although switzerland remained neutral in the first world war, it did not avoid the spiralling economic crisis that accompanied it. the resulting social tension was unleashed in 1918 by the labour unions and sp, who organised the . the goal of the strike was a fundamental reorganisation of society. the federal council issued an ultimatum to the strikers and allowed the military occupation of central points. in this way the strike was ended after four days. political action was quickly taken to conciliate the strikers, like the introduction of a 48-hour working week and a popular initiative on , which passed on 13 october 1918. in the 1919 federal elections, the sp doubled its mandate from 20 to 41 members.