A survey published on Sunday by the Swiss newspaper, "SonntagsBlick" shows that Switzerland's Radical Party has become the leading political force in the country.

The poll, carried out for the paper by the Isopublic research institute, asked interviewees who they would vote for if parliamentary elections were to take place on the following Sunday. The results, based on 581 valid questionnaires, showed that 24.2 per cent of people would vote for the Radical Party.

This represented a 2.2 per cent progression for the centre-right Radical Party since March.

For the first time in 10 years, Switzerland's former political leader, the rightwing Swiss People's Party, came in second position with 23.5 per cent.

This was down from 25 per cent in March.

The survey, carried out between June 13 and 21, showed that the centre-left Social Democratic Party and the centre-right Christian Democratic Party had also lost ground. Both parties were down by one per cent, to stand respectively at 18.5 and 15 per cent.

Analysts say the Radical Party's progression is due to its increasing presence in the media and its desire to act as a leader of opinion.

swissinfo with agencies

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