Christian Social Party (Switzerland)

The Christian Social Party ( CSP) (French Parti chrétien -social, Italian Partito Cristiano Sociale, Romansh: Partida cristiansociala ) is a Swiss party.

Current distribution

CSP - sections exist in the cantons of Fribourg, Jura, Luzern ( de facto inactive), train and Zurich as well as in the French speaking part of the Valais. A certain importance in the cantonal policy, the sections Fribourg and Jura. In the canton of Zurich, the CSP usually occurs in elections on the lists of the countryside.

Representation in the political institutions

The only representative of the CSP in the Swiss Parliament was until 2011 the Freiburg National Councillor Marie -Thérèse Weber- Gobet which the long-standing National Hugo Fasel replaced in 2008. It was not re-elected at the Swiss Parliament elections 2011. In the cantonal parliaments of Freiburg (4/ 110), law (8 /60), Wallis (3/ 130) and Zurich (1/ 160), the CSP is represented with a total of 16 parliamentarians.

History

Within the Catholic- Conservative Party (now Christian Democratic People's Party ), there was since industrialization in several cantons independent Christian Social parties who felt particularly committed to social concerns. In the cantons of Fribourg and Jura since the second half of the 20th century there were Christian Social cantonal parties outside the CVP.

In 1989, the CSP Grisons by internal strife from the CVP and then entered as independent CSP. In 2000, they broke up. Similar happened in 1993 in the city of Zurich, where, after the CVP her former City Council not ported for re-election, split off the bulk of the Christian Social Party with the re-elected Councillor Willy Küng for "Free CSP » city of Zurich. After the merger, the CSP Switzerland (1997), the " Free CSP Zurich " changed its name to " CSP Zurich " and politicized since under this name in the canton of Zurich.

As announced in the previous year, 1997, the CSP cantonal parties Fribourg and Jura founded as well as the free CSP of the Canton of Lucerne and the free CSP city of Zurich is independent of the CVP Switzerland ( CSP - French Parti chrétien - social) Christian Social Party. The most prominent members of the new party, which is led by a four -member board, the National Council of Hugo Fasel were (FR) and the then Zurich city council Willy Küng. The CSP will be used to the left of the CVP with a Christian background for socially and ecologically oriented policy solutions. The central idea involves " the lived solidarity with the socially and economically weak and respect for the environment ." The CVP showed angry about the name of the new party, because there is already a CSP within the CVP are, belong to the 14 cantonal groups (among a CSP Lucerne). From a " spin-off " she did not speak, because these four parties had already been standing outside the CVP.

The CSP Obwalden had from 2005 to 2010 observer status at the CSP Switzerland. In 2010 she finished working with the CSP Switzerland and has since been linked organizationally with any Swiss party. The CSP Obwalden is a significant political force in the canton of Obwalden. It operates since 1960 with one or two members in the Governing Council and since 1982 with its own faction in Obwalden canton deputy.

In 2006, founded in 1997, CSP Unterwallis of the CVP stepped over to the CSP Switzerland.