Are we seeing the unraveling of the Magic Formula and Switzerland's permanant Grand Coalition Government? According to the Wikipedia article on the recent Federal Council election (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council_election%2C_2007 ), the SVP declared itself an opposition party after Blocher's ouster and kicked their two representatives on the Federal Council (including the one who unseated Blocher) out of their caucus as Americans would put it.
After the 1999 elections, the four "government parties" held 173 seats (86.5%) in the 200-member National Council, with the largest opposition party, the Greens, holding 9 seats (4.5% of the National Council). After the 2003 elections the government parties collectively lost only two seats from their 1999 showing - a loss of 1% of the National Council to the opposition, although the Greens gained 4 seats or an additional 2% of the National Council. In the 2007 election the four "government parties" going into the election lost four seats from 2003 but still had 167 seats (83.5% of the National Council) between them, with the largest opposition party having a notible but still small 20 seats (10%). But if the Swiss People's Party, the largest party on the National Council with 62 seats (31%), is now an opposition party and the Greens are still deemed an opposition party as they don't one of their own on the Federal Council, than the governement now has only a slim majority on the National Council with 105 seats (52.5%) out of 200. The Greens and other left-leaning parties on the Council will likely support the government, but it would tougher to call the government a "Grand Coalition". The Greens will likely demand more than a more ideologically friendly member of another party on the Federal Council after the next election if their strength in Parliament (both houses now) continues to rise. Some more centrist members of the SVP might throw their support to one or more of the government parties (or form a new party around the Schmid-Widmer-Schlumpf wing or wings that might become a new goverment party). That could increase the government's numerical strength and keep Switzerland's [what kind of democracy did someone here call it, consocational?] somewhat alive.
