Ticino League

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Ticino League

The Ticino League (Italian: Lega dei Ticinesi) is a regionalist,[8] national-conservative political party in Switzerland active in the canton of Ticino.

The party was founded in 1991 by entrepreneur Giuliano Bignasca and journalist Flavio Maspoli.[5] After some public campaigning in the Sunday newspaper Il Mattino della Domenica [it] against political power and use of public money, Bignasca and Maspoli founded the Ticino League to continue the fight at the political level. Bignasca (1945–2013) was the League's "president for life".

The League is one of four major parties in the canton, alongside the

National Council
and in the five-member cantonal executive of Ticino (the Council of State, Consiglio di Stato) with two seats. In the 90-seat Ticino legislature, (the Grand Council, Gran Consiglio) the party has 18 seats.

At the

Federal Council
.

The 2019 Swiss federal election cost the League one of its representatives in the National Council as Roberta Pantani [de] was unable to hold her seat. Lorenzo Quadri was re-elected as the League’s sole representative in the Parliament.[11] The League formed an electoral list with the SVP for the 2023 Swiss federal election;[12] the SVP was seen as gaining support at the League's expense.[13][14]

Ideology

In the

Federal Assembly, the League sits with the Swiss People's Party (UDC) and commentators see it as the Swiss Italian equivalent of the UDC[15][16] (although the UDC has a cantonal section, as well as seats in the Grand Council of Ticino). A more notable political position of the League is its support for banning the Burqa, which it achieved in 2015.[15]

The League defines itself as neither a left or a right-wing party but is generally characterised as

right-wing populist. It is also strongly eurosceptic, supporting Swiss sovereignty and reduced immigration.[17] It also argues for the protection of Swiss and Ticino national identity, wants a more friendly environment for small businesses and policies to protect the elderly and more vulnerable members of society.[18]

Although ideologically close to the UDC, the League has taken a more moderate posture on gay rights and voted in favour of the Marriage For All bill which open the process for legalization of same-sex marriage in Switzerland. The party took a neutral stance during the 2021 Swiss same-sex marriage referendum.[19]

The League supports continued Ticino membership in Switzerland.

better source needed
]

Election results

National Council

Election Votes % Seats +/-
1991 28,290 1.4% (#11)
2 / 200
New
1995 17,940 0.9% (#14)
1 / 200
Decrease 1
1999 17,118 0.9% (#11)
2 / 200
Increase 1
2003 7,304 0.4% (#14)
1 / 200
Decrease 1
2007 13,031 0.6% (#11)
1 / 200
Steady 0
2011 19,657 0.8% (#9)
2 / 200
Increase 1
2015 24,713 1.0% (#10)
2 / 200
Steady 0
2019 18,187 0.8% (#12)
1 / 200
Decrease 1
2023 14,160 0.6% (#10)
1 / 200
Steady 0

Literature

  • Mazzoleni, Oscar (2005). Multi-Level Populism and Centre-Periphery Cleavage in Switzerland: The Case of the Lega dei Ticinesi. Vol. Challenges to Consensual Politics: Democracy, Identity, and Populist Protest in the Alpine Region. Brussels: P.I.E.-Peter Lang. pp. 209–228.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Total number of seats represents the Ticino Council of State, not the total number of cantonal executive seats in Switzerland.
  2. ^ Total number of seats represents the Grand Council of Ticino, not the total number of cantonal parliament seats in Switzerland.

References

  1. ^ https://www.laregione.ch/cantone/ticino/1724921/norman-antonella-boglia-bignasca-attil Lega, Norman Gobbi svela i suoi quattro vicecoordinatori
  2. ^ The Swiss Confederation — A Brief Guide. Federal Chancellery. 2015. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2019). "Switzerland". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Nationales Forschungsprogramm 40+".
  5. ^ a b c d Ghiringhelli, Andrea: Ticino League in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 10 March 2017.
  6. .
  7. ^ The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide. Switzerland: Federal Chancellery, Communication Support, Swiss Confederation. 2016. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  8. .
  9. ^ "Nationalrat 2007".
  10. ^ Bundesamt für Statistik. "Nationalratswahlen: Übersicht Schweiz". Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  11. ^ "La Lega si lecca le ferite, Quadri in lacrime". Corriere del Ticino (in Italian). 2019-10-20.
  12. ^ Niedermann, Marcel (10 August 2023). "Tessiner SVP mischt den Status quo auf". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ^ Thürkauf, Karoline (27 October 2023). "Die SVP gräbt der einst stolzen Lega dei Ticinesi das Wasser ab". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  14. ^ Thürkauf, Karoline (7 June 2022). "Die rechtspopulistische Lega dei Ticinesi ist in der Krise". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  15. ^ a b Schindler, John R. (July 12, 2016). "Swiss Italians Say No to the Burqa". Observer Media. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d Arroque, Stefano (June 1, 2016). "A Restive Canton: The Rise of Ticino's Own Lega". nationalia.info. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  17. Swissinfo
    . Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  18. ^ "Our guidelines – The Decalogue of the Lega dei Ticinesi". Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  19. ^ "Schlussabstimmung" (PDF) (in German and French). Parliament of Switzerland. 18 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.

External links