Swiss Democrats

The Nationale Aktion was originally a far-right xenophobic movement pursuing an anti-immigration agenda, founded in 1961.[2] The party "emerged as a reaction to the influx of foreign workers", particularly Italians, during this time.[2] The party submitted several popular initiatives that supported reduced immigration, most notably one in June 1970 that narrowly failed.[2] Its first representative in the National Council was James Schwarzenbach, who was first elected in 1967.[2]

After a hostile split with Schwarzenbach in 1971, who formed the Republican Movement, the party lost most of its momentum during the 1970s.[2] It had a strong resurgence in the early 1980s,[3] and it won 5 seats in the 1991 federal elections, the most it had ever held.[2]

After another hostile split with former president Valentin Oehen in 1986, the party was renamed to its current name in 1990.[2] After 1998, the party lost nearly all significance in national politics because of the absorption of right-wing votes into the growing Swiss People's Party.[2]

In the 2003 federal elections, the party won 1.0% of the vote and 1 out of 200 seats in the National Council. This seat was lost in the 2007 elections, where the SD fell to 0.5% of the popular vote. After their severe election loss, the party congress decided not to disband but to continue competing in elections, striving to return to parliament.

Source:[6]

• James Schwarzenbach (?–1971)
• Rudolf Weber (1971/72)
• Valentin Oehen (1972–1980)
• Hans Zwicky (1980–1986)
• Rudolf Keller (1986–2005)
• Bernhard Hess (2005–2012)
• Andreas Stahel (2012–)

• Freedom Party of Switzerland.

• Skenderovic, Damir (2009). The radical right in Switzerland: continuity and change, 1945-2000. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-580-4.

• (in German) Official web site
• Swiss Democrats in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.