Magic formula (Swiss politics)

[1] The formula is not a legal requirement but the result of an agreement among the four large coalition parties.

After the 2003 general election, the formula was modified, giving two seats to the SVP at the expense of the Christian Democrats.

Samuel Schmid, the other member of the Council in the SVP, was excluded for the same reason.

He was replaced in a vote that took place on 10 December 2008 by Ueli Maurer from the SVP, giving the party back one of its two magic formula seats.

Soon after the 2015 Swiss federal election, Widmer-Schlumpf of the BDP announced that she would not run for re-election to the Federal Council after the SVP won a record 29.4% of the vote, while her own party received 4.1% of the vote.