On 9 June 2013, Swiss voters clearly rejected the popular initiative "Election of the Federal Council by the People", launched by the SVP with 110,291 valid signatures. The text aimed to replace the election of the seven federal councillors by the Federal Assembly with a two-round nationwide majority vote held every four years. The verdict was unambiguous: 76.3 % No, with rejection in all 26 cantons.
The highest Yes share nationwide was recorded in Ticino (35.8 %), followed by Valais (35.1 %) and Jura (32.2 %). The canton of Vaud — densely populated and at the centre of much of the debate — voted No at 75.1 %. More broadly, the German-speaking urban centres (Basel-City, Zurich, Bern city) showed the sharpest rejection. Turnout reached 39.5 %.
Thirteen years on, this fact-sheet tests the campaign arguments against the institutional facts observed since: the actual composition of the Federal Council, representation of linguistic minorities, the workings of consensus government, and subsequent reform attempts.
▲ Cantons that accepted No canton | ▼ Cantons that rejected All 26 cantons. The narrowest results: TI (35.8 % Yes), VS (35.1 %), JU (32.2 %), FR (28.1 %), SZ (26.8 %), UR (26.3 %). The most opposed: BS (15.1 %), GE (16.9 %), VD (24.9 %), ZH (22.2 %). |
Actors and personalities
▲ Yes camp • SVP Switzerland (initiator, main force behind the Yes camp) • Christoph Blocher (SVP national councillor, central campaign figure) • Toni Brunner (then president of the SVP Switzerland) • Lega dei Ticinesi (Ticino support) • Parts of the French-speaking SVP (notably Valais and Vaud) | ▼ No camp • Federal Council (unanimous negative recommendation) • Parliament (massive rejection in both chambers) • FDP, CVP (now The Centre), SP, Greens, GLP, BDP, EVP (converging official positions) • Cross-party committee "For fair elections" (emblem of the No coalition) • economiesuisse • Swiss Employers' Association (SAV) • Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB) (rare alignment with employer organisations) |
Arguments and verdicts
▲ Arguments FOR (Yes camp) Cantonal state councillors are elected by the people and the system works « Election of cantonal executive members by the people works well. Why should it be different at the federal level? » — SVP, 2013 campaign dossier ✓ Argument confirmé The factual claim is accurate: all Swiss cantonal executives have been directly elected by the people since the 19th century and the system is widely seen as functional. Transposing this to the federal level would, however, have required different balances (national multilingualism, federalism). The descriptive claim is confirmed; its comparative reach remains debated. Source : admin.ch cantons; FSO cantonal election statistics The initiative would guarantee two seats for the Latin minorities « Our proposal writes a guaranteed Romandy-Ticino seat into the Constitution. Without it, the Latins risk being under-represented. » — SVP initiative committee, 2013 ✗ Argument infirmé The argument is refuted by subsequent facts. Without any constitutional change, the Federal Assembly maintained — and even strengthened — Latin representation: three Romandy councillors served simultaneously from 2016 to 2022 (Berset, Maurer, Cassis, then Parmelin), and Ticino regained its seat in 2017 with the election of Ignazio Cassis, after an eighteen-year absence. The parliamentary route delivered what the initiative promised to guarantee — without reform. Source : admin.ch Federal Council composition 2013-2026 Popular election would strengthen democratic legitimacy « Trust the people: a Federal Council directly chosen by citizens would have stronger legitimacy. » — SVP campaign speech, 2013 ✗~ Partiellement infirmé No major legitimacy deficit of the Federal Council has been observed since 2013. The approval ratings of federal councillors measured in opinion surveys (gfs.bern, Sotomo) remain broadly high, comparable to those of directly elected cantonal executives. The promise of a "legitimacy boost" through popular election remains theoretical and has found no empirical validation for lack of implementation. Source : gfs.bern institutional trust barometer; Sotomo | ▼ Arguments AGAINST (No camp) The current system guarantees representation of linguistic minorities « Since 1848 the Federal Assembly has ensured balanced representation of the language regions. A popular election with 70 % German-speakers would make it unlikely to elect Ticino candidates or less charismatic Romandy ones. » — Federal Council, 2013 official voting brochure ✓ Argument confirmé The argument is confirmed. Since 2013 the Assembly has elected one Ticino representative (Cassis, 2017) and ensured three Romandy councillors simultaneously (2016-2022). No similar popular initiative on the executive has succeeded since. The parliamentary mechanism has demonstrated its capacity to balance linguistic regions, validating the No camp's diagnosis. Source : admin.ch FC composition 2013-2026; Le Temps "Ticino ministers" Consensus government and collegiality would survive popular election poorly « Elected by the people with their own mandate, federal councillors could no longer function collegially. The consensus system — cement of Swiss stability — would be weakened. » — FDP, 2013 campaign dossier ✓ Argument confirmé The consensus system and the "magic formula" 2-2-2-1 (SP-FDP-Centre-SVP) have continued to structure the Federal Council's composition since 2013. Tension episodes (Blocher's non-re-election in 2007, Cassis's election in 2017) were absorbed by Parliament without institutional rupture. No alternative presidentialist model has emerged. The No camp's argument about the fragility of popular election aligns with the observed practice. Source : Parlament.ch FC elections 2007-2024; Wikipedia FC composition Federal councillors would be absorbed by campaigning instead of governing « With a popular election every four years, Federal Council members would spend half their term campaigning instead of running their departments. » — Committee "For fair elections", 2013 ✓~ Partiellement confirmé This argument is hard to test directly without implementation, but indirect indicators support it: in presidentialised countries (United States, France), the "permanent campaign" of executives is widely documented. Swiss federal councillors can today focus on managing their departments and on collegiality, without a national campaign obligation. The feared effect remains plausible but empirically untestable. Source : OECD Government at a Glance; comparative studies on presidentialism vs. collegiality |
Factual record
3 Confirmed | 1 Partly confirmed | 1 Partly refuted | 1 Refuted |
| ✓ | Latin minorities remained well represented without constitutional change Three Romandy councillors served simultaneously between 2016 and 2022, and Ticino regained its seat in 2017 with Ignazio Cassis after an eighteen-year absence. The parliamentary system delivered what the initiative promised to guarantee, proving the robustness of the existing route for linguistic representation. Source : admin.ch; Le Temps "Ticino ministers" |
| ✓ | The consensus system endures despite tension episodes The magic formula structured every election since 2013 (including by-elections). Federal councillors continued to function collegially and no governance crisis erupted. The No camp's diagnosis on the durability of the existing system has stood the test of time. Source : Parlament.ch; Wikipedia FC composition |
| ~ | The idea of popular election resurfaces sporadically but struggles to mobilise Several initiatives or attempts emerged after 2013 (particularly from sovereigntist quarters), but none gathered enough signatures to reach a new national vote. The 2013 landslide defeat has cooled the public debate on this question. Source : Federal Chancellery, register of initiatives 2013-2025 |
| ! | The promise of a legitimacy boost remains speculative No major legitimacy crisis of the Federal Council has erupted since 2013. Confidence indicators for Swiss political institutions remain among the highest in Europe. The Yes camp's central argument — superior legitimacy through popular election — has found no empirical validation, the institution retaining solid credit with citizens. Source : gfs.bern trust barometer; Sotomo; OECD Trust Survey |
Thirteen years after the initiative's near-unanimous rejection, the factual record largely runs against the Yes camp's arguments. The representation of Latin minorities — the SVP's central argument — in fact improved without constitutional change: three Romandy councillors serving simultaneously from 2016 to 2022, and a Ticino representative (Ignazio Cassis) elected in 2017 after eighteen years' absence. The parliamentary route delivered what the initiative aimed to guarantee.
The promise of a legitimacy boost through popular election remains, by contrast, theoretical and untestable: no institutional crisis erupted and trust in the Federal Council remains high in opinion surveys. The No camp's concerns over weakening consensus government and risk to linguistic minorities proved consistent with observed practice — though the counterfactual effect of a reform cannot be definitively settled.
This vote illustrates a typical phenomenon of the Swiss system: broad institutional consensus around the parliamentary mechanisms for choosing the executive, capable of withstanding a large party's mobilisation and absorbing pressure without rupture. The 2013 landslide defeat has since durably cooled reform ambitions in this direction.