Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland (German: Bürgerlich-Demokratische Partei Schweiz, BDP; French: Parti bourgeois démocratique suisse, PBD; Italian: Partito Borghese Democratico Svizzero, PBD; Romansh: ⓘ, PBD; Swiss Democratic Bourgeois Party) was a conservative political party in Switzerland from 2008 to 2020. After the 2019 federal election, the BDP had three members in the National Council.
| President | Martin Landolt |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 November 2008 |
| Dissolved | 31 December 2020 |
| Split from | Swiss People's Party |
| Merged into | The Centre |
| Headquarters | Postfach 119 CH-3000 Bern 6 |
| Membership (2015) | 6,500 |
| Ideology | Fiscal conservatism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| Colours | Yellow (official) Black (customary) |
| |
It was founded as a moderate splinter group from the national-conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC); it was created as a political party on the federal level on 1 November 2008. It was led by Martin Landolt. It had, until January 2016, one Federal Councillor, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, whose election in defiance of the SVP/UDC incumbent Christoph Blocher led to the creation of the party. It comprised most of the SVP/UDC's old centrist-agrarian wing, which had been overshadowed in recent years by its nationalist-activist wing.
The party's name in German, French, Italian and Romansh came from "bourgeois", the traditional European term for a centre-right party.
On 1 January 2021, the party merged with the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC) to form the new party The Centre (DM/LC). Cantonal parties were allowed to continue operating under the existing BDP/PBD name.