19 October 2003 2007 → 51+6 seats, 22.5% 43+17 seats, 19.9% 52+9 36+14 Start date October 19, 2003 | 44+7 seats, 22.6% 51+6 seats, 22.5% 55+8 52+9 11+1 1+3 | |
 | ||
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 19 October 2003. Although in Switzerland's peculiar political system, in which all four major parties form a coalition, it is very difficult to achieve a change of government, this election produced an upset with the strong showing of the right-wing, anti-European Union and anti-immigration Swiss People's Party. The left-wing parties, the Social Democrats and the Greens, also improved their positions. The losers were the parties of the centre and centre-right, the Christian Democratic People's Party and the Free Democratic Party.
In the aftermath of the elections Ruth Metzler-Arnold, one of the two Christian Democrats in the Federal Council was replaced by Christoph Blocher, the most influential politician in the Swiss People's Party.
Electoral system
Switzerland has a bicameral legislature, the Federal Assembly (Assemblée Fédérale / Bundesversammlung / Asamblea Federale / Assemblea Federala).
These elections were to the National Council and for most of the members of the Council of States.
All parties in Switzerland have different names in French, German and Italian, and conduct separate campaigns in the different language areas.