How is influence distributed across the cantons in parliament?
The relative influence of the individual cantons was measured by comparing their share of seats in parliament with their overall share of influence. This makes it possible to show the distribution of influence, assuming that all cantons have the same number of seats.
The comparison shows that the individual cantons make above-average or below-average use of their influence.
The cantons with the largest populations have the most influence overall. However, a comparison of the number of seats of each canton with the full potential of parliamentary influence per canton shows that the canton of Zug has disproportionately high influence in parliament in relation to its number of parliamentary seats.
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Order analysis reportThe canton of Zug and German-speaking Switzerland as the political power center of Switzerland
After the canton of Zug had to settle for third place in the influence ranking in 2023, it is clearly at the top this year. With National Councilor Thomas Aeschi and Council of States member Peter Hegglin, two of the five Zug residents are on the podium in the ranking of political influence. Gerhard Pfister's victory in the ranking of public influence rounds off the canton's excellent result. National Councilor Manuela Weichelt and Council of States member Matthias Michel have some catching up to do here, both of whom are in the middle of the field.
As in 2023, this year again shows that it is the German-speaking members of parliament who dominate the political and public debate. In the top 30 ranking of political influence, there are only five French speakers this year – Carlo Sommaruga, Roger Nordmann, Olivier Feller, Samuel Bendahan, and Christine Bulliard-Marbach. The numbers are even lower when it comes to public influence. It is clear that it is particularly difficult for representatives of the Latin languages to get their messages across the divide. Only trade union leader Pierre-Yves Maillard, former SVP President Marco Chiesa, and Green Party Federal Council candidate Gerhard Andrey made it into the top 30.
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