Before the US elections – Which party would Kamala Harris belong to in Switzerland? -News

In a month, a new president will be elected in the USA: the Republican Donald Trump or the Democrat Kamala Harris. Unlike in Switzerland, only two parties dominate in the USA. But which party would Harris and Trump be in if they were politicizing in Switzerland? Political science professor Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen classifies.

SRF News: Which Swiss party would Kamala Harris be in?

Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen: You often hear that she is a left-wing candidate. Certainly I wouldn’t place them so clearly in the SP – or in any case only on some questions. The tendency is certainly closer to the middle than the SP. But that is a difficult question because Switzerland and the USA differ in many areas.

What is the big political difference between Switzerland and the USA?

There are a few, but I would focus on two. One thing is that there is a different understanding of the state. Whether Democrats or Republicans – both parties want as little government intervention as possible. The USA, for example, has very few social benefits. They have a liberal welfare state, while in Switzerland the state as a whole is given a more important role.

A left-wing party like the SP would actually have no chance in the USA.

The second is an institutional difference. In Switzerland, a coalition forms the government and we have many parties. In the USA we have a two-party system, characterized by majority voting. This means that there are always two parties that are somewhere left and right of center. A left-wing party like the SP would actually have no chance in the USA.

You mentioned it before: Harris is considered left-wing in the USA, but she doesn’t fit into the SP mold in Switzerland. Why?

You have to differentiate between general settings and suggestions. In some areas, Harris has a left-wing idea and many of the proposals she has made are quite left-wing – for example in the area of ​​climate protection or dealing with immigrants. But there are also important differences, for example, in addition to its liberal understanding, it has a strong law-and-order orientation. She wants to strengthen the police and is now in favor of fairly strict controls at the borders.

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Let’s look at Donald Trump’s positions. He primarily criticizes immigration, which sounds like classic SVP politics.

Migration and immigration are currently popular topics that are being taken up by many right-wing conservative parties in Switzerland, but also elsewhere. If you take a closer look at the positions of the Republican Party, I would place the party between the FDP and SVP, depending on the topic. In the area of ​​immigration, certainly more with the SVP.

Trump certainly deviates from this left-right pattern.

But it must also be said that Trump certainly deviates from this left-right pattern in his arguments and his suggestions and is classified differently by many people. Some measures are clearly conservative, others are sometimes classified as almost left-wing. He is a bit “fuzzy” in his suggestions and lives above all from a strong ideology. This populism that he raises succinctly and issues like immigration, abortion and the freedom to bear arms are things that he puts a lot of focus on.

To what extent do you see FDP positions with Trump?

First and foremost, of course, in economic policy. He has reduced various taxes; lower taxes are one of his favorite topics. On the other hand, he proposes a very protectionist economic policy and tried to implement this during his term in office. This takes him away from the FDP again and also stands in a certain contrast to the liberal understanding that he propagates in other areas.

The interview was conducted by Nicole Roos.