The proposed paper focuses on electoral campaign activities and financing led by candidates to the Swiss National Council (the Lower Chamber of the federal Parliament). Although political science has shown a growing interest in Swiss party activities, electoral campaigning, especially at the cantonal level, has so far attracted little attention. Using a comparative perspective, the research aims to investigate the design and development of campaign strategies and propaganda material, also considering the financial questions. It will provide insight on how candidates’ campaigning strategies and activities in three Swiss cantons (Zurich, Geneve and Ticino) differ or not and why. As a consequence of federalism, Swiss national campaigns are traditionally organised at the cantonal level. For this reason, we will take into account contextual factors, as for example the intensity of the campaign, the district magnitude etc. Using data from the Candidate Survey done by the Swiss electoral studies (SELECTS) after the Swiss national elections held in 2007, the research will also take into account the altering relationship between party-driven and personal-driven campaigning. More generally, the objective is to verify the hypothesis of the so-called “Americanization” of campaigning in Switzerland.
