| Party Name: | Swiss Democrats |
| Party Logo: | Schweizer Demokraten logo.svg |
| Party Wikicolourid: | SD |
| German Name: | Schweizer Demokraten |
| French Name: | Démocrates Suisses |
| Italian Name: | Democratici Svizzeri |
| Romansh Name: | Democrats Svizers |
| President: | Andreas Stahel |
| Council Members: | None |
| Foundation: | 1961 |
| Ideology: | Swiss nationalism Euroscepticism |
| Colours: | Red |
The Swiss Democrats (German: Schweizer Demokraten; French: Démocrates Suisses; Italian: Democratici Svizzeri; Romansh: Democrats Svizers) is a nationalist political party in Switzerland. It was called the National Action against the Alienation of the People and the Home (German: Nationale Aktion gegen Überfremdung von Volk und Heimat; NA) until 1977 and the National Action for People and Home (German: Nationale Aktion für Volk und Heimat) until 1990, when it was renamed to its current name.[1]
The Nationale Aktion was originally a far-right xenophobic movement pursuing an anti-immigration agenda, founded in 1961.[1] The party "emerged as a reaction to the influx of foreign workers", particularly Italians, during this time.[1] The party submitted several popular initiatives that supported reduced immigration, most notably one in June 1970 that narrowly failed.[1] Its first representative in the National Council was James Schwarzenbach, who was first elected in 1967.[1]
After a hostile split with Schwarzenbach in 1971, who formed the Republican Movement, the party lost most of its momentum during the 1970s.[1] It had a strong resurgence in the early 1980s, and it won 5 seats in the 1991 federal elections, the most it had ever held.[1]
After another hostile split with former president Valentin Oehen in 1986, the party was renamed to its current name in 1990.[1] After 1998, the party lost nearly all significance in national politics because of the absorption of right-wing votes into the growing Swiss People's Party.[1]
In the 2003 federal elections, the party won 1.0% of the vote and 1 out of 200 seats in the National Council. This seat was lost in the 2007 elections, where the SD fell to 0.5% of the popular vote. After their severe election loss, the party congress decided not to disband but to continue competing in elections, striving to return to parliament.
| 1967 | 6,275 | 0.6% | 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 63,781 | 3.2% | 4 | |
| 1975 | 2.5% | 2 | ||
| 1979 | 1.3% | 2 | ||
| 1983 | 2.9% | 4 | ||
| 1987 | 2.5% | 3 | ||
| 1991 | 69,297 | 3.4% | 5 | |
| 1995 | 59,613 | 3.1% | 3 | |
| 1999 | 35,883 | 1.8% | 1 | |
| 2003 | 20,177 | 1.0% | 1 | |
| 2007 | 12,609 | 0.5% | 0 | |
| 2011 | 0.2% | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 0.1% | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 3,202 | 0.1% | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2,030 | 0.08% | 0 |
Source:[4]