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![[Flag of Switzerland]](../images/c/ch}svp.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 23 October 2007
image by M. Schmöger, 23 October 2007SVP (Schweizerische Volkspartei)
UDC (Union démocratique du centre)
UDC 
(Unione Democratica del Centro)
UDC (Uniun Democratica dal Center)
(Swiss 
People's Party / Democratic Union of the Center)
This party is currently 
the biggest party in Switzerland having 55 seats in the 200-seat lower chamber 
of the Swiss Parliament (Nationalrat = National Council). Two SVP members are 
ministers in the federal government (Bundesrat = Federal Council). The SVP is a 
right-conservative party that has in the recent past based its electoral success 
on right-populist activism including anti- European and anti-immigration 
sentiments. Surprisingly, I was not able to find any trace of the use of a party 
flag, although I checked the federal party website as well as the cantonal 
websites of the party. This is in contrast to the practice of the other major 
parties in Switzerland, that at least sometimes are using party flags. 
 M. Schmöger, 26 
November 2006
Last weekend's parliamentary elections in Switzerland (with additional votes 
and seats for the SVP) has also brought about some media reports. The German 
newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (19 Oct 2007, p. 8) has reported about the 
campaign, showing a photograph of a SVP rally. This time they used flags!
The older version of the logo only had the inscription of the party 
abbreviation (SVP and UDC) on a green field. The newer version shows a bar in 
two shades of green with a smiling yellow sun featuring the Swiss flag. On the 
green bar there is the party abbreviation in white, either in one language only 
or in both. The party flags used during that rally are square, white with the 
newer version of the logo in two languages. I don't know how frequently this 
flag is used, but the internet shop at the party website does not provide them. 
I'm not sure if the flag comes only in the two-language version or also in 
single-language versions.
 M. Schmöger, 23 October 2007
Over the last 20 years, the right-conservative SVP has become the largest 
party in Switzerland, at least on a federal level, now having 65 out of 200 
seats in the federal parliament.
The current symbol is a combination of a 
smiling sun with the party abbreviation(s), either in one or two languages, on 
two streaks of different shades of green; in the upper left corner there is a 
small Swiss flag. This is frequently combined with a number of changing slogans.
Flag usage has grown over the years, from almost non-existent ten years ago 
to fairly comparable to other Swiss parties. The main flag is white with the 
symbol (party abbreviation SVP and UDC). This comes in a number of variants, 
though; the main variation is the size of the symbol and the ratio of the flag, 
from almost square to rather elongate.
 M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp1a.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
Full-sized flags have a ratio of roughly 2:3; although they can be bought in the party shop [1], they are otherwise rarely used [2].
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp1b.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
Small hand-waving flags are usually a bit shorter and much more widely 
used [3,4,5,6,7,8].
 M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp1c.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
Another version of small flags 
comes in an almost square shape [9,10,11].
 M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp2.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
A very 
specific flag can be bought at the party shop [1]. It is red with the party 
symbol in the lower hoist; the red field contains seven Swiss crosses of 
different sizes [12,13].
 M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp3.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
In 2009, I had found a small 
photo of a table flag on the WWW; the photo has now disappeared from the 
WWW. It looks like a rather home-made flag; the logo is a bit different: the 
sun is larger, and there is a blue background behind the sunrays.
 M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
[1] 
http://www.svp-ruettenen.ch/svp_fahnen_shop/shop_deutsch/ 
[2]
http://www.20min.ch/diashow/40186/svp-dc62ab33ecce6282101a51fdfaefa1ee.jpg
[3]
http://test.20min.ch/diashow/155088/155074-cb01f6bf87b67af42aa2a18899f77c62.jpg
[4]
http://f.blick.ch/img/aktuell/origs906725/5625568477-w644-h429/bern-krawall.jpg
[5] 
http://files.newsnetz.ch/story/2/7/5/27521530/4/topelement.jpg 
[6]
http://www.20min.ch/diashow/14410/06982326.jpg 
[7]
http://www.dealzone.ch/bilder/svp-fahne.jpg 
[8]
http://www.laliberte.ch/media/image/5/normal/20140617214455770.jpg 
[9]
http://www.svp-sh.ch/assets/Galerien/svp-familienfest-2011/_resampled/SetWidth1200-DSC0225heller.jpg
[10]
http://www.svp-sh.ch/assets/Galerien/svp-familienfest-2011/_resampled/SetWidth1200-DSC0133.JPG
[11]
http://www.svp-sh.ch/assets/Galerien/svp-familienfest-2011/_resampled/SetWidth1200-DSC0142.JPG
[12]
http://images.nzz.ch/eos/v2/image/view/620/-/text/inset/57c65a7f/1.18490671/1424885329/svp-waadtland.jpg
[13]
http://f.blick.ch/img/aktuell/origs435661/6090146323-w980-h653/SVP-Feier-Bern.jpg
 M. Schmöger, 23 December 2015
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-b-vd.gif) image 
by M. Schmöger, 2 January 2016
 image 
by M. Schmöger, 2 January 2016
In the canton Vaud, the SVP/UDC uses a beach flag with the slogan "Ma maison - notre Suisse" (My home - our Switzerland) and the cantonal section's URL (www.udc-vaud.ch); in top the French-language symbol (with slogan "Pour un canton fort" = For a strong canton), in base the party abbreviation "UDC" in green [33,34].
[33] 
http://www.rts.ch/2015/06/23/11/40/6878715.image 
[34]
http://www.rtl.be/info/GED/01270000/1270200/1270246.jpg 
M. Schmöger, 
2 January 2016
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-thal.gif) image by M. 
Schmöger, 2 January 2016
 image by M. 
Schmöger, 2 January 2016
The local section of Thal in the canton St. Gallen uses a square white flag with the German symbol (including slogans "Schweizer Qualität" = Swiss quality and "Die Partei des Mittelstandes" = The party of the middle class) rotated by 90° [35].
[35]
https://assets.rheintaler.ch/uploads/image/file/17909/909/storydetail_large_Vereinsfahnen.jpg
M. Schmöger, 2 January 2016
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-b1.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
The SVP/UDC also uses several beach flags, of different shapes. One version is simply white, with the SVP/UDC symbol in the upper part [14,15].
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-b2.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
The second version is white, with the German symbol (only SVP inscription) and the additional slogans "Schweizer Qualität" (Swiss quality) and "Die Partei des Mittelstandes" (The party of the middle class) [16,17,18].
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-b3.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
The slogan "Schweizer wählen SVP" (Swiss vote for SVP), devised for the 2011 elections, features prominently in the center of a third version, that shows the German symbol in top and a large red area with Swiss cross in bottom [19,20,13].
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-b4.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
The 2015 slogan "Frei bleiben" (Remain free!) is shown on a fourth version, together with the German symbol in top and a a red area with Swiss cross [21,22,23,24,25]. Although the party shop offers this flag, the drawing there does not show the real thing, as the elements are ordered differently on the flag [26].
![[Flag of Swiss People's Party]](../images/c/ch}svp-b5.gif) image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
image by M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
There is also a French version of 
this beach flag, containing the slogan "Rester libre!" (Remain free!) and 
the French symbol (with slogans "Qualité suisse" and "Pour une Suisse forte" 
= For a strong Switzerland) in top [27,28,29,30,31]. Also here, the flag 
drawing in the party shop differs from the real thing [32].
M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
[14] 
https://www.svp.ch/de/cache/file/F1228708-1B92-4BF7-AD8301A4D382DCEA.jpg 
[15] 
http://www.udc-vaud.ch/images/communiques/udc-le-mont.jpg 
[16] 
http://www.svp.ch/de/cache/file/FF200A3C-BB3D-4AF8-9EE545E20DA807A7.jpg 
[17]
https://www.svp.ch/de/cache/file/DB2E7AE4-3686-4323-BC234DA44939354A.jpg 
[18] 
https://www.svp.ch/de/cache/file/8E21511D-4287-4DF4-9B3131DC5C32DE0F.jpg 
[19]
http://static.a-z.ch/__ip/3KNYa0GIouoPeTm9bBSMfvVplXA/d572e5ff28dd707d66bb985c870c46410d409500/teaser-detail/bundesrat-ueli-maurer-war-ebenfalls-vor-ort 
[20] http://svp-balsthal.ch/uploads/pics/DSC_0078.JPG 
[21] 
http://www.svp-so.ch/files/mul/galleries/49/565_150829-hochzeit08.jpg 
[22]
https://www.svp.ch/de/cache/file/7BF714C1-2376-4CC5-B11A562CA4033857.jpg 
[23] 
https://www.svp.ch/de/cache/file/EB01CCDF-C664-447A-97EE093C13A4CAB5.jpg 
[24] 
https://www.svp.ch/de/assets/File/20150822_141608.jpg
[25] 
http://www.1815.ch/site/assets/files/0/75/97/55/687/20150730185325127.650x0n.jpg 
[26] https://www.svp.ch/partei/shop/ 
[27] 
http://nachbern.ch/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151002_215554.jpg 
[28] 
http://www.srf.ch/var/storage/images/auftritte/news/bilder/2015/09/10/node_8003934/96068419-2-ger-DE/image_span12.jpg 
[29] 
https://fbcdn-photos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xla1/v/t1.0-0/p206x206/11988202_10153660440742450_4425283986831721521_n.jpg?oh=dcfe4c25325e5ffb3bf595ba7c38c86f&oe=56B8E793&__gda__=1455102950_f7e4c6463b7f4a7406957cc00b8930d4 
[30] 
http://judc-vaud.ch/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-UDC-Lutry-stand.jpg 
[31] http://files.newsnetz.ch/story/1/1/7/11714170/8/topelement.jpg 
[32] 
http://www.udc.ch/parti/shop/ 
M. Schmöger, 24 December 2015
 
 
 
 
