Swiss Socialist Federation
The Swiss Socialist Federation (French: Fédération socialiste suisse, abbreviated FSS) was a political party in Switzerland.
Founding
The FSS emerged from a split in the
The FSS was founded at a meeting at the Maison du Peuple in Renens on December 3, 1939.[1][2][3] Léon Nicole was elected chairman of FSS. An executive committee, with eight members, was also elected. Other committee members included Eugène Masson, Ernest Gloor, Maurice Jeanneret and Albert Karlen. FSS had two press organs, Le Travail and Le Droit du Peuple.[3]
Profile
The programme of FSS was almost identical to that of the Swiss Socialist Party. The only key differences between the parties were their views on the international situation, the war and the Soviet Union.[2] As implied by its name, FSS had a federal structure in which the affiliated organizations remained autonomous.[1] The underground Communist Party of Switzerland began working within the FSS.[4]
Ban
On July 5, 1940, Le Travail and Le Droit du Peuple were banned by the Swiss government. The government also wished to ban the FSS as such, but found it legally complicated as the party had four members of parliament (Léon Nicole,
New party
After the dissolution of the Communist International in 1943, a unification process between the FSS and the Communist Party was initiated (within a 'Browderist' framework). There was a hope that the Socialist Party would join the merger, but this proposal was rejected at by the Socialist Party. The FSS and the Communist Party dissolved themselves. In 1944, the Swiss Party of Labour was founded, substituting the FSS and the Communist Party.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d Jeanneret, Pierre. Popistes: histoire du Parti ouvrier et populaire vaudois, 1943–2001. Lausanne: Éd. d'en Bas, 2002. pp. 34–36
- ^ a b Lang, Karl. Solidarité, débats, mouvement: cent ans de Parti socialiste suisse, 1888–1988. Lausanne: Editions d'en bas, 1988. pp. 267–268
- ^ a b Cantini, Claude, and Charles Heimberg. Pour une histoire sociale et antifasciste: contributions d'un autodidacte. Lausanne: Ed. d'En Bas [u.a.], 1999. p. 146
- ^ Jeanneret, Pierre. Popistes: histoire du Parti ouvrier et populaire vaudois, 1943–2001. Lausanne: Éd. d'en Bas, 2002. p. 44
- ^ a b c d Lang, Karl. Solidarité, débats, mouvement: cent ans de Parti socialiste suisse, 1888–1988. Lausanne: Editions d'en bas, 1988. pp. 270–272