With the green wave, a new conservatism?

Federal election special - Jonas Follonier

Liberalism and conservatism, two niches of the classical European right, are not the big losers of the federal elections. If you think about it, the ecological preoccupation now officially present among the population denotes a new form of conservatism and way of conceiving freedom, beyond the social and progressive dimension that characterizes this movement. A mutation of the great ideologies that brings great strengths, but also great risks. Analysis.

Many predicted it, some expected it, others dreaded it like a worm in an apple. The green wave is well and truly here, with the Greens gaining 17 seats and the Liberals nine, mainly at the expense of the SVP (losing 12 mandates!) and the SP and RDP, who limit the damage with a decline of four seats each. While the CVP lost «only» three mandates at national level, its position as the country's fourth-largest party was maintained. de facto by the Greens, is a thing of the past. The message is loud and clear: we need to do more to protect the environment, combat global warming and promote healthy farming. Whereas the climate marches were both a civil initiative and a fashion phenomenon, the plebiscite of this Sunday, October 20, 2019 confirms in a private way - voting is something of an intimate affair - this highly publicized momentum.

Did the media influence public opinion, as SVP representatives were quick to assert? That the media have influenced the opinions of viewers, listeners and readers is undoubtedly a commonplace. But the media consumer as such is not a voter. We mustn't take the public for idiots. Everyone votes according to his or her own conscience, and among the sources of information, reflection and entertainment in all our lives, the media - whether public or private, biased in one direction or another - have an important place, but that doesn't make them brainwashers. I believe in the enlightened individual, whatever his or her social background. To criticize the power of the media in a conspiracy theory is not to disrespect the media, it's to disrespect the people.

Here's the thing: part of the explanation for the Greens« victory, or rather their opponents» defeat, lies in the softness of the institutional parties. With the exception of the SVP, the big loser, the traditional parties all followed the green trend, throwing themselves into a bath of mimicry, ambiguity and even silence. What a meagre campaign! «Innovation», claimed the PLR; «climate justice», the PS; "pragmatism", the PDC. If you can only choose between vague, generic words, you might as well elect the original, said the Helvetians. And then came the Greens.

Is this a victory for the progressive camp, fueled by movements such as Operation Libero and endless university conferences on climate and pesticides? Let's not be too hasty in our analysis. The Swiss population, though different from ten years ago, still has an old conservative background. And isn't wanting to preserve the environment just one facet of a conservative attitude, a concern for safeguarding a certain reality? In the final analysis, nothing is more conservative than ecology. As for the classic right, its desire to keep up with the world and its socialites has not been the case for some time now.

And what if the green wave was an opportunity to put conservatism back on the public agenda - and redefine it? A quality of life worthy of the name presupposes the maintenance of a framework in which people can flourish and exercise their freedom. The environment must be preserved in exactly the same way as the quality of our services and the efficiency of our institutions, respect for the French language or awareness of a shared history. Let's maintain a little beauty in our lives by wishing ourselves an ecologically sustainable future. poetic, as French essayist Alain Finkielkraut puts it published his plea in Le Figaro.

Small problem: if ecologists were philosophers, they'd be scientists, and it's the horizon of wind turbines that awaits us rather than landscape conservation. Second obstacle: it's not certain that this Sunday's plebiscite will be confirmed by future votes. In fact, it's highly likely that direct democracy will re-establish a balance between constraint and freedom, as the Swiss are undoubtedly attached to their purchasing power at a time when they have to go to the polls on specific issues. The Greens have been careful not to brandish their concrete proposals - almost exclusively taxes - during the campaign.

Third and last point (although this list is probably not exhaustive): there's no guarantee that the Greens and the Greens'liberals will maintain their electoral strength in four years' time. Until then, many things can happen, including voter disillusionment with the concrete actions of their representatives. To really establish themselves in the House of Representatives, the ecologists will have to seek consensus, build alliances, be satisfied with compromise and not be dogmatic. Then we'll see whether, once the momentum has passed, we can truly speak of a green parliament. And, if so, the question of a seat on the Federal Council will arise.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Jonas Follonier was one of the guests on RTS 2«s »Forum" program on October 21, 2019 to comment on the results of the federal votes:

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