24 elected members of the Swiss Parliament have a second nationality in addition to being Swiss, a census by swissinfo.ch (SWI) has revealed.
Of those, 19 are National Council members, whereas five are members of the Council of States.
The number of parliamentarians holding dual citizenship has slightly decreased compared to the previous legislature, where the figure stood at 29, as some of them either chose not to run or were not re-elected.
Meanwhile, this number has been increasing throughout the years. In 2002, the Federal Chambers of Switzerland had only three binational members. Since 2022, members of the federal legislature have been required to declare their second nationality.
In addition to parliamentarians, the dual nationality trend has been increasing among the Swiss population in general. In 2021, more than 19 per cent of Switzerland’s residents held a second passport, compared to 14 per cent in 2010.
Italy, the Most Represented Nationality Within the Swiss Parliament
Among parliamentarians with a second passport, Italian-Swiss are the most represented within the Swiss parliament. Furthermore, since the 1990s, Parliament has had around 40 declared binational members, mainly of Italian-Swiss origin.
In addition to the Swiss, 24 members of the new parliament elected last year hold a second nationality, as follows:
- Italian (13 members)
- German (three members)
- French (three members)
- Turkish (three members)
- Australian (one member)
- Colombian (one member)
Italians are the largest foreign community in Switzerland, which may explain the increased presence within the parliament. As further explained by SWI, these individuals belong to the second, third, or even fourth generation of immigrants, with roots tracing back to the Italian labour migration during the latter half of the 20th century.
In the general population, most residents with dual nationality are of Italian, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin. However, the last two mentioned are not represented in Parliament despite being among the communities with the highest number of dual nationals.
The issue of binational members consistently creates debate within the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC/conservative right). Mike Egger, a UDC member of parliament, submitted an interpellation regarding this issue last December.
It cannot be excluded that members of the Federal Assembly who are also foreign nationals could be confronted with conflicts of interest to the detriment of Switzerland.
To address the issue, Egger suggested either requiring parliamentarians to renounce any potential second nationality upon taking office or requiring them to make a declaration of loyalty to the Confederation.
Despite its criticisms of dual nationality, the UDC also has three members who hold dual citizenship.
Political scientist Nenad Stojanovic considers that dual nationality remains underrepresented in Parliament, as it only concerns 10 per cent of parliamentarians.
According to him, the percentage of parliament members with different nationalities should be approximately twice its current rate.
At present, the Swiss passport ranks as the 17th most powerful passport in the world, according to the VisaGuide.World Passport Index.
