Cantonal Council and Council of States

The parliament of the canton of Zurich is called the Cantonal Council (Kantonsrat). It is the legislature, that is the legislative power. The Cantonal Council has 180 members. It makes the cantonal laws and every year decides on the canton's budget. It also supervises the government and the administration. Some judges are also elected by the Cantonal Council.

The members of the Cantonal Council are elected by the people, every 4 years. The election is a proportional election (Proporz): each party receives as many seats as corresponds to its share of the votes. So the government does not appoint the members of parliament. In other cantons the parliament is often called the «Grand Council» (Grosser Rat). «Landtag» is the term used in Germany and Liechtenstein.

The Council of States is something different: it is a chamber of the Federal Parliament in Bern. Each full canton has 2 seats there, no matter how big it is. Zurich, too, has only 2 members of the Council of States, although it is the canton with the most inhabitants. In the National Council, on the other hand, Zurich has many seats, because they are distributed according to population.

Memory aid: Kantons-RAT = many people who deliberate (beraten) (180). Regierungs-RAT = few who govern (regieren) (7).