Politics Trede to Hess: voting behavior in the National Council has hardly changed
Voting behavior in the National Council has hardly changed in the last two years. A data analysis by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung locates parties and MPs in the political spectrum and shows that there are clear party lines.
03.12.2025, 12:01
SDA
Over the past two years, the parties in the National Council have voted much more uniformly. This is the result of an analysis by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) on the development of the voting behavior of National Councillors since 2004. In the meantime, the voting behavior of MPs no longer overlaps between the parliamentary groups. Deviations from the party line are also rare, according to the rating published on Wednesday.
Polarization in the National Council has hardly increased noticeably in recent years, according to the rating. In general, voting behavior has remained stable. Only in the center was a slight tendency to the left observed. Voting behavior within the SVP is the most divergent. In comparison, the ideological range within the SP parliamentary group is many times smaller.
Compared to the SP and the Greens, the differences within the FDP and the center were greater, the data analysis revealed. Although the centre-right voted more united than in the past, they are still a long way from the party discipline of the left-wing Greens. On the scale, Green Party parliamentary group leader Aline Trede is furthest to the left - SVP National Councillor Erich Hess is at the right end of the spectrum.
The ratings of the members of the National Council were calculated using the "DW Nominate" method. Originally developed for the US Congress, this method allows the political positions of National Council members to be mapped on a scale from -10 (left) to 10 (right).
