, p. 95.
  11. Skenderovic 2009, p. 99.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2016-10-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Switzerland: Same-sex marriage, transgender rights move a step forward". dw.com. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  14. Die zwei Gesichter der EDU NZZ Online 16 July 2009. Retrieved, 21 February 2014
  15. Miserez, Marc-André (April 14, 2016). "Swiss Vote Again On Genetic Screening". Swissinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2016. There was no longer any need to invoke the Old Testament, or the eugenic fantasies of the Nazis – as the ultra conservative Federal Democratic Union, a party with close links to evangelical free churches, had done – in order to reject the revised law.
  16. Kamf um Gleichstellung der Frau Berner Zeitung, 03-03-2010. Retrieved March 27, 2014 (German)
  17. "Fokustag für die Familie in Bern - Kinder früh fördern – aber wie? - www.jesus.ch". jesus.ch. July 1, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  18. Romy, Katy (10 January 2019). "Why one party is opposing the criminalisation of homophobia". Swissinfo. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  19. "Voters Weigh Gay Marriage, National Park and Sunday Shopping". Swissinfo. November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  20. Leybold-Johnson, Isobel (November 17, 2016). "Christian Group Wants to 'Protect' Marriage". Swissinfo. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  21. EDU will Verzicht auf Atomenergie Bieler Tagblatt, April 2, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2014
  22. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-10-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. "Ratsmitglied ansehen". Parlament.ch. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  24. "Hans Moser - Vimentis Dialog". Vimentis.ch. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
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