Europhile Swiss Liberal Party (FDP) fights against traditional Switzerland
It was foreseeable that opportunism would one day drive the FDP into the clutches of “cancel culture.” But it is shocking that the formerly staunchly conservative party is now using left-wing woke cancel culture to abolish traditional Switzerland.
Of course, the FDP would never admit that it is acting against Switzerland's interests. Quite the contrary. The Liberals seem to believe that a glorious future awaits us if Switzerland approves the EU integration agreement. This is how the people are being persuaded to vote YES to the 2,200-page “EU-Switzerland agreement package,” including 20,000 pages of accompanying regulations. This is said to be the best solution for Switzerland. An agreement between equals.
The crisis-ridden FDP (see footnote 1) is maneuvering around the loss of sovereignty, foreign judges, and submission to EU dictates. The liberals seem to have only one goal: to finally get out of small, narrow, and laboriously direct-democratic Switzerland. Out into the large spheres of influence and prestige of a European “great power.” The FDP ignores the fact that the warmongering EU is an inefficient, plundering bureaucratic monster built on feet of clay.
In order to win the vote, the Liberals are bringing out the big guns. At its delegates' meeting on October 18, 2025, the FDP decided to deny Swiss federalism any influence on the EU issue. The FDP refuses to subject the vote to a majority of the cantons. This would mean that a victory for the EU supporters would only require the large majorities of the red-green-blue-orange cities. The often conservative, small rural cantons would no longer have a chance to overturn the referendum result by means of a majority of the cantons.
Anyone who, like the FDP, disregards federalism in such an important vote has little respect for the values that have held Switzerland together over the centuries.
Birth and preservation of Swiss federalism
The alliance of autonomous cantons is one of the pillars on which the Swiss nation was built.
Regional rural communities in the forest regions formed an alliance in 1291 and laid the foundations for Switzerland in the name of God. Other cantons joined them, forming the eight old cantons from 1453 onwards. Until 1798, the only federal body was the Diet, in which each canton had one vote regardless of its population. During this period, federal matters were decided exclusively by a majority of the cantons.
After the Burgundian Wars, the Helvetians became embroiled in fierce conflicts in 1477. Warriors from the rural cantons (Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Glarus) were quick to take up arms when disagreements arose with the cities (Saubannerzug 1477). Lucerne, Zurich, Zug, and Bern then formed a confederation of cities, which also included the cities of Solothurn and Fribourg. The original cantons fought bitterly against this urban supremacy. Endless disputes, conspiracies, the execution of Peter Amstalden in 1478, etc. threatened to destroy the confederation.
Shortly before Christmas 1481, the Federal Diet met in Stans. Attempts to reach agreement between the rural and urban cantons had failed. The deadlock was only broken when, on December 22, the Stans pastor Heimo Amgrund delivered a message from the prayerful hermit Niklaus von Flüe. The exact contents of Brother Klaus' message remained secret. However, the hermit was able to motivate the disputing parties to reach a compromise (the Stans Agreement). Fribourg and Solothurn were admitted to the Confederation. In return, burgage rights were abolished, which limited the power of the cities.
Compromise instead of “might makes right”
If the six cities had insisted on their strength and dominance at that time, it would probably have been the end of the Swiss Confederation.
- In 1481, the political leaders of the cantons recognized that the careful integration of minorities was more constructive than the pure dominance of the majority. The delicate balance between small and large, rural and urban cantons guaranteed Switzerland's continued prosperity.
- The Swiss defeat at Marignano in 1515 further minimized the Confederates' desire for power.
- The end of the brief religious wars in Kappel in 1529/31 revealed the Confederates' growing ability to allow incompatibilities to exist rather than resorting to endless fighting. The brief war between Catholics and Protestants led to a confessional stalemate. This Helvetic religious peace remained intact even when the wars of religion laid Europe in ruins in the 17th century.
The “COmpromise of Stan” of 1481 enabled the Confederation of the Swiss to continue to grow. In the 15th century, further cantons were added, bringing the total to “13 old cantons,” which remained in place until a French warlord conquered Switzerland.
Napoleon surrenders to Swiss federalism
In 1798, French troops occupied Switzerland. Napoleon had no understanding for the Swiss “cantonal spirit.” He turned Switzerland into a centrally governed state based on the French model. Individual cantons were abolished and recast into new forms (Waldstätten, Rhätien, Linth). The Helvetic Republic was supported primarily by representatives of the urban reformist elites.
But Napoleon had reckoned without his host. The French centralist underestimated the radical resistance in the cantons. “Helvetia” quickly fell into an endless vortex of political resistance, party squabbles between federalists and centralists (unitarists), uprisings, military resistance, armed conflicts, constitutional conflicts, intrigues, and coups d'état. After five years, Napoleon capitulated. He drew a line under the Helvetic Republic.
With the “Act of Mediation” of February 19, 1803, centrally governed Switzerland was already history. In the introduction, Napoleon justified his role as mediator and emphasized “that the federalist structure of Switzerland was natural.” From then on, the 19 cantons/states guaranteed each other their constitution, their territory, and their independence. Napoleon could not completely hide his contempt for the rural lower classes. He decreed that the six most populous, urban-dominated cantons would be granted two votes, while the small rural cantons would retain one vote.
After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, the Swiss took matters into their own hands again in 1815. A federal treaty restored the Diet as the organ of the entire Confederation. All cantons were once again given equal status and each had one vote. Once again, the majority of cantons was decisive in votes.
The power of the cantons in the federal state of 1848
After religious conflicts led to a brief civil war (Sonderbund) in 1847, the Swiss decided in 1848 to unite the cantons in a federal state. The first federal constitution was once again characterized by a spirit of restraint and conciliation. The rural, Catholic cantons were the defeated side in the Sonderbund War. In order to integrate this minority well into the federal state, every effort was made to accommodate them in the wording of the constitution.
When it came to federalism, the first Federal Constitution was very clear. The majority of cantons was doubly enshrined. The power of the cantons was to remain valid in the future. Various measures were taken to rule out centralised leadership by the federal government. Following the US model, Switzerland established a bicameral parliament. The National Council was set up according to the size of the population in the cantons (representing the people). The Council of States brought together the representatives of the cantons. Legislation required the approval of both chambers of parliament.
In 1848, the electorate in the cantons was also granted federal power. In the event of constitutional amendments, a referendum was required in which not only the majority of the population had to agree, but also the majority of the cantons (majority of the cantons). The Federal Constitution of 1874 adopted the federal structures. In 1977, the electorate extended the majority of the cantons to include accession to collective security organizations (e.g., NATO) or supranational communities (e.g., the EU).
The Federal Council is setting a bad example
t goes without saying that the votes of the small cantons carry more weight in the cantonal majority than those of the urban population. Europhiles are now objecting to this in relation to the “EU-Switzerland” treaty package. “Why should a small number of conservative voters in Uri, Schwyz, Appenzell, etc. ultimately be able to prevent Switzerland from concluding agreements with the EU?” EU supporters complain in public discourse.
Ultimately, the Federal Assembly will decide whether the majority of cantons will prevail in the vote scheduled for 2027. Naturally, emotions are running high in the country. Nerves are frayed. Even the Federal Council was unable to refrain from commenting. The national government apparently wanted to set the course in its favor at an early stage. The Federal Council made its move back in April 2025. Ignatio Cassis (FDP) announced, in an undiplomatic manner, that international treaties with the EU should only be subject to an optional referendum. Economic interests and an affinity for great power seem to be more important to the Federal Council than the cohesion of federal Switzerland.
There is a good chance that the Federal Assembly will follow the bad example set by the federal government. After all, following the FDP, the “center” has also announced that it is against the majority of cantons in the EU question. Euro-turbos from the left-wing parties, who tend to hate conservative Switzerland, will vote the same way. Switzerland faces turbulent months ahead of the vote on the subjugation treaty.
The success story of traditional Switzerland should continue. Our sovereignty is not junk. May an alert and down-to-earth electorate pull the plug on the frenzy of Europhile political elites!
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Footnote 1
It has been a long time since the Liberals cared so deeply about Switzerland that they enjoyed great trust among the population. After the founding of the federal state in 1848, the “Liberal Left” won 79 of the 111 seats in the National Council. With a calculated move, the party then occupied all seven seats in the Federal Council. And nothing changed for 43 years. The system of concordance in the national government only developed from 1891 onwards. The “magic formula” of 2 seats for the FDP, 2 seats for the SVP, 2 seats for the SP and 1 seat for the CVP (The Center) has existed since 1959. In 1991, the Europhile FDP was still the strongest party in Switzerland in terms of voter support (21%). Then, with the vote on the EEA, the rise of the SVP began. Since the 2023 national elections, the FDP has had a voter share of only 14.3%. The Liberals would thus have long since lost their entitlement to two seats in the Federal Council.