The other day I wrote about how it’s unclear to me that our political system would be any more facile if there more than two major political parties simply because constituent interest usually trumps rigid ideology. I got into a long an incoherent debate with a friend about the effects of a multipolar American political system, during which I remarked I wish I knew more about countries that actually do have such a system. Anyway, as if on cue, here’s Matt Yglesias, writing from Switzerland.
Every now and again someone observes that it’s a shame that we have to cram our political debate into just two parties. Well, Switzerland has four major political parties (at least that’s how they describe it, arguably five is more accurate). There are your basic Social Democrats and then your Christian Democrats (think the Party of Sam’s Club) and your Free Democrats (think Cato Institute) and your Swiss People’s Party (think Pat Buchanan) and also a Green Party that doesn’t count as major even though it gets about 10 percent of the vote.
Nevertheless, even with all that to choose from, most of the Swiss members of the group I’m with who I’ve asked about it tell me that they don’t quite feel that any party really represents their views.
