Political parties have their own ideas about social security and publicly advocate them. Parties can initiate reforms through parliamentary initiatives or through popular initiatives; referendums can be launched to block bills that have already been passed. Those parties whose representatives occupy leading position in politics and public administration have significant influence on how the social security system is structured. The four largest parties (FDP, CVP, SP, SVP), represented in the Federal Council, the nation’s executive body, thus have a correspondingly large weight; smaller parties can only selectively bring their ideas into play. The positions parties take range from demands to expand welfare state benefits or its scope, through liberal approaches which emphasize the responsibility of the individual or the role of the market, to critique and rejection of welfare state intervention and demands to dismantle welfare state systems.