General information about Switzerland |
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Swiss democracy and politics |
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Switzerland is one of the oldest and most stable democracies in Europe. Political power in Switzerland is divided between local government - the communities or cities; state government - the 26 cantons each with its own constitution, education system and tax rate; and federal government with its seat in Bern. The Federal Government, which has clear-cut but limited powers over the army, foreign policy, etc., raises its own taxes. It is headed by a group of 7 people who are elected by the Parliament for an indefinite period of time. Decisions are taken collegially, with consensus being more important than political alliances. The Swiss Franc is managed by the central bank, an incorporated company whose major shareholders are the cantons, although some shares can be bought by the general public. The Swiss political system is very decentralised; power is shared throughout the country. It is also very conservative, which is probably the best option for such a diverse country with 3 main languages, 2 religions, and 26 constitutions! The decision-making system is strongly biased toward direct democracy. That is, people go to the polls every few months to vote on definite issues, such as new immigration laws, a projected bridge or if they want to abolish the army. Usually decisions are the prerogative of elected officials, but the people can always ask for a public referendum on any issue if they raise enough signatures. This leads to so-called public initiatives, that every well-organised political group can use to enforce a vote to be taken on some pet project they have. However, most initiatives of this type are rejected, because to be accepted they need the support of two thirds of the people and the cantons - not an easy thing to achieve in such a diverse country. |
