Under the Federal Dome, Polarization Gains Ground but Remains Limited in International Comparison

Political polarization is visibly gaining ground within Switzerland's federal parliament, yet it remains notably contained when measured against international benchmarks. A comprehensive study, analyzing close to 200,000 speeches delivered in Bern between 1999 and 2025, reveals a nuanced picture of parliamentary discourse. The research, a collaboration between Le Temps, DemoSquare, and the University of Zurich, employed sophisticated methods, including manual annotation, established scoring systems, and advanced AI, to classify speeches by their emotional or argumentative content.

The study identified instances of strong emotion, such as the anger expressed by UDC national councilor Andreas Glarner regarding immigration and its perceived impact on public safety and electricity supply, or the frustration voiced by PS national councilor Baptiste Hurni concerning housing law revisions. These examples illustrate the presence of charged rhetoric, particularly within parties like the UDC, and on issues that provoke strong reactions across the political spectrum. However, the analysis indicates that such expressions, while present, do not dominate the parliamentary landscape to the extent seen in other nations.

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Our women are no longer safe at night; even men feel uncomfortable in crowds and in the presence of certain ethnic groups. Finally, and not the least of the problems related to this immigration, we are heading towards a serious electricity supply crisis.

In stark contrast, France has experienced a sixfold increase in polarization over the past two decades, marked by speeches fueled by anger, disgust, or fear. The Swiss context, while showing an upward trend in emotional language, appears to be a less extreme manifestation. The research utilized a normalized index to compare each parliament's deviation from its own historical patterns, rather than focusing solely on absolute levels of emotionality. This approach allows for a more accurate assessment of how Swiss political discourse stacks up against its own past and against the trends observed in other countries, suggesting a relative resilience in its deliberative processes.

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It's the technique of an infectious salami [...] which aims at the total destruction of tenant protection. Yes, everything in this country that was even slightly in favor of the weaker party, the tenant, is attacked, weakened, and even reduced to nothing, and unfortunately, it's not over yet.