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Social Democratic Party of Switzerland

The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz, SP; Romansh: Partida Socialdemocrata da la Svizra), also called the Swiss Socialist Party (French: Parti socialiste suisse; Italian: Partito Socialista Svizzero, PS), is a political party in Switzerland. The SP has had two representatives on the Federal Council since 1960 and received the second-highest number of votes in the 2023 Swiss federal election.

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz (German)
Parti socialiste suisse (French)
Partito Socialista Svizzero (Italian)
Partida Socialdemocrata da la Svizra (Romansh)

SP/PS

21 October 1888 (1888-10-21)

Theaterplatz 4, 3011 Bern

c. 30,000[1]

  Red

41 / 200
459 / 2,609

The SP was founded on 21 October 1888 and is currently the second-largest of the four leading coalition political parties in Switzerland. It is the only left-leaning party with representatives on the Federal Council,[2] positioning itself at the centre-left.[3] Currently, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider and Beat Jans represent the party. As of January 2024, the SP is the second-largest political party in the Federal Assembly.


Amongst all pro-European parties in Switzerland the SP is the largest and unlike most other Swiss parties, the SP supports Swiss membership in the European Union.[4] Additionally, it supports labour rights and tax incentives for companies that offer shares to employees.[5][6][7] The party is a member of the Progressive Alliance[8] and an associate member of the Party of European Socialists.[9]

(in French and German)

www.sp-ps.ch Official website

(in Italian)

www.ps-ticino.ch Official website

at the History of Social Security in Switzerland

Social Democratic Party