Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland

[2][3] On 1 January 2021,[4] it merged with the Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland (BDP/PBD) to form The Centre, which now operates at the federal level.

The name Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP) was used by some cantonal and regional organisations until 2024.

The Catholic-Conservative Party of Switzerland (German: Katholisch-Konservative Partei der Schweiz) was founded in 1912.

The reduction of the voter base, in addition to less cohesion among politicians in the party, led to six successive losses in federal elections after 1980.

Beginning in the 1990s, conservative voters from former strongholds of the CVP switched to vote for the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party.

[13][14] In 2020, Pfister announced that the national CVP would undergo a change in branding with a new name and logo as part of a merger with the BDP.

The CVP had three main policies in the political centre:[citation needed] Following continuing losses in the federal parliamentary elections until 2003, in December 2003, the party lost one of its two seats in the four-party coalition government, the Swiss Federal Council, to the Swiss People's Party.

Percentages of the CVP at district level in 2011
The Christian Democrats are the largest party in Catholic southern and central Switzerland, and are the largest party in seven cantonal legislatures (coloured orange above).
The CVP's positions in the Swiss political spectrum (2007). Positions of voters and of party elites (elected officials) are shown separately. Data from the 2007 general election. [ 21 ]