Pascale Bruderer:the most senior womanin Swiss politics

Policy on Europein a cul-de-sac

Swiss farmers facean uncertain future

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5MailbagBooks: Jacques Chessex

7Images: Images of home

8Swiss policy on Europe in a cul-de-sac

12Pascale Bruderer: The most senior woman inSwiss politics wanted to be an astronaut

14Notes from Parliament

Regional news17Voting: Categorical “no” to lower pensions

18President of the Swiss Farmers’ UnionHansjörg Walter on the state of farmingin Switzerland

20Politics: Banking confidentiality sufferserosion

21OSA pages

24Who are the greatest Swiss personalitiesof all time?

26Football World Cup in South Africa:What are Switzerland’s chances?

28The Italian language is in declinein Switzerland

30Interview with the parties: FDP International

31Echo

Cover photo: Pascale Bruderer, President of theNational Council (Photo: Keystone)

Aglimpse into the swiss media database reveals some startling figures. Zurich’s“Tagesanzeiger” discovered that the word “crisis” featured in no less

than 42,000 articles in the Swiss media over the past twelve months. That figurewas 30,000 the previous year and only 15,000 in 2007. One Swiss daily even went as faras to say that 2009 was an “annus horribilis”, or “a year of internal and external catastro-phes” for Switzerland.

The media furore surrounding the crisis, which was also banally supported by poli-ticians, reached fever pitch following the minaret referendum at the end of November.Switzerland’s newspapers and news channels were suddenly awash with talk of a splitbetween the country’s rural and urban areas, with reports of racism and a restriction ofreligious freedom, and with allegations of intolerance and scandal. Switzerland’s directdemocracy was even called into question as the Swiss people were obviously no longerable to grasp the implications of their political decisions at the ballot box. In fact, only anarrow majority of voters used the minaret vote as an opportunity to voice their uneaseabout militant Islam, no more and no less.

The hype has now died down, and those who did not know before are now aware ofthe fact that the Koran does not stipulate that mosques must have minarets, in the sameway as the Bible does not specify that churches must have steeples. Only those who havenot given the issue any serious thought are suggesting that Switzerland is a racist coun-try because of the minaret referendum. One thing is certain, however: the controversial

vote has triggered a number of necessary discussions about anissue which would otherwise have remained suppressed for a longtime to come.

The other major issue was the international criticism of bank-ing confidentiality and therefore of Switzerland as a financial cen-tre. It has been clear for some time that banking confidentialitywould run its course sooner or later. Even the banks were aware ofthis fact and were in no way surprised when the pressure from Brus-sels, Washington and Berlin started to mount. It would not be acatastrophe for Switzerland as a financial centre or for the coun-

try as a whole if it ceased to be an oasis for tax dodgers and flight capital. Quite the con-trary, in fact. It is just that the government could arguably have dealt with the issue morecompetently. The same might be said about the dispute with Libya’s unpredictablerevolutionary leader. In both cases, the population expected the Federal Council to actwith more dexterity and confidence and, according to surveys, is now losing faith in thegovernment. But even the relationship between the people and the Swiss governmentcannot be deemed a catastrophe by any stretch of the imagination.

Switzerland is doing well – very well, you might say. Switzerland’s financial centreis still ranked ahead of Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Hong Kong becausevalues such as political stability, legal certainty, a stable currency and the know-how ofSwiss banks rate very highly among international investors. Switzerland’s economy en-joys an excellent reputation on the international stage. According to the export industry,particularly in the Far East, the country is synonymous with solidarity, reliability, inno-vation and top quality. The economy as a whole has been gaining momentum since theend of 2009, Switzerland is still one of the world’s most innovative countries and eventhe job market is performing well. To the amazement of economists, the Swiss economyhas weathered the crisis much better than feared.

We should be pleased about this and see it as a reason to be optimistic.HEINZ ECKERT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Switzerland and the crisis

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IMPRINT : “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss abroad, is in its 37th year of publication and is published in German, French, Italian, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions.It has a total circulation of 416000. Regional news appears four times a year.■ EDIT ORS: Heinz Eckert (EC), Editor-in-Chief; Rolf Ribi (RR); René Lenzin (RL); Alain Wey (AW); Jean-François Lichtenstern (JFL), responsible for “Notes from Parliament”, Service forthe Swiss Abroad, DFA, CH-3003 Berne Translation: CLS Communication AG ■ L AY OUT: Herzog Design, Zurich ■ POS TAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organisation ofthe Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Berne, Tel.: +41 31 356 6110, Fax: +41 31 356 61 01, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. Internet: www.revue.ch■ E - M A I L : revue@aso.ch ■ PRINT: Zollikofer AG, CH-9001 St.Gallen. ■ C HANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to Berne. ■ All Swiss abroadwho are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 25 / abroad: CHF 40).Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. Copy deadline for this edition: 1.3.2010

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5M A I L B A G B O O K S

We should be glad that the writer Jacques Chessex leftus with his posthumous book “Le dernier crâne de M.de Sade” (The Last Skull of M. de Sade). On sale inFrench-speaking Switzerland wrapped in a cellophanecover with the warning “adults only”, Chessex’s finalnovel explores the private life of the last months of thelife of the Marquis de Sade, a writer who foughtagainst morality and the Church. Of course, it is impos-sible not to enter into the realms of pornographic liter-ature popularised by this dissenter and for which hespent more than thirty years of his life in prison, wherehe in fact died. The old marquis’ scenes of debaucheryare inescapable. His slow death takes us to his gravewhere he was buried in December 1814. It is there thatthe adventure of his skull begins four years later when

Doctor Ramon takes it from his grave when the cemetery isbeing reorganised. The epic, supernatural story of this relicbegins at this point: “Never before had he held in his hands,or seen with his eyes, anything as distinctive and beautifulas the skull of M. de Sade, of which the bone itself gleams,the sockets look and see, the jaw ironically smiles a trium-phant smile and speaks, yes speaks, all the words of the mar-quis’ works and philosophy.” One of the doctor’s colleaguesgets hold of the famous skull and, before it disappears, hastime to take a cast of it and release some copies onto themysticism market because this is something that rousesdesire. “It’s off, it’s off, it’s the true skull. The first and thelast. It hasn’t finished causing a stir yet.” We follow its pathup until 2009. We discover the wrongdoing, malediction andfascination that it causes. A touch of genius from Chessex,the narrator suddenly becomes a protagonist and goes insearch of the skull. He finds it in Berto, a village in the plainof the Rhône. His descriptive language is magnificent. “I ar-rived at four o’clock when the afternoon turns russet andsmoke is already rising in the black breaks in the valleys.The air smelt of thyme warmed on the slopes, overripe chest-nut and the suint of a flock near to which the intermittentbarking of a dog is heard.” As if he has a sixth sense, Chessexlooks for his own reflection in the relic: “I was looking for askull. And I know it only too well. A skull, a hollowness moreironic, more tenacious and more tightly set on its roundedbone - its hollowed sockets and the smile of its ruined jaw -than any other object of desire or repulsion, mask or decep-tive device, capable of temporarily distracting me from mytrue destiny.” He dares to ask the fatal question: “Was thisskull my own to remind me of my own fate?” And in conclu-sion, as if to a supernatural friend, the author confides: “Of-ten a valuable object, it spoke to me with genuine kindness,as if approving of me and encouraging me to keep away fromthe noises of the world, and, more sombrely, warning me ofimpending death.”

Le dernier crâne de M. de Sade, by Jacques Chessex, Édition Grasset, 2010.

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n.Minaret referendumResponse to “Ashamed” (Jan2010) The world citizen in Ba-varia who feels so ashamed ofhis Swiss nationality couldsolve his problem by simplysending his Swiss passport backto Berne. The Swiss people ex-pressed a valid opinion in a freedemocratic vote, and the letterwriter ought to be pleased thatthere is at least one state leftwhere popular opinion stillcounts for something. Thereare plenty of people who wouldvalue an opportunity to maketheir voices heard.

To those who believe that“religious freedom” is in jeop-ardy, I can only assert that thisis not true – rather, it is a signto those in authority to wakeup to reality. A. KOBELT, GERMANY

Response to Mr de Coulon,“Ashamed” (Jan 2010) It is emi-nently clear that the minaretban has nothing to do with arestriction on religious free-dom. Nowhere in the Korandoes it say that mosques musthave minarets. Muslims inSwitzerland are still free toworship at mosques withoutany fear of persecution.The same cannot be said forChristians and those of otherreligious faiths in Muslimcountries, where religious free-dom and human rights are reg-ularly and brutally trampledon. Why not speak up for thesepersecuted minorities instead?

You may be interested toknow that surveys after theSwiss referendum revealed that77% of Germans and 87% ofDutch would have voted thesame way. P. KÜNDIG, SPAIN

Response to Mr de Coulon,“Ashamed” (Jan 2010) Accusingthe Swiss people of imposingan “ignoble restriction on reli-gious freedom” is an unaccept-able slur. How is it that wor-shippers at Switzerland’s 156

mosques without minaretshave got along just fine withouta permit to build a minaret?Presumably because they havestill been able to freely practisetheir religion and all thesemosques have been fulfillingtheir designated function, insome cases for decades. Why isit that there are plenty ofChristian churches both inSwitzerland and abroad thatmanage without a churchsteeple, but in some Islamiccountries it is forbidden evento carry a pocket Bible?

How did we arrive at a situa-tion where our federal council-lors abroad have felt obligedto apologise for an initiativethat was twice given the “yes”vote – once by a popularmajority, and once by a major-ity of the cantons? Thesefederal councillors have simplydemonstrated how far removedthey are from the people theyare supposed to represent.

Let us not forget that Swisspolitics works from the bottomup, unlike most European“democracies” where peoplemay have the right to vote, butnot to influence actual deci-sions. U.PETER, NAMIBIA

Excellent ideaIn January I read the electronicversion of “Swiss Review”for the first time and was ex-tremely impressed. Older read-ers can even enlarge the textsize to make it easier on theeyes. Perhaps the pages couldeven be arranged one under theother instead of side by side asin the printed edition. Thiswould make reading easier,without having to scroll thisway and that all the time.

Personally I think the elec-tronic magazine is an excellentidea. R. PFISTER, CANADA

Swiss valuesWhen Martin Baltisser, gen-eral secretary of the SVP, saysS

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“People who vote for the SVP vote for Swiss values”, this is a sad distortion. I can only hope that the Swiss will open their eyes and use the next elections to relegate the SVP out of the arena. In my opinion, “Swiss values” do not include the defa-mation of foreigners and people with different views. People who are no longer aware of Christian values, such as National Councillor Freysinger, who described Islamists as Nazis, should be excluded from the Council. The same applies to National Councillor Ulrich Schlüer and Toni Brunner, the secret agent of the Federal Council elections, who recorded conversations using a micro-phone in order to pass on details to the press. And the press were, of course, only too happy to co-operate!

A. BRANDENBERG, CANADA

Electronic “Swiss Review”

Next year will be my eighth year living in Germany with dual na-tionality. All these years I have thoroughly enjoyed settling down in a comfy chair in the kitchen or out in the garden to read your magazine from cover to cover as soon as it arrives. My late mother also derived enor-mous pleasure from reading “Swiss Review”; for her it was a precious link with home. Even my husband found it hard to put

down the magazine with the little Swiss fl ag on the cover.

Then in January the fi rst digital edition of “Swiss Review” popped up in my in-box. It remained unopened for two days until I fi nally got round to clicking on it – only to fi nd that I was done in fi ve min-utes. Instead of the whole mag-azine, I read only a few articles.

E-magazines, e-newspapers and e-books certainly save money, and the environmental argument is a very persuasive one. But I am sure I speak for many expatriate Swiss when I say that I miss the ritual associated with this magazine: taking it out of the wrapper, perusing the front cover, hold-ing it in your hands, and being transported temporarily into another country – our home-land – and perhaps even an-other stage in your life.

M. LEIMBACH, GERMANY

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My fi rst “Swiss Review” just arrived online. What I enjoy the most is the links you provide to all kinds of websites like the National Museum or Schloss Wildegg, etc. It’s just great and much better than the printed version. Thank you so much! R. MUELLER, CANADA

Pleasant surprise

The Swiss national football team’s new kit was presented in the Swiss press at the begin-ning of March under the head-line “New strip features Swiss Cross again”. The Swiss Cross had been absent from the previous versions of the shirt. Peter Gilliéron, President of the Swiss Football Association, said at the launch of the new kit that he had come in for severe criticism at an event for the Swiss abroad because the cross had been missing. He had

“SWISS REVIEW”: BY POST OR E-MAIL?

Swiss abroad who do not have an e-mail address or whose e-mail address is not known to their Swiss representations will automati-cally continue to receive the printed version of “Swiss Review”. They do not need to do anything.

Swiss abroad whose e-mail address is known to their Swiss rep-resentations will receive the electronic version of “Swiss Review”. If they wish to continue to receive the printed version, they can choose to do so at www.swissabroad.ch. They can change their preferred method of delivery at any time, i.e. from e-mail to post, or vice versa.

taken part in a panel debate in 2008 at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Fribourg on the theme of “Switzerland Without Borders – Oppor-tunities and Risks” when he was General Secretary of the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss abroad were able to put questions to the panel-lists. I used this opportunity to express my dissatisfaction to Peter Gilliéron about the absence of the Swiss Cross on the national team’s jersey. I saw this as a renunciation of our identity. I asked: Are we ashamed to show where we come from? Switzerland was the only nation at the Euro-pean Championship not to display the national emblem on its kit.

But miracles do happen. My criticism obviously hit home. I am delighted with the new kit featuring the Swiss Cross. In interviews with the players, particularly the younger ones, you can sense the pride and pleasure they take in wearing the Swiss Cross on their chest.

A quick word on the game: the commitment shown by the young players against Uruguay clearly shows that Ottmar Hitzfeld is on the right track. Well done!!

E. STUDER, FINCHAMPSTEAD,

ENGL AND

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“Heimatland” (Homeland) Basel-based photographers Ursula Sprecher and Julian Salinasspent three years travelling around Switzerland and rediscovering their homeland. The resultis a surprisingly large still-life portrait of Switzerland. It also features quotes from famousSwiss personalities, describing what home means to them.Order now at www.sprechersalinas.ch; ISBN 978-3-033-02150-1, 168 pages, CHF 68

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8 R E L A T I O N S B E T W E E N S W I T Z E R L A N D A N D T H E E U

The following events unfolded last Novem-ber at the Federal Palace in Berne. GuidoWesterwelle, the new German ForeignMinister, was asked by the media what hethought of the reignited debate on Swiss ac-cession to the European Union. Before theofficial state visitor could reply, his Swisscounterpart, Micheline Calmy-Rey, saidthat no such debate was taking place inSwitzerland, even though Federal Council-lor Moritz Leuenberger had recently de-clared: “I’ll tell you what I think. We mustjoin the European Union. Accession willhappen, maybe not tomorrow, but soon.”And just last spring, former Federal Coun-cillor Pascal Couchepin said: “Perhaps thetime has come to hold an open public de-bate in Switzerland about the benefits anddrawbacks of EU membership.”

A proposal put forward by Free Demo-crat Christa Markwalder, National Coun-cillor for Berne, last autumn created newmomentum in the debate on Europe. Thepresident of the “Neue Europäische Bewe-gung Schweiz” (New European Movementin Switzerland) called on the Federal Coun-cil to present to Parliament “without delaythe advantages and disadvantages of thepolicy options with regard to Europe as wellas specific measures for future policy on Eu-rope”. No fewer than 101 members of theNational Council – i.e. more than half of thePeople’s Chamber – signed the parliamen-tary proposal. The Federal Council ac-knowledged receipt of the proposal andonce again endorsed the bilateral approachto the European Union.

Bilateral approach to EuropeEver since the Swiss people narrowly re-jected membership of the European Eco-nomic Area (EEA) – and the cantons re-soundly dismissed it – on 6 December 1992,Switzerland has pursued a bilateral ap-

Policy on Europe in a cul-de-sacSwitzerland’s bilateral approach to Europe has provensuccessful so far. Yet this tack on Europe is becoming increas-ingly difficult to maintain. Our dependence on the EuropeanUnion is growing, while our sovereignty is in decline. Criticsof the Federal Council’s policy on Europe are now callingfor an open public debate on accession to the European Union.By Rolf Ribi

proach to Europe (see “Swiss Review” No.1/2007). In its 2006 Europe Report, theFederal Council concluded that the contin-uation of bilateral cooperation was cur-rently the instrument best suited to pro-tecting Swiss interests. In the Foreign PolicyReport of 2009, the government confirmedthis position, “which enjoys the broad sup-port of the population”. To this day, the bi-lateral approach has been lauded and reaf-firmed again and again like a litany byrepresentatives of the government, Parlia-ment, centre-right parties and the businessworld.

What impact have the bilateral agree-ments with the European Union actuallyhad? Can we continue down the bilateralroad with Europe and at what cost? Accord-ing to the Foreign Policy Report, Switzer-land is trying to establish “excellent rela-tions” with the Union. As a result of cleverSwiss diplomacy, a vast array of bilateralagreements has emerged over the years,around 20 of which are “very significant”.

The first and second bilateral agreements(approved by the Swiss people in 2000 and2005) constitute the cornerstone. This ap-proach has provided the Swiss businessworld with privileged access to Europe’svast single market, which contains almost500 million people. The Federal Council re-port states: “It is unarguably in the interestsof Switzerland to continue the developmentof its relations with the EU by concludingadditional agreements in other areas of mu-tual interest.”

The bilateral tack has clearly deliveredeconomic success. Switzerland earns one inthree francs from trade with EU countries,and the European Economic Area accountsfor 62% of our exports and even 81% of ourimports. The free movement of persons hasproven a key growth driver – the profes-sional expertise of tens of thousands of man-agers, engineers, doctors and skilled work-ers ensures annual increases in productivity.

“Switzerland is today better integrated intothe EU area economically than almost anyother European country”, wrote the NeueZürcher Zeitung. We have “conditions sim-ilar to those of the single market safe-guarded in international law by a cluster ofbilateral agreements”.

The European Union, of course, also hasstrong interests in the relationship. Switzer-land is its second most important economicpartner – notably ahead of China, Japan andIndia – and surpluses are achieved. Switzer-land, with its leading financial centre, is amajor investor and provides employmentfor tens of thousands of EU citizens on both

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sides of the border. As a transit countrywith a modern transport infrastructure,Switzerland plays a vital role in the trans-portation of goods in Europe. And yet thescales are not balanced. Switzerland (withseven million inhabitants) clearly has amuch greater interest in access to Europethan the Union (with almost half a billionpeople) has in access to Switzerland.

High road or cul-de-sac?Many people see the bilateral relationshipwith the European Union as the high road.But this viewpoint has been brought intoquestion recently by leading politicians andprofessors of international law. Kaspar Vil-liger, former Federal Councillor and Fi-nance Minister and an opponent of acces-sion to the EU, warns of the “major risksinvolved in this approach”. He states thataccess to the European single market is ab-solutely vital to Switzerland, which puts itin a very vulnerable position. Each newbilateral agreement actually makes Switzer-land more dependent on the EuropeanUnion and reduces the political distancefrom Brussels.

Anyone who wants to trade with the Eu-ropean Union must adopt the respectiveCommunity law (acquis communautaire).Bilateral treaties are invariably static in na-ture. However, the content of the agree-ments develops and requires constantamendment. The European Union has re-cently even called for the automatic adop-tion of developments in EU law. “This un-derlines the fact that the cost of

bilateralism is increasing from agreementto agreement”, wrote the Neue ZürcherZeitung.

Yet Switzerland is constantly amendingits own laws even without direct pressurefrom Brussels. Thomas Cottier, professorof European law from Berne, believesaround fifty percent of Swiss law is now in-fluenced by EU law. Sometimes Europeanlaw is adopted directly, and sometimes ithas an indirect impact on our legislation.The Federal Council refuses to recogniseadapted legal provisions as being such.According to Thomas Cottier, “if our pop-ulation knew how much EU law we havealready adopted, this would unquestionablyhave an impact on the debate on EU acces-sion”. When Switzerland brings its ownlaws into line with European law, this isreferred to as “autonomous adaptation”.Peter von Matt, a former professor of liter-ature in Zurich, sees this officialese as a

“grotesque phrase”.Kaspar Villiger believes the magnificent

construction of bilateral relations is “ingrave danger of collapse”. This is because ifSwitzerland fails to implement any one ofthe agreements required by the EuropeanUnion, the future of the entire series of bi-lateral relations is left hanging in the bal-ance. This is what happened with the con-tinuation of the agreement on the freedomof movement of persons last year. The con-tinuation of this agreement was linked tothe rest of the first set of bilateral agree-ments, jeopardising the future of the entirebilateral approach.

The comments of Foreign MinisterMicheline Calmy-Rey in 2006 on the gov-ernment’s Europe Report are still valid:

“The bilateral approach remains the best so-lution provided that economic develop-ments are not detrimental to us, the EU iswilling to support us in the bilateral routeand Switzerland receives sufficient scopefor participation in decision-making.” How-ever, limitations are set out in the latest For-eign Policy Report: “The bilateral approachmust not lead to de facto membership with-out voting rights”, which is followed by thisstatement: “If political or economic factorswere in future to create the need for inte-gration of a higher order, then considera-tion would have to be given to the best waysof achieving it – one of which would be ac-cession to the European Union.”

Criticism of policy on EuropeOne of the most severe critics of the policyon Europe is Franz von Däniken, formerState Secretary at the Federal Departmentof Foreign Affairs. He argues that “one ofthe great illusions in Swiss politics is the be-lief that the bilateral approach in relationswith the European Union enhances the sov-ereignty of Switzerland. In actual fact, theopposite is true”. He argues that (material)sovereignty is undergoing “constant ero-sion”. EU law shapes the content of our bi-lateral agreements with Brussels “to thegreatest possible extent”. Switzerland hasto adopt Community law “as a general rule”.It is no longer even free to choose the sub-ject area. Franz von Däniken says: “Thereare issues that are imposed, even forced,upon us.” Federal Berne is under the “illu-sion that it enjoys freedom in negotiationsand agreements”.

The criticism voiced by Franz Blankart –former State Secretary for Foreign Eco-nomic Affairs and chief negotiator on theagreement on the European Economic Area(EEA) – concerning the Federal Council’spolicy on Europe is no less damning. Hestates: “Not only does Switzerland exten-sively adopt relevant EU law through sup-posed “autonomous adaptation”, the Euro-pean Union is now also demanding thatfuture EU law is adopted into our law un-seen.” He believes the numerous cases of au-tonomous adaptation are “extremely alarm-ing in respect of sovereignty”. “When willwe reach the level of autonomous adapta-tion where, in terms of economic and com-

10 R E L A T I O N S B E T W E E N S W I T Z E R L A N D A N D T H E E U

mercial law, Switzerland becomes an EUcolony with local self-government?”, saysBlankart sarcastically.

Thomas Cottier, professor of Europeanlaw in Berne, believes Switzerland has al-ready become a “passive member of the EU”because around half of federal law is influ-enced by European legislation. His studiesshow that Switzerland “adopts Europeanregulations as a general rule”. Sovereigntyis formally maintained, but substantivelythere is a growing area in which EU law isadopted without democratic debate. Tho-mas Cottier says: “This represents a loss ofsovereignty and also democracy in a coun-try that is so proud of its democratic partic-ipation.” Dieter Freiburghaus, a formerprofessor in Lausanne and author of a com-prehensive book on sixty years of Swiss pol-icy on Europe, highlights a “gradual loss ofsovereignty”. He believes the set of agree-ments with the European Union have be-come “so substantial and have encroachedso far” that their rescission would have “in-calculable economic consequences” and isno longer an option for Switzerland. Hestates: “This effectively constitutes a re-striction on sovereignty.” Freiburghaus askshimself “how long Switzerland is preparedto accept a semi-colonial relationship withthe EU for the sake of material wealth.”

What will happen if the “pain threshold”of the bilateral relationship with the Euro-pean Union is reached? There are onlythree options: going it alone, joining the Eu-ropean Economic Area or EU accession.According to Micheline Calmy-Rey, “theone thing we cannot afford to do is to iso-late ourselves”. Such a step would result insuch a significant loss of prosperity, in viewof the international focus of the Swiss busi-ness world, that it would be virtually unac-ceptable to the people.

EEA as an alternative?Switzerland could join the European Eco-nomic Area (EEA), which Norway, Icelandand Liechtenstein still belong to, at anytime. The EEA agreement aims to ensureextensive participation of third countries inthe European single market. The fourfreedoms of movement of goods (excludingagricultural products), persons, capital andservices form a common basis, supple-mented by common rules in individual ar-eas. The EEA covers important areas whichare not covered by the bilateral agreements

(such as competition law and the movementof services and capital).

On 6 December 1992, the Swiss peoplenarrowly rejected joining the EEA with50.3% voting against the proposal. Shortlybefore Referendum Sunday, the FederalCouncil declared accession to the EU a goaland submitted an accession application toBrussels, which proved to be an historic mis-take. This had a distortive effect on theresult of the referendum, a European policyodyssey began, the economy entered a ten-year period of stagnation and the upsurge ofthe Swiss People’s Party (SVP) started.

Some experts believe the European Eco-nomic Area is still a relevant issue. Accord-ing to the prominent commercial lawyer Pe-ter Nobel, Switzerland has “moved into anoffside position in terms of policy on Eu-rope”. This expert on European law be-lieves the bilateral route is a cul-de-sacwhich can no longer be extended. He says:

“In the current situation, a new EEA agree-ment would be the realistic solution. Itwould institutionalise our relations with theEU and afford us a degree of input.” RudolfStrahm, former National Councillor andprice inspector, also sees the benefits ofEEA membership: complete integrationinto the European single market, consulta-tion on the development of EU law, possi-ble exemption provisions and more influ-ence in negotiations with Brussels. He asks:

“Who in Switzerland has the political powerand courage to re-launch the debate on anagreement with the successful EEA?”

Franz Blankart, former senior diplomatand EEA chief negotiator, says: “The acces-sion to the EU of Iceland, and possibly Nor-

way, would give Switzerland a unique op-portunity to join the EEA and benefit fromthe institutional superstructure and fromco-determination.” This would restore

“peace and dignity to our dealings with ourmost important business partner”. A cer-tain sense of reluctance would have to beovercome in light of the negative outcomeof the 1992 referendum. He adds: “Other-wise, politicians will have to argue the casefor accession to the European Union.”

EU accession becomes an issueThe Federal Council confirmed EU mem-bership as a “strategic objective” in the 1993Foreign Policy Report. In 2000, the govern-ment made reference to an accession objec-tive, but it was no longer “strategic”. By2005, integration into the European Unionhad been downgraded to a mere “long-termoption”. According to the Neue ZürcherZeitung, “Switzerland’s gradual distancingof itself from EU membership reveals thetension in its relations with the EU”.

Calls from prominent figures for acces-sion to the European Union are gettinglouder. One such figure is former seniordiplomat Franz von Däniken, who says:

“The bilateral approach makes us more de-pendent on the EU and not more independ-ent. If we joined the EU, we would gain insovereignty thanks to greater room for ma-noeuvre and the right of participation.” An-other advocate is Thomas Cottier, a profes-sor in Berne. He argues: “We have to findthe strength to come to terms with the na-tion’s future in Europe. Political effortsmust be made to overcome the taboo sur-rounding the issue of accession.” The Neue

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Zürcher Zeitung has also added its voice tothe calls: “A healthy democracy like Swit-zerland would do well to objectively exam-ine the accession issue from time to time –and all the more intensively, the nearerSwitzerland moves towards the gates ofBrussels.”

The government’s 2006 Europe Reportsets out the consequences of full EU mem-bership for Switzerland. They can be sum-marised as follows:

■ Direct democracy: The political rights ofthe people would continue to apply; the ma-terial scope of application would be re-stricted as powers would be transferred tothe EU. Accession would be subject to amandatory referendum. Referenda wouldbe possible for amendments to legislation asa result of EU directives (not for directlyapplicable EU law). Popular initiativeswould still be possible in the area of EUlaw. If referendum decisions were to con-flict with EU law, negotiations would haveto be conducted with Brussels. In return,Switzerland would obtain full participa-tion rights at European level in the Councilof Ministers, the European Parliamentand European Court of Justice. Swiss citi-zens could vote and be elected anywhere inEurope at community level, take part inEU referenda and be involved with Euro-pean popular initiatives.

■ Federalism: There would be no funda-mental changes. Each country determinesfor itself how its system of government isorganised. Several EU states are organisedfederally.

■ Neutrality: Our neutrality would re-main untouched provided the EU does notbecome a military alliance and force us totake part in military operations. Otherneutral states, such as Austria and Sweden,are already full members.

■ Economy, finance: National economicpolicy as well as financial and monetarypolicy would undergo restrictions. Interestrates would rise if Switzerland wereto join the euro. VAT would have to beincreased to at least 15%. Switzerlandwould contribute CHF 3.4 billion net eachyear to the EU budget (around 0.7% ofgross national income). CHF 700 millionor more currently goes to Brussels eachyear.

If the Swiss people were asked to make adecision on accession to the EU today, theywould probably reject it. Since the unsuc-cessful EEA debate, Europe has been widelyportrayed as the enemy in public opinion, aperception that is constantly reinforced bythe Swiss People’s Party (“small countrieshave little say, Brussels bureaucracy, for-eign courts”). However, it is the stance ofthe business world and, above all, banks thatis key. Business leaders and banking chiefsare strongly opposed to membership of theEuropean Union. They particularly fear en-croachment into social policy, employmentlaw and banking confidentiality.

Economiesuisse, the Swiss Business Fed-eration, never tires of extolling the virtuesof the bilateral approach and calling for newagreements with the EU. It argues: “Adop-tion of European financial and fiscal policy,

financial and monetary policy as well as em-ployment and social policy would have anegative impact on the competitiveness ofSwiss companies. Accession to the EU is notan option for the Swiss business world.” Op-position is equally strong from the bankingsector. The banking lobby is always presentin Berne’s corridors of power wheneverbanking confidentiality, tax evasion by for-eigners, the taxation of savings incomeagreement with the EU or the cantons’holding taxes (criticised by Brussels) are onthe agenda.

Fainthearted “political class”The economic success of the bilateral agree-ments has to date prevented politicians andthe Swiss people from facing up to the pros-pect of joining the European Union. How-ever, open debate on Europe is urgentlyneeded now that the bilateral approach isbecoming increasingly difficult and in viewof the clear loss of national sovereignty.Only, the “political class” has so far lackedthe courage to strike while the iron is hot.Worse still, according to Franz von Däniken,

“the diplomatic protection of interests inEurope is no longer a priority for the Fed-eral Council”.

And what about the Swiss people? Theycan go on dreaming about the myth of theindependent small state epitomised by thewords of folk hero William Tell: “Thestrong man is strongest alone. A man countsonly certainly on himself.” Or they couldlisten to Jakob Kellenberger, former StateSecretary in the Federal Council and cur-rent president of the International Com-mittee of the Red Cross: “I can’t under-stand why a country like Switzerland doesnot work resolutely towards accession tothe EU. This is the only option if we are toensure our interests are represented in theright place in Europe.”

Switzerland’s relationship with the EU

DOCUMENTATIONThomas Cottier, Rachel Liechti-McKee (ed.):Die Schweiz und Europa. Wirtschaftliche Integrationund institutionelle Abstinenz. Vdf Hochschul-verlag AG, Berne 2009. 358 pages, CHF 58, EUR 39.90www.vdf.ethz.chDieter Freiburghaus: Königsweg oder Sackgasse?Sechzig Jahre schweizerische Europapolitik. VerlagNeue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2009. 445 pages, CHF 48,EUR 31, www.nzz-libro.ch2009 Foreign Policy Report, 2006 Europe Report(both documents available at www.bbl.admin.ch/dienstleistungen)Documentation centre www.doku-zug.ch

12 P O L I T I C S

Arranging an interview with Pascale Brud-erer within a reasonable period of time isquite a challenge. It is not that she is averseto the media or interviews. On the contrary,she is well aware of the important role pub-lic relations play in politics. And the charm-ing President of the National Council knowsexactly how to deal with the media. She is anoutstanding communicator. “There are cer-tain things that are off limits”, Pascale Bru-derer is keen to stress. “I don’t discuss myhome life. That does not belong in the pub-lic domain. It wouldn’t be fair to my hus-band.” She knows that media attention hasbenefitted her enormously. She is young, at-tractive and a good orator. She has alwaysbeen a media darling. She reveals: “The me-dia honed in on the superlative “youngest”.I have tried to use these opportunities tohighlight issues which would otherwise re-ceive little attention – such as social integra-tion of the disabled.” She explains that poli-ticians need opportunities to present theirideas and to convey them to the people, buthaving personal contact with the people isstill the most important thing. She believesexcessive media attention should be avoidedand does not think it necessary to acceptevery invitation.

A life after politicsBefore we met for the interview in her pan-elled, silk-wallpapered office in the FederalPalace, she attended a meeting where a newInternet platform aimed at bridging the gapbetween the generations was presented onher own initiative. Addressing the meetingin French and German, she immediately wonover the participants. At the social gatheringorganised afterwards by the President of theNational Council in the Federal Palace,there was much speculation about whetherPascale Bruderer was soon set to become aFederal Councillor. But she waves this ques-tion away, saying she is not even thinkingabout it. Having entered politics as young asshe did, she knows there is also life after pol-

Pascale Bruderer Wyss – bridging the generation gapAs a child, Pascale Bruderer wanted to become an astronaut and the first woman to fly to Mars.She also quite fancied the idea of becoming a professional sportswoman. As the youngestever President of the National Council and the most senior woman in Swiss politics, the 32-year-old does not regret having failed to fulfil her childhood dreams. She is very content in highoffice, and she could yet be the first woman to land on Mars!

itics. In future, she could imagine dedicatingherself entirely to her family or a profes-sional career. She also knows just how muchsacrifice is required to serve on the FederalCouncil. She reflects: “The world outside ofpolitics, not least my private life, is also veryimportant to me. I don’t think I’d be pre-pared to give that up completely.”

Pascale Bruderer’s political career beganvery early. She was a municipal councillor inBaden while still at secondary school. Shewas elected to the Grand Council of the can-ton of Aargau at 24 years of age and to theNational Council a few months later, alwaysas the youngest member. She has neverthe-less always attached great importance to hav-ing career options. She is also part-time di-rector (60% of working time) of the CancerLeague of the canton of Aargau, an officewhich she is currently unable to execute toher usual extent. As the most senior womanin Swiss politics, she has virtually been a pro-fessional politician for a year. She does notwork in Berne every day, but she is always onthe go. Pascale Bruderer explains: “Through-out the whole of Switzerland actually, whichI really enjoy.” She believes a key part of theparliamentary president’s role is to promoteParliament to the people and to foster con-tact with them. She constantly emphasiseshow important it is for politicians to keeptheir feet on the ground and not to lose touchwith everyday life or the people.

Pascale Bruderer entered politics at sec-ondary school as a member of the pupils’council. In this role, she realised that shecould make things happen. She wanted to dothe same outside school. She was not influ-enced by her family politically. So she scru-tinised the parties closely and soon saw thatthe Social Democrats (SP) best representedher beliefs – justice and equal opportunitiesfor everyone. The Social Democrats focusmost rigorously on these objectives in theirpolitical work, she says. Her family is partlyresponsible for her vehement commitmentto solidarity and social cohesion. Her parents

would constantly remind their three daugh-ters that all people deserve equal rights andopportunities.

Unplanned careerIf her parents were asked today whether theywere proud of the fact that their youngestdaughter had been elected to the highest po-sition held by a woman in Switzerland, theywould still say that they were proud of allthree of their daughters. The fact that hermother has two brothers who are deaf hasalso had an impact on her. Deafness hinderscommunication, and to understand and beunderstood are an important part of every-day life, not to mention political life. She hasgood relations with other political camps be-yond party lines. This also explains why shewas elected Switzerland’s most senior femalepolitician by one of the most impressive mar-gins ever. She has learned sign language be-cause of her two uncles. She is proud that thenews on SFinfo is translated into sign lan-guage for the deaf on her own initiative.

She never planned to have a political ca-reer. Having entered politics as young as shedid, she did not have her sights set on highoffice, but was instead pursuing more sub-stantive objectives. It all just happened, ex-plains Pascale Bruderer. She believes the po-litical climate in Switzerland is a healthy one.It could be more respectable and focus onmore relevant issues than at present, butoverall she believes it is much more construc-tive than in other countries. She is an ardentsupporter of political concordance and di-rect democracy, which is why she valuesSwitzerland’s political system so highly.

She is delighted that there are now moreyoung politicians in Parliament than whenshe entered the National Council eight yearsago. She says: “Back then, only Ursula Wyss,Toni Brunner and I were in the ‘under-35s’.Today, it has become quite a big group.”However, Pascale Bruderer does not believethat young people necessarily adopt a differ-ent political approach on issues to older peo-S

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ple. But they are less blinkered in their per-sonal dealings with one another. She saysthat young people develop the best contactsbeyond party lines, which is extremely ben-eficial and contributes greatly to a positiveenvironment.

Pascale Bruderer is the perfect embodi-ment of the new generation of politicians.She thinks independently, does not just op-erate within rigid party lines and voices herown opinion. She did not really have any par-ticular idols in politics, but she holds HelmutHubacher in high regard and enjoys readinghis writings. She also admires Ruth Dreifussas she has never lost her human warmth inthe brutal world of politics. The relationshipbetween the generations has become a keyissue in her year as President partly becauseshe has learned and benefited so much fromolder people and realised at an early age how

important it is to have ties, cooperation andan exchange of views between the genera-tions. This is a key part of the glue that holdssociety together. Pascale Bruderer says wecan never do too much in this respect. Thisis why she is participating in no fewer thantwenty events concerning this issue alone inher year as President. Is her diary already fulluntil the end of the year? “Even beyond that”,she replies with an infectious smile.

Communication as a strengthOfficial visits abroad are also on the agenda.In the autumn, she will probably visit theNepalese parliament, which is currently inthe process of establishing a system of gov-ernment and would like to learn about Swit-zerland’s federal approach. She will not havemuch time for her private life this year. How-ever, she makes time every day to take her

PASCALE BRUDERER WYSS32-year-old Pascale Bruderergrew up in Baden with two eldersisters in a family interested butnot actively involved in politics.

Her political career began as a20-year-old secondary schoolstudent on the municipal councilin Baden. In 2001, she waselected to the Grand Council in

Aargau and, in 2002, steppedup to the National Council. Shestudied political science, consti-tutional law and economic his-tory and is the director of the

Cancer League of the canton ofAargau. She married last year andlives with her husband and Kala,her Labrador, in Nussbaumennear Baden.

Labrador, Kala, for a walk and enjoys hikingand socialising with friends and family whenshe gets the chance. She also hopes her yearas President will not mean missing out on toomany cultural events. She excitedly recalls awonderful evening recently spent watchingthe operetta “The Gypsy Baron” in Beinwil.She says it was fantastic to see practically awhole village support a cultural event of thiskind that around 200 people have spentmonths working on.

Her genuine enthusiasm is also infectious,which clearly stands her in good stead in pol-itics. She sees communication, which also in-volves listening, as one of her strengths. Andwhat is her biggest weakness? She does nothesitate for a second before replying: “Thatis undoubtedly my impatience.”

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On the road to e-voting – Swiss citizensabroad eligible to vote in the cantonof Basel-Stadt were able to do soelectronically for the first time on29 November 2009

Swiss abroad in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel and Zurichare being given the opportunity to vote electronically in federalballots through pilot projects. This step was introduced inNeuchâtel in June 2008, in Geneva in September 2009 and willbe launched in Zurich in the second half of 2010. The around6,000 Swiss citizens abroad eligible to vote in the canton ofBasel-Stadt were able to cast their first electronic votes via theInternet in the federal ballot on 29 November 2009.Technical hosting was provided by Geneva’s e-votingsystem, which had already been used successfullyseveral times in the canton of Geneva. The operation also ransmoothly in the canton of Basel-Stadt. A total of 48% of voterschose this new method of voting. The option met with greatapproval.

Only voters residing in EU states or in countries that have signedup to the Wassenaar Arrangement on Dual-Use Goods are enti-tled to use e-voting. Therefore, 89% of the 5,996 Swiss voters en-titled to vote in the canton of Basel-Stadt, meaning 5,336 people,had the opportunity to use e-voting. As many as 48% of votersused the new method of voting in the first trial.

After the vote, the University of Basel conducted a survey inwhich 82% of voters took part:

■ 90% of those surveyed rated the e-voting systemas reliable,

■ 96% were happy with the new documentsand website and

■ 95% also wanted to vote electronically in future.

In particular, those surveyed highlighted the system’s ease-of-use and the fact that e-voting simplifies the voting process.They also appreciated the avoidance of postal costs.

This valuable input from the Swiss abroad will enable e-votingto be developed further and voting documents to be optimised.The tests will be continued and a decision is set to be made inaround two years’ time on the introduction of e-voting for theentire electorate in the canton of Basel-Stadt.

Report by: Daniel Orsini, Department of Presidential Affairs ofthe canton of Basel-Stadt, State Chancellery

Further information is available at www.bs.ch/voting

Military service for Swiss abroad and dualnationals

General informationArticle 59 of the Federal Constitution states: “Every Swiss man isrequired to do military service” and “Military service shall be vol-untary for Swiss women.”

Persons required to enlist (men and women) must present them-selves at an army recruitment centre from the age of 18. They cando this up until 31 December of the year in which they turn 25. Menwho are declared unfit for service are obliged to pay military andcivil service exemption tax. This amounts to 3% of annual salary.Women do not have to pay this tax as they have no military serviceobligation in this case.

If they are declared fit for service, members of the army (menand women) must attend military training school. This lasts for 18or 21 weeks depending on the position assigned at recruitment. Therecruits are subsequently required to attend six or seven three-weekrefresher courses, held each year, until the age of 30 – or 34 forthose who have not yet completed the stipulated number of days ofmilitary service.

Anyone unable to carry out military service due to exemptionfrom service while abroad (Auslandurlaub) or postponement of therefresher course must pay the military and civil service exemptiontax for the year in which they do not carry out service (this measuredoes not apply to female members of the army). In times of peace,there is also the option of meeting the entire military service obli-gation in a single block period (currently ten months). Those whodo so are subsequently no longer required to attend refreshercourses but will remain in the reserve corps until the end of the yearin which they turn 30. All members of the army must accept anyspecific positions or ranks for which they are put forward. In suchcases, they are obliged to perform the tasks and assume the respon-sibilities associated with their new position.

Swiss abroadSwiss citizens who do not reside or work within the territory ofSwitzerland are deemed Swiss abroad. Periods spent in Switzerlandto attend educational establishments are not classed as residence(see Article 26 of the Swiss Civil Code). Young Swiss abroad in thissituation have no obligation to carry out military service and aretherefore not required to enlist. These persons are not obliged toperform military service in times of peace. They can attend militarytraining school voluntarily if they submit an application on time.Functional Staff Area 1 (Führungsgrundgebiet 1 / FGG 1) is re-sponsible for providing information and accepting applications.

Applications from Swiss abroad can only be considered if theyare not also nationals of their country of residence (except wherean agreement to the contrary exists between the two countries; seelist of agreements below) and provided they possess sufficientknowledge of a Swiss national language.

Recruitment for Swiss abroad takes place shortly before militarytraining school in Sumiswald, Lausanne or Monte Ceneri, depend-ing on the language the future recruit will use in the Swiss army.Federal government bears the cost of travel to the recruitmentlocation and the return journey after completing military trainingS

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Advertisement

school. However, if Swiss abroad wish toreturn to their country of residence be-fore the start of military training, theyare not compensated for their additionaltravel costs. If they remain in Switzerlandbetween recruitment and the start of mil-itary training school, they must organiseand pay for their own accommodationand meals.

At the military training school, Swissabroad have the same rights and dutiesas their colleagues who reside in Switzer-land. They receive pay and loss of earn-ings allowance (CHF 4 and CHF 62 perday respectively). Once military trainingschool has been completed, they returnabroad after handing in their militaryequipment. They are granted exemptionfrom service while abroad (Auslandur-laub) and are no longer obliged to carryout military service for as long as theycontinue to reside outside Switzerland.However, if they decide to remain inSwitzerland after completing militarytraining school, they are obliged to carryout military service without restriction.

Dual citizensA Swiss citizen who is also a national ofone (or more) other countries is a dualcitizen at the very least. In line with theabove, dual citizens residing in Switzer-land, who enjoy the rights of citizenshiplike any other Swiss citizen, are obliged,in principle, to carry out military servicewithout restriction. This applies even ifthe other country of which they are also anational threatens to take action againstthem, on the basis of its own legislation,for carrying out military service in theSwiss army. Under international law, anycountry may deem and treat dual citizensas their own citizens without taking account of their other nation-ality or nationalities. Dual citizens do not have freedom to choosethe country in which they want to carry out military service. Any-one who does not carry out military service is liable to pay militaryand civil service exemption tax. However, this is subject to the ap-plication of international agreements and special treatment forcases where dual citizens have carried out military or alternativeservice in the second country of which they are a national.

In Switzerland, Article 94 of the Military Criminal Code stipu-lates that Swiss citizens who perform military service abroad with-out the permission of the Federal Council will be prosecuted (inci-dentally, the Federal Council has not granted such permission sincethe First World War). Swiss abroad who are also nationals of thecountry where they reside and must therefore also observe the lawsof that country on military service will not face prosecution. This

is also set out in Article 94 of theMilitary Criminal Code.

The Federal Council can concludeinternational agreements in which theperformance of military service bydual citizens is mutually recognised.Such agreements exist with Argentina,Austria, Columbia, the United Statesof America, France and Italy. Anagreement with Germany is set to beconcluded shortly. A motion submit-ted in the National Council is alsocalling for negotiations to be initiatedwith Turkey.

This means that there are a wholevariety of special cases:■ Swiss citizens who have served (per-formed military or civil service or paida military and civil service exemptiontax – with submission of supportingevidence) in the other country ofwhich they are also a national will notbe enrolled, or will not remain, in theSwiss army. However, they pay mili-tary and civil service exemption taxsubject to contrary provisions in an in-ternational agreement.■ Swiss citizens who also hold Aus-trian or French nationality performservice in the country where they arepermanently resident on 1 January ofthe year in which they turn 18. Theyhave the option of performing servicein the other country provided theysubmit an application before their19th birthday.■ Swiss citizens who also hold Argen-tinean nationality are only subjectto the provisions of the provisionallyapplied agreement of 31 October 1957if they were born in Argentina as the

son of a Swiss father. In such cases and only in times of peace arethey merely required to perform service in the first country thatcalls upon them to do so.■ Switzerland and Columbia mutually recognise the service per-formed by dual citizens in the other country of which they are also anational.

© ZEM / CME

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■ Swiss citizens born in the US as the son of a Swiss parent andwho have always lived there are not subject to recruitment or pay-ment of the national service exemption tax in the first two yearsof their stay in Switzerland.■ Swiss citizens who also hold Italian nationality only performservice in the country where they are permanently resident on1 January of the year in which they turn 18. They may choose theother country provided they can actually perform service there.

Some figuresNumber of women in the army: around 1000Number of female Swiss abroad in the army: around 20Number of female dual citizens in the army: unknown as onlySwiss citizenship is checked.

Report by: Army Human Resources Department in cooperationwith the Defence Public Relations Department.

Useful addressesPersonelles der Armee (FGG 1), Rodtmattstrasse 110, 3003 BerneWehrpflicht/Mutationen (Military service/updates)Pierre-jean.dizerens@vtg.admin.ch, 031 324 32 56Kommando Rekrutierung (Recruitment)Teresina.fornasier@vtg.admin.ch, 031 324 32 74

Peter Maurer appointed new State Secretaryat FDFA

On 13 January 2010, the Federal Council appointed Peter Maurer,Switzerland’s former ambassador to the UN in New York, as thenew State Secretary at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs(FDFA). Maurer succeeds State Secretary Michael Ambühl whomthe Federal Council has appointed head of the newly created StateSecretariat in the Federal Department of Finance (FDF).

Peter Maurer was born in Thun in 1956 and obtained a doctorate inphilosophy in Berne. He joined the FDFA in 1987 and held variouspositions before, in 1996, becoming the first officer for the head ofSwitzerland’s former Permanent Observer Mission to the UnitedNations in New York. In 2000, the Federal Council appointed himambassador and head of Political Affairs Division IV at the FDFA’sDirectorate of Political Affairs. From 2004 until his nominationPeter Maurer was ambassador and head of Switzerland’s Perma-nent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

In this role, Peter Maurer has succeeded in raising the profile ofSwitzerland, a recent UN recruit, within a short period of time andensuring effective networking at the highest multilateral level. Thisis also underlined by the UN General Assembly’s election of PeterMaurer in June 2009 as chair of the Fifth Committee, which dealswith UN budgetary affairs. He was also elected chair of the UNPeacebuilding Commission’s configuration on Burundi.

At the beginning of March 2010, Michael Ambühl becamehead of the newly created State Secretariat for InternationalFinancial and Tax Matters in the FDF. The FDFA is making StateSecretary Ambühl available to the FDF specifically for this posi-tion.

Michael Ambühl was born in Berne in 1951 and concluded his stud-ies in management science and applied mathematics at the FederalInstitute of Technology in Zurich with a doctorate. He joined theFDFA in 1982 and held positions in Berne, Kinshasa, New Delhiand Brussels. The Federal Council appointed him ambassador in1999. Michael Ambühl was head of the FDFA/FDEA IntegrationOffice until 2005 and was Switzerland’s lead negotiator in the sec-ond series of bilateral negotiations between Switzerland and theEU. The Federal Council appointed him State Secretary in 2005.

Michael Ambühl has made a significant contribution to the suc-cess of Swiss foreign policy in recent years. The agreement con-cluded between Switzerland and the US regarding UBS in summer2009 is a good example of this.

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RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OFFICIAL FDFA INFORMATION PAGES:JEAN-FRANÇOIS LICHTENSTERN, SERVICE FOR THE SWISS ABROAD/FDFA,BUNDESGASSE 32, CH-3003 BERNETEL. +41 31 324 23 98, FAX +41 31 322 78 66WWW.EDA.ADMIN.CH/ASD, PA6-AUSL ANDCH@EDA.ADMIN.CH

NEW POPULAR INITIATIVES AND REFERENDABy the time of going to press, the following new popular initiativeshad been launched since the last edition:■ “Für eine starke Post” (For a better postal service), initiativecommittee: Gewerkschaft Kommunikation; deadline for collectionof signatures: 20.05.2011■ “Abtreibungsfinanzierung ist Privatsache - Entlastung der Kranken-versicherung durch Streichung der Kosten des Schwangerschaftsab-bruchs aus der obligatorischen Grundversicherung” (The funding ofabortion is a private matter – relief for health insurance by removingthe cost of abortion from mandatory basic insurance), initiative com-mittee: “Abtreibungsfinanzierung ist Privatsache” initiative commit-tee; deadline for collection of signatures: 26.07.2011■ “Volkswahl des Bundesrates” (Election of the Federal Council by thepeople), initiative committee: Komitee für die Volkswahl des Bun-desrates; deadline for collection of signatures: 26.07.2011■ “Familieninitiative: Steuerabzüge auch für Eltern, die ihre Kinderselber betreuen” (Families initiative: tax relief for parents who lookafter their children themselves), initiative committee: Komitee Fami-lieninitiative; deadline for collection of signatures: 26.07.2011.

The referendum period for amendment of the Federal Water Protec-tion Act (Gewässerschutzgesetz, GSchG) (renaturation) expires on13.05.2010.

At www.bk.admin.ch/aktuell/abstimmung you will find a list ofpending referenda and popular initiatives and the correspondingsignature forms if available. Please complete, sign and send the formsdirectly to the relevant initiative committee.

17V O T I N G

Occupational pensionChange to the conversion rateThe Federal Council and Parliament’sconservative majority were given a bloodynose on 7 March. 72.7% of voters rejecteda reduction in the occupational pensionconversion rate. This rate is used to convertthe capital amount accrued at retirementinto annual pension payments. It currentlystands at 7%, which means that everyCHF 100,000 in capital produces an annualpension of CHF 7,000. The rate is alreadyset to decrease to 6.8%, but the FederalCouncil wanted to reduce it to 6.4% to takeaccount of higher life expectancy and lowercapital income. The left and the tradeunions called a referendum against theproposal and succeeded in persuading almostthree in four voters that this step was notnecessary at present. The proposal wasdefeated in every canton, but most heavilyin western and southern Switzerland(see map).

Basis for research on humansThe majority of voters backed national gov-ernment on the other two referendum pro-posals. 77.2% of voters and all the cantonsvoted in favour of a constitutional articlegoverning research on humans. The legisla-tor hopes the article will protect human dig-nity and privacy, on the one hand, and en-sure freedom of research, on the other. Theconstitutional article now has to be laid downin a Law on Human Research. It remains tobe seen whether there will be the same levelof unanimity on that.

The Swiss people showed little support forthe mandatory introduction of cantonal an-imal lawyers. 70.5% of voters and all the can-tons rejected the popular initiative fromSwiss Animal Protection that advocates thissystem. This means the current legislation,which gives cantons the option to introduceanimal lawyers, will remain in force. Theselawyers act for mistreated animals ex officioin criminal proceedings.

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Categorical “no” to lower pensionsThree out of four voters rejected a reduction in occupationalpension. The introduction of animal lawyers also suffered aheavy defeat. In contrast, a constitutional article on research onhumans was approved by a clear margin. The turnout was 45%.By René Lenzin

CommentReform bottleneck in the socialsectorSwitzerland’s three-pillar old-age pensionsystem is seen as a successful model. The firstpillar – old-age and survivors’ insurance (AHV)pension – has a clear redistributive effect andmeets basic requirements. In the secondpillar – occupational pension – all those in-sured augment their own capital which willmaintain their accustomed standard of livingin retirement. The third pillar – voluntary, tax-privileged saving – enables an extra cushion tobe built up for old age. The mandatory savingof occupational pension actually has a negativeimpact on the economy in some ways. However,by securing part of the pensions of the futuretoday, it ensures a more stable old-age pensionsystem than in many other countries.

Switzerland is nevertheless finding it diffi-cult to adapt this successful model to socialtrends. In view of increasing life expectancyand the falling birth rate, it appears thatsooner or later it will no longer be possible to fi-nance either the AHV or occupational pensionschemes with current contribution levels. The-oretically speaking, the solution has been obvi-ous for some time – higher contributions, lowerpensions or a combination of both. In reality,politicians have yet to succeed in putting for-ward a reform proposal capable of winningmajority support.

In particular, attempts to introduce correc-tive measures aimed just at benefits havefailed. In 2004, the Swiss people rejected the11th revision of AHV, which primarily aimed toreduce benefits, by a clear majority. And in thereferendum on 7 March, a proposal to reduceoccupational pension benefits was defeated byan even greater margin. These results showthat the Swiss people do not want to reformthe social security institutions through benefitreductions, or at least not just through benefitreductions. In 2004, the Swiss people inflictedan even heavier defeat on proposals to raiseVAT to fund AHV than on the benefit reductionproposal. And in November 2008, they alsovoted against a generous early retirement pro-vision by a clear margin.

A solution capable of gaining majority sup-port will only be achieved through a combina-tion of benefit adjustments and additionalincome. The state of the AHV and occupationalpension schemes means politicians have timeto come up with a suitable solution, but notthat much time. RENÉ LENZIN

Yes votes (in percent)> 40.0%

30.0–39.9%20.0–29.9%10.0 –19.9%

YES27.3%

Turnout: 44.9%

NO72.7%

18 I N T E R V I E W W I T H P R E S I D E N T O F T H E S W I S S F A R M E R S ’ U N I O N H A N S J Ö R G W A L T E R

“swiss review”: You have nowbeen President of the Swiss Farm-ers’ Union since 2001. How hasSwiss farming changed duringthis period?

hansjörg walter: It hasbeen a turbulent decade for usSwiss farmers. We’ve beenthrough two agricultural re-forms and the number of farmshas fallen by 20% to around60,000 today. We have alsoachieved a great deal alongsidethese structural changes. Today,our production is more environ-mentally friendly, more animalfriendly, more enterprising andmore specialised.

Is international competitionthe main reason for the problemsfacing Swiss farming?

Yes, our borders are openingup more and more and we are finding our-selves increasingly exposed to fierce interna-tional competition. There are other majorproposals on the horizon, such as the re-moval of customs duties, as called for by theWTO agreement. This would hit us veryhard and would dramatically reduce the in-come of farming families.

Is there more structural change on the way?Will this mean a further decrease in thenumber of farms?

Yes, further structural change in agricul-ture is likely. The extent of this will dependon political developments and the generaleconomic situation. If a lot of labour is re-quired in the rest of the business world, thedecline will be sharper. Over the next fiveyears, the contraction may amount to 2% to3% on average per year. If an agricultural freetrade agreement is reached with the EU,

“Sitting on my tractor relaxes me”Hansjörg Walter is a farmer, National Councillor and President of the Swiss Farmers’Union. Two years ago, he was almost elected to the Federal Council as Samuel Schmid’ssuccessor. He sees tough times ahead for farmers. The WTO and a possible free tradeagreement on agriculture with the EU are making life difficult for them. They will alsorequire state assistance in future. “There is not one agriculture industry in Europethat is not dependent on the state”, stresses the President of the Swiss Farmers’ Union.Interview by Heinz Eckert

more farms will be forced to close. Thisagreement is hanging over Swiss farmers likethe sword of Damocles. We will also see fur-ther developments within individual farmsthemselves, as they become even more spe-cialised and streamline their operations.

What exactly would a free trade agreementon agriculture with the EU mean for farmingin Switzerland?

We have had a completely liberalisedcheese market with the EU since July 2007.We no longer have customs duties or importand export restrictions. The figures sincethen reveal a negative balance of trade.Cheese imports have increased by 8%, whileexports have only risen by 2%. Cheese im-ported from the EU has mainly been used infood processing, for pizzas and as cookingcheese. Full liberalisation of trade in agricul-tural goods would put the entire Swiss farm-

ing industry at the same pricelevel as the EU. But we havehigher production costs thanfarmers in EU countries acrossall sectors.

What is the Federal Councilproposing to do?

The Federal Council is tryingto make an agreement of thiskind palatable to us by offeringsupport measures totalling sev-eral billion francs initially. Butnobody yet knows how federalgovernment intends to pay thisamount or what specific meas-ures will be taken to assist farms.The government would have tooffer the Swiss agricultural in-dustry enormous support to pre-vent farming dying out on a largescale. The trade and processingsectors have already made their

position clear.

Are you opposed to the EU then?I am not opposed to the EU, but rather to

the wholesale integration of an entire sectorof business. This is not feasible as our costswill not fall in line with prices. I see nothingbut disadvantages in such an agreement.

Does Switzerland actually need a farmingindustry?

In theory, the Swiss population, similar insize to that of a major European city at al-most eight million, could easily be suppliedwith imported agricultural products. Butthis then raises the issue of who would be re-sponsible for rural conservation and for pre-venting the land from becoming overgrown.You also have to consider that Swiss farminghas a constitutional obligation to fulfil andthe Swiss people want a certain level of ba-S

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After obtaining a master craftsman’s diploma in farming, 59-year-old Hans-jörgWalter took over his father’s farm in Wängi, Thurgau, at the age of 34.Walter’s farm currently has 32 hectares of land, of which 12 hectares are arable,with 36 dairy cattle, 57 fruit trees and two combine harvesters for contract work.Walter sat on Thurgau’s Cantonal Council from 1992 to 1999, and has representedthe Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in the National Council since 1999. Hansjörg Wal-ter has been President of the Swiss Farmers’ Union since 2001. In December 2008,Walter was almost elected to national government as Federal Councillor Schmid’s

successor. He is married with two grown-up daughters and a son.

19

sic provision of agricultural products. Inlight of increasing global starvation and lim-ited resources, you also have to wonder howsensible it would be to abandon a function-ing system of agricultural production. Wewould be completely at the mercy of globalmarket conditions. These can change quicklyas the sharp price rises in 2008 showed. Wesuddenly became very competitive.

There are continuously calls for farming tooperate according to market economy princi-ples. Would that be at all possible?

It could certainly operate according tomarket economy principles, but it could notbe internationally competitive. Apart fromNew Zealand, there is no farming industryin the world that does not receive state sub-sidies and support. Farming in New Zealandbenefits from exceptional structural and cli-matic conditions and cannot be comparedwith any other country. In comparison toother countries, at 58% Switzerland has a lowlevel of self-sufficiency, making us a net im-porter of foodstuffs. In value terms, we rankat the top worldwide per capita.

How much does Swiss agriculture now cost thestate each year in subsidies?

Today, we receive direct payments, whichare for non-profit services provided. In to-tal, we get CHF 3.2 billion per year. Directpayments account for CHF 2.5 billion of that,CHF 500 million goes towards measures tosupport the market and the remainder is in-vestment support for construction in moun-tainous areas or interest-free, federal gov-ernment loans. The fact that there are alwayslots of conditions attached to direct pay-ments, in particular with regard to environ-mental protection, should not be overlooked.Provisions cover soil fertilisation, crop rota-tion, soil protection, the use of plant protec-tion and a minimum quota of ecological com-pensation areas. Essentially, the type offarming doesn’t matter; the support varies.The direct payments are compensation forservices provided by farming families, suchas rural conservation and the protection ofnatural resources. As they are linked to area,for example, and not to products, they donot distort the market.

But don’t we still produce too much milkin Switzerland?

At the moment, yes. Switzerland was thefirst country in Europe to abolish milk quo-

tas a year ago in order to boost competitive-ness. The price of milk has since been verylow. To make up for the loss of income, farm-ers are producing more and, as a result, pricesare falling further. It’s a vicious circle. Weare now trying to stabilise the market. Weset up the Swiss Milk Sector Organisationfor this purpose early last summer. There arecurrently still around 26,000 dairy farmersin Switzerland. There were twice as many 20years ago. As farms have doubled their milkproduction output during this period, we arestill producing as much milk as we were backthen.

Should Swiss farmers perhaps diversify fur-ther and adapt their activities? What aboutagricultural tourism and farm shops?

There is no miracle solution in farming. Itis much easier for farms close to larger urbanareas to diversify than it is for those in re-mote areas. What is the point of flower nurs-eries and farm shops in areas where there areno customers? It is important that farms spe-cialise more and no longer try to take on thefull range of farming activities. Farmers havemade great strides in recent years. Just lookare how many farm shops there are now. Youalso find exotic animals, such as ostriches,buffaloes and lamas, as well as herb cultiva-tion and other forms of speciality farming.

How good really is Swiss farming?Our agricultural

products meet thehighest demands andare produced in linewith the most rigor-ous ecological stand-ards, including ani-mal-friendly farmingpractices. Quality-conscious Swiss con-sumers appreciatethat, although it isdifficult to convincethem that prices arereasonable. You con-stantly have to re-mind consumers thatthey spend much lesson food today thanthey did 30 years ago.Spending on food hasfallen from 30% oftotal household ex-penditure to just 7%

despite continual rises in the demands onproduction.

And how are Swiss farmers faring, generallyspeaking?

Swiss farmers are suffering as a result ofconstant reforms and are under great pres-sure owing to market liberalisation. How-ever, it varies greatly depending on the sizeof the farm, how many family members areavailable to help out, where the farm is situ-ated and the type of soil, etc. Some farms aredoing well, while others are really struggling.The individual’s wellbeing also depends onwhether the workload is manageable, earn-ings are reasonable in comparison to being asalaried employee and whether the workloadallows the farmer to have a social life and oc-casionally take a few days off or go on theodd trip. The average earnings for a farmertoday stand at around CHF 40,000 a year,which is far less than the average in compa-rable industries.

How much farming do you still do?I am one third politician, one third Presi-

dent of the Swiss Farmers’ Union and onethird farmer. Working on my farm keeps mebalanced. Sitting on my tractor relaxes me.I am helped by my family, especially my wife,Madeleine, one employee and one appren-tice.

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20 P O L I T I C S

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No more protection for tax evaders from abroadUnder extreme international pressure, Switzerland has further relaxed its stanceon banking confidentiality. It will now provide tax authorities abroad with informationin cases where there are grounds for suspicion of tax evasion. The issue of historicalliabilities - untaxed funds which have been sitting in Swiss accounts for manyyears – is yet to be resolved. By René Lenzin

The global economic and financial crisishas resulted in greater pressure and coor-dinated action against so-called tax havens.The major industrial countries and emerg-ing economies that make up the G20, andthe Organisation for Economic Coopera-tion and Development (OECD), havebeen at the forefront of these efforts.Based on a G20 resolution, the OECD hasthreatened to blacklist any country thatdoes not adhere to a common standard forthe exchange of bank data. Other nationscan impose economic sanctions, such astrade restrictions, against those countrieson the blacklist.

To prevent this from happening, thecountries designated as tax havens - in-cluding financial centres such as Switzer-land, Liechtenstein and Singapore - haveto conclude 12 bilateral double taxationagreements which meet OECD require-ments. The main criterion is that admin-istrative and legal assistance has to be pro-vided in cases where there are grounds tosuspect not only tax fraud but also tax eva-sion.

Switzerland met this demand by thedeadline set by the OECD. At the time ofgoing to press, the Federal Council had infact negotiated 20 such revised double tax-ation agreements. In the spring session,the Council of States became the firstchamber of Parliament to approve the firstfive agreements by a clear majority. Theparties to the agreement are Denmark,France, UK, Mexico and the USA. Theymust now also be approved by the Na-tional Council and, of course, also by theSwiss people, as these are internationaltreaties subject to referendum.

No information in the case of data theftBy concluding these agreements, Switzer-land has taken another step towards amore relative interpretation of bankingconfidentiality. After tightening moneylaundering legislation and agreeing withthe EU to combat fraud and to tax inter-

est on foreign bank accounts, it is nowabolishing the differentiation previouslymade between tax fraud and tax evasionfor foreigners. “Banking confidentiality isnot being abolished, but Switzerland is sof-tening its stance”, said State CouncillorEugen David, chair of the committee re-sponsible.

Switzerland will only provide adminis-trative assistance under certain conditions.A request from another country must con-tain the name of the customer under sus-picion and enable clear identification ofthe bank concerned. This rules out so-called fishing expeditions or the transferof lists of names or accounts in the hopethat they might reveal tax evaders. TheCouncil of States has called upon the Fed-eral Council to establish framework legis-lation to ensure that the same administra-tive assistance criteria apply to all countries.The Council of States also wants this leg-islation to prevent Switzerland from pro-viding administrative assistance if the re-quest is based on illegally obtainedcustomer data. This comes in response toincidents of stolen Swiss bank data whichhas been offered for sale to the Germanand French tax authorities.

Switzerland faces sustained pressureSwitzerland has avoided being put on theOECD blacklist, but it is not yet off thehook. The USA and the European Unionare already pushing for further measures.The EU has resolved, in principle, to pro-ceed with the automatic exchange of bankdata. This means banks automatically pas-sing their customers’ account details to thetax authorities, which, in turn, hand themover to other countries. However, the EUcan only fully implement this system inter-nally if major financial centres outside theEU also cooperate. As a result, Brusselswill keep up the pressure on Berne.

Switzerland’s relations with its mainpartner countries will only return to nor-mal if the issue of historical liabilities with

regard to banking confidentiality is re-solved. In other words, this means findinga way of legalising the billions in untaxedfunds transferred from abroad to Swissbank accounts in the past. Politicians andthe bankers’ association are currently dis-cussing various scenarios examining howforeign account holders can come cleanwith the tax authorities in their countrieswithout being forced to remove their as-sets from Switzerland.

The way forward might be a tax amnestylike the one implemented by Italy. In re-turn for self-denunciation with impunity,the banks could undertake only to acceptfunds taxed in the country of origin in fu-ture. They could extend the current sys-tem of tax on interest to a comprehensivewithholding tax on all asset income. Thiswould ensure that the state in questioncould obtain revenue from its citizens’ as-sets abroad without having to relinquishbanking confidentiality completely. How-ever, the reaction abroad to such propos-als has ranged from muted to sceptical.

Controversy in Switzerland, tooIn addition to the controversy ragingamong the international community, ban-king confidentiality has also become a do-mestic political issue. There are growingcalls in Switzerland as well for the legal dif-ferentiation between tax fraud and taxevasion to be abolished. The Swiss taxauthorities would otherwise be placed at adisadvantage compared to their internati-onal counterparts. It is doubtful whethersuch proposals would win majority sup-port. The controversy surrounding Swit-zerland as a financial centre is unlikely toabate any time soon, either at home or ab-road.

21O R G A N I S A T I O N O F T H E S W I S S A B R O A D

Theme - political represen-tation of the Swiss abroad

No-one is indifferent to the issue ofpolitical representation for the Swissabroad. Should our compatriots abroadbe directly represented in Parliamentand, if so, should a 27th Swiss cantonbe created for them? Some politiciansbelieve it should, while others see it asbringing the very foundations of oursystem into question.

Is it not the role of the Organisation ofthe Swiss Abroad (OSA) to advocate anddefend the political interests of the700,000 Swiss expatriates around theworld in the best way possible? On what isits legitimacy based? Is the system of indi-rect representation currently provided bythe Council of the Swiss Abroad ade-quate, or does it need to be improved? Isit not astonishing that the Swiss abroadpay no taxes in Switzerland yet have theright to vote at federal level, whereas lotsof foreigners in Switzerland who partici-pate in the life of the country and paytheir taxes do not enjoy this right? Shouldthe right to political participation andrepresentation be based on the notion of

its structures. The 2009 OSA Congressfocussed on the question of whether theSwiss abroad represented an asset forSwitzerland. In 2010, the 88th Congresswill examine the best way of capitalisingon this asset.

Congress participants will be invitedto voice their opinions and express theirneeds and expectations. Because it is upto the Swiss abroad to say what kind ofpolitical representation and recognitionthey expect from their government.

territoriality, nationality or both? Whatis the situation internationally? How haveother countries resolved the issue ofpolitical participation by their diaspora?

Two years ago, the debate on directrepresentation of the Swiss abroad inParliament was reignited when two par-liamentary proposals were submitted.OSA took the opportunity to set up astudy group made up of public figuresfrom all walks of life, including politics.This project also enabled a re-evaluationof the issue of the legitimacy of OSA and

88TH CONGRESS OF THE SWISS ABROAD FROM 20 TO 22 AUGUST 2010 AT OLMA IN ST.GALLEN

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88TH CONGRESS OF THE SWISS ABROAD: 20 TO 22 AUGUST 2010, OLMA MESSE ST.GALLENI am interested in the next Congress of the Swiss Abroad. In spring 2010, please send me theregistration documents for the 88th Congress of the Swiss Abroad (20 to 22 August 2010 inSt.Gallen) to the following address:

Surname/first name:

Address:

City/postcode/country:

E-mail:

Please write clearly in block capitals and return the completed form to:Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), Communications Department, Congress Organisation, Alpenstrasse 26,CH-3006 Berne. To save on postage and time, you can also contact us directly by e-mail: communication@aso.chThe latest information on the forthcoming congress will also appear regularly at www.aso.ch/de/angebote/auslandschweizer-kongress. It is worth visiting our website from time to time.

The world-famous St.Gallen Abbey Library

22 O R G A N I S A T I O N O F T H E S W I S S A B R O A D

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OSA ADVICE

question:I am a Swiss abroad residing in Maltaand I would like to have a biometricpassport. Which authority shouldI apply to?

answer:From 1 March 2010, all passports issuedwill be biometric. For the Swiss abroad,the Swiss representation (embassy orconsulate) where they are registered is re-sponsible for issuing identity documents.A distinction has to be made betweenpassport applications and the recording ofbiometric data.

An application for the issue of a pass-port must always be made to the repre-sentation where the Swiss abroad isregistered. In the case of Swiss citizensresiding in Malta, this is the Swissembassy in Rome. This can be done bytelephone, online or in person.

For the recording of biometric data,persons registered abroad can contactthe representation responsible for them,any other Swiss representation abroador, in special cases, an issuing authorityof a Swiss canton, provided the represen-tation responsible for them and the can-tonal authority have given their consentbeforehand. This means that, for thisstep, Swiss citizens in Malta do not neces-sarily have to contact the Swiss embassyin Rome. However, it is important thatthey inform the representation responsi-ble for them of where they intend to havetheir biometric data recorded so that thedata required to issue a passport can betransferred from one authority to theother. Applicants must make an appoint-ment to present themselves in personat the chosen authority for the recordingof biometric data with the documentsrequired by the authority concerned.

In cases of serious physical or psycho-logical disability, the competent autho-rity can waive the requirement for theapplicant to present himself/herselfin person provided his/her identity canbe definitively confirmed in anotherway and the data required can beobtained by another means. In suchcases, applicants must firstly contactthe Swiss representation where they areregistered.

For further information on the biomet-ric passport, visit:

www.schweizerpass.chwww.passeportsuisse.chwww.passaportosvizzero.ch

For further information on the proce-dure, please contact the Swiss represen-tation responsible for you: www.eda.admin.ch/eda/fr/home/reps.html.

OSA’s Legal Department provides generalinformation on Swiss law in areas which spe-cifically concern the Swiss abroad. It does notprovide information on foreign law and doesnot intervene in disputes between privateparties.

SARAH MASTANTUONI

HEAD OF THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT

A new obstacle for futureSwiss students from abroadFor more than 40 years, UniversityPreparatory Courses for Studies at SwissUniversities, which are held in Fribourg,have given holders of foreign qualifica-tions the opportunity to take highereducation courses in Switzerland.School-leaving qualifications obtainedabroad are not automatically recognised.In order to enter university-level educa-tion, would-be students are thereforerequired to pass the “Fribourg exam”.Each year, the establishment welcomesbetween 500 and 600 young peoplefrom 60 to 80 different countries. Swissabroad account for 15% to 20% of thesestudents.

Federal government and the eight univer-sity cantons, which have to date sup-ported the preparatory courses financially

through a foundation, have now decidedto stop their funding from 2012. This an-nouncement obviously compromises thepursuit of activities in the medium term.

The reasons given to justify this deci-sion are not very convincing. Accordingto the State Secretariat for Educationand Research (SER), the preparatorycourses no longer meet current require-ments. It is argued that, thanks to theBologna agreements, universities todayprimarily receive students already holdinga bachelor’s degree who are coming toSwitzerland to take a master’s course.

Like Manfred Zimmermann, Directorof the University Preparatory Coursesfor Studies at Swiss Universities, variouspolitical figures have expressed their re-gret at this decision, which they deem ab-surd. It effectively goes against the mobil-ity of students advocated by the Bolognaprocess. What is worse, this measure isdiscriminatory because it clearly putsyoung people from developing countries,including many young Swiss abroad, at adisadvantage. While Switzerland is en-deavouring to enhance its image abroadand open its borders with Europe, accessto this crucial gateway for future studentsfrom other countries is being jeopardised.It is vital that all Swiss abroad have theopportunity to study in their home coun-try, which is one of the main concerns ofthe Association for the Promotion of Ed-ucation for Young Swiss Abroad (AJAS).If the preparatory courses are abandoned,this will present another obstacle, limitingaccess to higher education for youngSwiss abroad to an even greater degree.

In the meantime, the courses are to bemaintained until 2011. A satisfactory solu-tion needs to be found by then to enablethe continuation of the courses. Variousoptions are emerging, in particular one

O F F E R S F O R Y O U N G P E O -

P L E A G E D 1 5 A N D A B O V E

The holiday and educational offers of the Organisa-tion of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) are aimed at youngSwiss people abroad aged 15 and over. Informationon OSA’s offers for young people can be obtainedfrom the OSA Youth Service:

Telephone: +41 31 356 61 00youth@aso.ch, www.aso.ch

You can also register for offers for young peopleon the website.

C A M P S F O R C H I L D R E N

A G E D 8 T O 1 4

The camps for young Swiss people abroad aged 8 to14 are organised by the Foundation for Young SwissAbroad (FYSA). Information on these camps can beobtained from FYSA:

Telephone: +41 31 356 61 16sjas@aso.ch, www.aso.ch

You can also register for offers for young people onthe website.

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from the Association of Universities inFrench-Speaking Switzerland (Con-férence des universités de Suisse occiden-tale). An appeal has also been made to theSwiss Agency for Development and Co-operation on this matter.

Your summerin Switzerland

Holidays in Switzerland – OSA is offeringyoung people no end of variety, enter-tainment, adventure and fun this sum-mer at its holiday camps in the Engadine.OSA also enables young Swiss abroadto put together their own interesting andinformative educational holidays. Thereis something for everyone.

OSA is expecting around 120 young peo-ple this year at the summer camps inGrisons alone. We organise unforgettableactivity holidays with participants frommore than 30 countries. We offer the op-portunity to improve at certain sports orto learn new ones. We also offer plenty ofalternatives at our camps for those whoare less sporty, with workshops on crea-tive, electronic and musical activities.Young Swiss abroad have fun getting toknow others of the same age.

Action 72 Hours –a community-interest projectHundreds of youth organisations will takepart in an event to be held across Switzer-land this autumn. In a race against theclock, a community-interest project mustbe completed within 72 hours. OSA islooking for motivated, spontaneous andinnovative young Swiss from abroad whoare eager to take part. Information at:www.aso.ch (Offers).

Learning a language made easyOSA’s range of offers extends far beyondsummer camps. Young Swiss abroad canlearn German or French on two-weeklanguage courses. Our hospitable host

families welcome motivated young peopleand give them the opportunity to gain aninsight into everyday Swiss life.

We also advise young Swiss abroadon educational matters and, finally, weencourage them not to miss out on theCongress of the Swiss Abroad. Thistraditional seminar will take place inSt.Gallen and will focus on the topic oftourism.

Information on the offers mentioned isavailable from:Organisation of the Swiss AbroadYouth ServiceTel.: +41 (0)31 356 61 00youth@aso.chwww.aso.ch

Unforgettable winter camp

Over the 2009/2010 New Year period, around 60 young Swiss from abroad attendedwinter camps organised by the Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad (SJAS) in Wildhaus(St.Gallen) and Saas Grund (Valais).

Lauren Fahey (14),from California,describes her visitto Switzerland:

During winterbreak I had the op-portunity to attendan amazing camp inWildhaus, Switzer-land. There I hadloads of fun and madelots of friends fromaround the world.I’ve never been awayfrom my family thatlong, but it was worthit. Everyday startedoff waking up and having a wonderful breakfast. We would then head to our rooms and getready and pack. Next we would walk down to the chairlift and off we’d go. We split off intogroups and either learned to ski or snowboard. We would then head back down later in theafternoon. Then we had our free time where we could do what we wanted. Dinner was alwaysso yummy, we had the best food! Every night we did a different activity, like walking aroundwith torches, and going ice-skating. My favorite night was New Year’s Eve. We walked a lit-tle bit and settled down near a fire pit, we then predicted our future and waited for the fire-works to begin! It was so beautiful. Some days we didn’t go to the slopes, and we had fun ei-ther ice-skating or swimming, or playing outside. It was so nice to meet other kids fromdifferent places around the world, just like you. We learned about the places other peoplecame from and shared about ourselves, where we lived, and other interesting facts. This campwas so great, it allowed me to have fun, learn, and meet new and inspiring people, I think it’sa great opportunity for many people, and if you get the chance you should go. I miss every-one from Wildhaus, and I hope to see them again.

ORGANISATION OF THE SWISS ABROADOur services:

■ Legal Department■ Youth Service■ Association for the Promotion of Education for Young Swiss Abroad (AJAS)■ Committee for Swiss Schools Abroad (CSSA)■ Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad (FYSA)

Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH–3006 Berne, Phone +41 31 356 6100,Fax +41 31 356 6101, info@aso.ch, www.aso.ch

24 S U R V E Y

Albert Einstein(1879–1955)

This scientist, who was

born in Germany and died

in America, is the quintes-

sential research genius.

He studied at what is now

the Federal Institute of

Technology in Zurich,

where he became a profes-

sor. This brilliant theoreti-

cian’s discoveries trans-

formed the way in which

scientists view the physical

world. In 1999, 100 leading

physicists voted him the

greatest physicist of all

time. In 1922, he received

the Nobel Prize for Physics

for his work. Einstein’s

most important achieve-

ment was the theory of rela-

tivity, which revolution-

ised the understanding of

time and space. He also

made groundbreaking con-

tributions in quantum

physics. Einstein was

committed to achieving

peace and understanding

between nations. Having

been nationalised in Zu-

rich, he was a fervent, life-

long advocate of Swiss de-

mocracy. A pacifist and an

anti-fascist, he was a Jew-

ish figurehead in the strug-

gle against Hitler’s Ger-

many. He described his

relationship with Switzer-

land by saying: “I am as

fond of this country as it is

not fond of me.”

Bertrand Piccard(born in 1958)

This Lausanne-born psy-

chiatrist, scientist and

adventurer comes from a

famous family. His grand-

father, Auguste Piccard,

soared into the strato-

sphere in a balloon in

August 1932, reaching a

height of 16,940 metres.

His father, Jacques Piccard,

dived to the record depth of

10,916 metres in the Mari-

ana Trench. Bertrand Pic-

card, together with Brian

Jones from the UK, set out

from Switzerland in the

Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon

in March 1999 and landed

in the Egyptian desert after

a flight covering 45,755

kilometres. In 19 days,

21 hours and 47 minutes, he

achieved the first circum-

navigation of the globe

without any intermediate

landings. It was the longest

flight in terms of duration

and distance in aviation

history. The Swiss pioneer

is now planning an exciting

new adventure. He intends

to circumnavigate the

globe in a light aircraft

powered by solar energy.

The prototype for the air-

craft which weighs just

1,600 kilos and has huge

dimensions – 22 metres in

length and a 63-metre

wingspan – is set to carry

out test flights this year.

Henri Guisan(1874–1960)

When this Swiss army gen-

eral from the Second World

War was laid to rest in Pully

in 1960, 300,000 people

turned out to pay their last

respects. Henri Guisan,

from the canton of Vaud,

embodied Switzerland’s

spirit of resistance in the

face of the threat from

Germany like nobody else.

When the situation in

Europe came to a head in

the summer of 1939, the

United Federal Assembly

appointed him General of

the Swiss Army – a military

rank that does not exist in

times of peace. During the

war years, Guisan was able

to inspire the troops and

the Swiss people. His mili-

tary address on the Rütli,

where he announced his

“réduit” strategy (the with-

drawal of the nucleus of the

army into the mountains) is

legendary. Guisan became

a much-celebrated figure in

the post-war period. Many

streets and squares were

named after him, and his

picture still hangs today in

some of the more tradi-

tional inns. However, his-

torical research has also

revealed his sympathy

for Italian fascism and a

certain conformism to the

Third Reich.

Meret Oppenheim(1913–1985)

This painter, graphic artist,

object designer and lyricist,

who was born in Berlin and

died in Basel, was an inter-

nationally renowned expo-

nent of surrealism. In 1933,

she met Max Ernst and

Hans Arp in Paris who were

enthralled by her work. She

produced various famous

pieces of art during this

period, such as the fur-

covered teacup “Déjeuner

en fourrure” (Lunch in fur)

created in 1936. This piece,

acquired by the Museum

of Modern Art in New York,

brought her instant fame as

an exponent of surrealism.

The nude photographs

taken by the artist Man Ray

at this time earned her a

reputation as the “muse of

the surrealists”. In 1959,

she staged the “spring cele-

bration” in Berne and Paris

with dishes served on the

naked body of a woman.

She exhibited internation-

ally from 1967 onwards. The

fountain she designed in

Berne in 1983 sparked a

fierce public debate. Meret

Oppenheim received the

Art Award of the city of

Basel in 1974 and the

Grand Art Prize of the city

of Berlin in 1982.

Alberto Giacometti(1901–1966)

“L’homme qui marche I”,

his monumental sculpture

from the early 1960s,

achieved the highest price

ever raised at auction for

a work of art last February,

fetching more than CHF 100

million. His most famous

work of the walking man

can also be seen on the

CHF 100 banknote. Alberto

Giacometti, born in

Borgonovo in the Bregaglia

region of Grisons, was a

sculptor, painter and

graphic artist. After study-

ing in Geneva, he went to

Paris, the art capital of the

day, in 1922. Apart from a

brief interval, he worked

there in a simple studio un-

til his death. Giacometti’s

exceptional artistic talent

lay in his spatial percep-

tion. His subject was the in-

tegration of the emptiness

of space and the figures

found within it. His figures

were always very thin and

long. This space with fig-

ures reflects the solitude of

modern man like no other

artist. Alberto Giacometti

died in 1966 of a tobacco-

related illness after return-

ing to Switzerland.

Who are the greatest ever Swiss?Swiss television – Das Schweizer Fernsehen – is planning a series of portraitsof major Swiss figures from the past and present. “Swiss Review” would like to knowwho the Swiss abroad think are the greatest ever Swiss.

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This is a splendid topic for discussion and debate. Who are the great-est Swiss ever to have lived? The editorial team at “Swiss Review”has produced short portraits of ten favourites and has suggested an-

other twenty possible candidates (excluding mystical figures, suchas William Tell and Helvetia). Take part in the online survey atwww.revue.ch and let us know your top three. We will publish your

25

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Friedrich Dürrenmatt(1921–1990)

This author, painter and

writer of philosophical prose

was one of the most per-

formed playwrights in Ger-

man-language theatre in the

second half of the 20th cen-

tury. His comedies, which

are still performed today,

look at the issue of the free-

dom and guilt of individuals

in a world of anonymous

power systems. His first play

“Es steht geschrieben” (It Is

Written) from 1947 caused a

scandal in the theatre world

in Zurich. In 1952, he

achieved his breakthrough

as a dramatist in Germany

with “Die Ehe des Herrn

Mississippi” (The Marriage of

Mr. Mississippi). His play

“Der Besuch der alten Dame”

(The Visit) from 1956 brought

Dürrenmatt worldwide fame,

as did “Die Physiker” (The

Physicists) from 1962. He

later experienced a number

of failures with new come-

dies which he partially di-

rected himself. Dürrenmatt

started to move more

towards philosophical prose

and wrote commentaries

that were critical of the

times. Dürrenmatt, who

lived in Neuchâtel from 1952

until his death, was also an

original painter and artist.

He received various awards

and honorary doctorates.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi(1746–1827)

The picture of this benevo-

lent philanthropist some-

times used to hang in

schools. His 1801 book “Wie

Gertrud ihre Kinder lehrt”

(How Gertrude Teaches Her

Children) was found in many

libraries and living rooms.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

was a Swiss pedagogue, an

educational and social re-

former, a philosopher, a poli-

tician, and, above all, a great

philanthropist. He was par-

ticularly interested in the

elementary education of

children, which he believed

should begin in the family

before school. He fostered an

all-embracing, harmonious

approach to children’s intel-

lectual, moral, religious and

practical education. He put

his pedagogical ideas, which

he systematically set out for

the first time in the above-

mentioned book, into prac-

tice at his almshouse in

Neuhof, at the orphanage in

Stans and, in particular, at

his institutes in Burgdorf

and Yverdon. Some of his

extensive political and peda-

gogical writings seem anti-

quated and overstated today.

However, his basic ideas

are still found in modern

pedagogy.

Alfred Escher(1819–1882)

The monument in front of

Zurich’s main station is in

honour of probably the great-

est Swiss statesman ever and

the founder of modern Swit-

zerland. Alfred Escher domi-

nated Swiss politics for dec-

ades. He was a member of the

National Council for 34 years

and its President four times.

Thanks to the prominent

positions he held in politics

and business and his wide

network of contacts, he

possessed unique power. The

name Escher is associated

with various pioneering

historical achievements,

such as the north-east rail-

way, the construction of the

Gotthard tunnel, the Swiss

Polytechnic (today the Fed-

eral Institute of Technology

Zurich), the Schweizerische

Kreditanstalt (now Credit

Suisse) and the Schweize-

rische Rentenanstalt (now

Swiss Life). His most ambi-

tious project was the con-

struction of the Gotthard

tunnel, which began in 1873.

Escher, who withdrew from

the project in 1878, was criti-

cised for construction prob-

lems and additional costs.

He was not invited to the

Gotthard tunnel’s break-

through ceremony in 1880.

Alfred Escher died a lonely,

embittered and ostracised

figure in 1882.

Henri Dunant(1828–1910)

This humanist and idealist

from Geneva received the

first Nobel Peace Prize in

1901 for his lifetime work.

The pivotal episode in Henri

Dunant’s life came on

24 June 1859 on a battlefield

strewn with dead and

wounded near the northern

Italian town of Solferino,

where the army of Austria

had fought with troops from

Piedmont-Sardinia and

France. In his book “Eine

Erinnerung an Solferino”

(A Memory of Solferino) he

developed the vision of a

neutral aid organisation

made up of volunteers who

would look after the

wounded. Shortly afterwards,

an international aid organi-

sation for care of the

wounded, which has been

called the International Com-

mittee of the Red Cross since

1876, was founded in Geneva.

The first Geneva Convention

concluded in 1864 draws on

proposals set out in Dunant’s

book. Business problems led

to his exclusion from Geneva

society and the Red Cross

Committee. Henri Dunant

lived as a forgotten man in

poverty for another thirty

years and died alone

in Heiden in Appenzell.

Johanna Spyri(1827–1901)

The novel “Heidis Lehr- und

Wanderjahre” (Heidi’s Years

of Wandering and Learning)

was published just before

Christmas in 1879 and be-

came an instant global suc-

cess. The second novel

“Heidi kann brauchen was es

gelernt hat” (Heidi Makes

Use of What She Has Learned)

appeared the following year.

The Heidi novels were

translated into more than

50 languages and sold over

20 million copies. Various

film adaptations have also

been produced. Johanna

Spyri wrote the bestseller,

but her character “Heidi” is

more famous than she is her-

self. The author was a woman

of her time – conservative,

bourgeois and devout. She

wrote in secret and hid her

manuscripts in her writing

table. “The household is the

only proper place for a lady”,

she told her niece. In the

30 years between 1871 and

her death, Johanna Spyri

published 48 stories. Her

writing takes a critical look

at Switzerland and the living

conditions of people in the

early industrial period.

Despite being bound by the

conventions of her day, Spyri

produced magnificent

achievements.

favourites in the next issue of “Swiss Review”. You will find ten por-traits of possible candidates on these two pages. Here are a furthertwenty suggestions (in alphabetical order): Francesco Borromini(architect), Mario Botta (architect), Calvin (reformer), Le Corbus-ier (architect), Guillaume-Henri Dufour (general), Max Frisch(writer), Jeremias Gotthelf (writer), Albert Hofmann (chemist),Jürg Jenatsch (freedom fighter), Carl Gustav Jung (psychoanalyst),Gottfried Keller (writer), Ferdinand Kübler (sportsman), GertrudKurz (“mother of refugees”), Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (writer), Pi-

pilotti Rist (video artist), Iris von Roten (feminist), Jean-JacquesRousseau (philosopher), Annemarie Schwarzenbach (author), So-phie Taeuber-Arp (artist) and Huldrych Zwingli (reformer).

26 F O O T B A L L W O R L D C U P

The Swiss team is heading off to the World Cup. The adrena-line will start to pump on 18 June when they face Spain in Dur-ban. This is the first World Cup on African soil. After perfor-ming well in the qualifiers, this is the fourth time in a row thatSwitzerland’s footballers have reached the finals of an interna-tional tournament. That’s quite an achievement. As always, wehave to show our belief and get behind the team. Anything is pos-sible in sport.

While the Swiss squad’s World Cup ambitions may not havechanged since the arrival of Ottmar Hitzfeld on 1 July 2008, Swit-zerland’s head coach already belongs to football’s hall of fame.He is one of only two managers to have won the ChampionsLeague twice with two different clubs - Borussia Dortmund in1997 and Bayern Munich in 2001. This saw him voted “WorldCoach of the Year” on both occasions. His list of honours is oneof the most impressive in football history. He won the Swiss Cupwith Aarau in 1985 and with Grasshopper in 1989, the Swisschampionship (as well as the Swiss Cup) with Grasshopper in1990 and again in 1991, the Bundesliga title in 1995 and 1996 withBorussia Dortmund, and in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 with Bay-ern Munich. His experience will prove vital at the World Cup.

Switzerland’s opponents at the group stage all come from Latincountries. Spain, the European champions, have won all theirqualifying matches. Chile finished second in the South Ameri-can qualifying group and Honduras topped its group ahead ofMexico. There is still much work to be done to ensure Switzer-land peaks at the right time for these exciting matches. Let’s hopethe senior team draws inspiration from the victory enjoyed bythe under-17s at their World Cup!

South Africa, here we come!The Swiss football team will be in actionin June at the World Cup in South Africa.We look ahead to the tournament withMichel Pont, assistant coach of the nationalteam, and referee Massimo Busacca fromTicino. By Alain Wey

MICHEL PONT:“MORE IMAGINATIVEIN ATTACK”

Interview with Michel Pont, aged 55, as-sistant Swiss coach since 2001. He be-lieves Switzerland have a chance of get-ting through the group stage.

“swiss review”: Tell us aboutSwitzerland’s group matches.

michel pont: Our threeopponents are quite similaras they are all Latin teams.Their style of play presentsproblems for us as they havefast, small players with verygood technical ability. Wehave chosen this kind of op-position for our warm-upmatches, in which we faceUruguay, Costa Rica andItaly. Clearly we are upagainst the World Cup’s bigguns in Spain, the tourna-ment favourites. We must dowell in the first game ahead ofwhat will be a crucial matchagainst Chile. But I believewe have a chance.

What are the pitfalls to beavoided?

We, the team, can be ourown worst enemy. We are ca-pable of playing extremelygood football and putting insolid performances. We needto find the right balance be-tween being well organisedand more imaginative in at-tack. We must focus prima-rily on ourselves. As wecan see, our problems havestarted with the injury to

Frei and two or three slightlybigger setbacks. Our squadhas to be as strong as possibleif we are to have a chance. Ifwe have five or six players outinjured, life will soon becomedifficult as our squad doesnot have the same strengthin depth as some other teamsthat have a larger pool ofplayers to draw from.

Which areas of team strategyhave to be improved before thetournament gets underway?

Technique and self-beliefduring the game. We have toimprove fundamental partsof the game and, technically,we give far too many ballsaway. We must also work onconverting opportunities andgame-building. These are theareas where we need to makeprogress between now andMay.

What type of coach and personis Ottmar Hitzfeld?

Highly intelligent and veryquick-witted. An absoluteperfectionist. He has vast ex-perience and great self-belief.He’s a coach who enforceshis views and has a passion forfootball which he transmitsto the team. Football isn’t somuch about developing newtactics and incredible tech-nique; above all, it’s about thebelief conveyed by the coach.

You’ve taken part in twoEuropean Championships andone World Cup. What is yourrole in the team?

Hitzfeld is a man whowants to know everything, beon top of everything and al-ways be kept up to date withdevelopments. My role istherefore to gather informa-tion, to keep a close eye onthe players (current form, in-juries) and handle the organi-sation and planning of train-ing sessions, the teamS

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environment and the medicalstaff. This should enableHitzfeld to make the best pos-sible decisions and to do hisjob of working out the righttactics and selecting the bestteam he can based on his in-stinct and understanding offootball. Everything has to goright on the big day.

Will Ottmar Hitzfeld make thedifference in South Africa?

First and foremost, it’s theplayers who have to make thedifference. Then we all hopethat Ottmar Hitzfeld’s experi-ence at this level will help usto get through to the latterstages.

Are there already selectioncertainties?

We’re getting there slowly.The full squad, who I watchweek in week out, contains45 players. There are lots ofyoung players, injured playersand players coming back frominjury. The core ten or twelveplayers are not going to changedramatically between now andMay. If Benaglio, for example,recovers fully from injury,he will play in goal. KnowingHitzfeld, I imagine he willname 23 players at the start ofthe two-week training camp inCrans-Montana on 23 May.

Will you and the players drawinspiration from the under-17s’World Cup victory?

Personally, I find it inspira-tional because we’d all like tofollow in their footsteps. Butthis is a completely differentchallenge. We will try to dothe best we can with ourstrengths and weaknesses.Mentally and psychologically,this victory is important andcan help us.

What are your predictions forthe final stages?

I believe Spain will becrowned world champions. Itwill be extremely open be-tween the big teams - Brazil,Argentina, Spain, Germanyand England, who are playingextremely well at the moment.I think the winner will comefrom among these five coun-tries.

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MASSIMO BUSACCA:“SAVOUR THE FOOTBALL ANDTHE BEAUTIFUL GAME!”

41-year-old Massimo Busacca from Ticinois one of the best referees in the world.The World Cup in South Africa will be hissecond time at a World Cup.

“swiss review”: What areyour best memories of theWorld Cup in Germany?

massimo busacca: On thepitch, savouring the footballand the beautiful game insome incredible matches. Itwas my first World Cup. Irefereed Ukraine vs. Spain,England vs. Sweden and thequarter-final between Argen-tina and Mexico, a really pas-sionate occasion. And everyday, there were throngs ofpeople in the streets.

What’s your philosophy as areferee?

To have good communica-tion with the players, talk tothem and try to anticipateproblems. What qualities arerequired of a referee? An un-derstanding of the playersand a strong personality. Areferee has to understand theplayers, know how to gain re-spect, stay unbiased, andsometimes take a firm hand.

Is refereeing your mainoccupation?

I am a professional in mymind, but not on paper.In future, we need to movetowards professionalism be-

cause you need to have thesame status as the teams andthe players. I don’t have acontract in Switzerland, inEurope or with FIFA. Thereare no guarantees in referee-ing: you live from day to day.I also work in human re-sources for the canton of Ti-cino in Bellinzona, where Ilive.

Have you ever calculated thenumber of kilometres you runduring a match?

Between 10 and 15 depend-ing on the match. We some-times run more than the play-ers. In fact, we run almost asfar as the player who does themost running during a match.

Which matches do you dream ofrefereeing?

I’ve already accomplished agreat deal in my career in-cluding Champions Leagueand UEFA Cup finals. I’mthrilled to be one of the 10European referees among the24 taking part in the WorldCup.

What about video technologyin refereeing?

I’m against it. There wouldbe too many interruptions,and situations are not 100%clear. One day they couldperhaps introduce somethingfor the penalty area in spe-cific situations.

What would you change aboutrefereeing?

Professionalism. A refereehas to take split-second deci-sions every weekend and thatcalls for a great deal of prepa-ration and training, as well astime for relaxation and recu-peration. There are profes-sional referees in the UK andSweden.

FIXTURES:

Group H:Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile■ Switzerland vs. Spain, Wednesday, 16 June, Durban■ Switzerland vs. Chile, Monday, 21 June, Port Elizabeth■ Switzerland vs. Honduras, Friday, 25 June, Bloemfontein

Quarter-finals:■ G1* vs. H2, Monday, 28 June, Johannesburg■ H1 vs. G2, Tuesday, 29 June, Cape Town

*(Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal)

http://fr.fifa.com/worldcup

28 N A T I O N A L L A N G U A G E S

Paradoxically, while Italian culture is a well-established part of the street scene and life-style in German and French-speaking Swit-zerland, with pasta and pizza a firm fixtureon menus north of the Gotthard Tunnel, theItalian language is becoming increasingly lesssignificant in Switzerland. Italian is now amuch less popular option at secondaryschools in German and French-speaking can-tons. The number of people studying Italianat university fell by 42% between 2000 and2009. In a 2008 sub-study of the national re-search programme on linguistic diversity inSwitzerland, just 9% of French speakers con-sidered Italian to be a useful language. De-spite being a national language, Italian doesnot enjoy a high standing in Switzerland. Ac-cording to the same study, English is re-garded as the most prestigious language bythe Swiss population, ahead of French, Ger-man and Spanish.

This trend contrasts starkly with Switzer-land’s image as a multilingual nation shapedby the will of the people. It is also at oddswith the Language Law which recently en-tered into force. Federal government wantsthis law to

■ enhance Switzerland’s status as a na-tion of four languages

■ consolidate national cohesion

■ promote individual and institutionalmultilingualism in the national lan-guages

■ preserve and promote Romansh andItalian as national languages..

Official figures are deceptiveThe Language Law further stipulates thatfederal government should ensure “appro-priate representation of the linguisticcommunities in the federal authorities”.However, according to the above-mentioned

Italian language in declineThe importance of the third Swiss national language isconstantly declining. Increasingly fewer pupils are learningItalian, and Italian-speaking Switzerland is underrepre-sented in the federal administration. Berne is attempting toredress the balance through the Language Law.By René Lenzin

research programme, Italian does not havethe status in the federal administrationthat it deserves. While at 5% the proportionof Italian-speaking federal governmentemployees in fact exceeds the Federal Coun-cil’s target of 4.3%, this is only because ofthe translation services and bilingual em-ployees, in other words people with an Ital-ian background who grew up in German orFrench-speaking Switzerland. The studytherefore concludes that Italian-speakingSwitzerland – i.e. the canton of Ticino andthe southern valleys of Grisons – are under-represented in Berne.

Another aspect to consider is the fact thatthe higher the salary band, the fewer Italianspeakers in it. Between 2000 and 2007, theproportion of Italian speakers across the en-tire administration averaged 5.3%. In middlemanagement positions, this figure stood atjust 3.9% and in senior management at only2.5%. When the long-serving director of theFederal Statistical Office, Carlo Malaguerra,retired several years ago, there was a periodduring which there were no office directorsfrom Italian-speaking Switzerland at all.There are now two again – Bruno Oberle(Federal Office for the Environment) andMauro Dell’Ambrogio (State Secretariat forEducation and Research).

The low number of original documentsproduced in the third national language alsohighlights how little importance is attachedto Italian in the federal administration. Theproportion of such documents produced be-tween 2000 and 2007 stood at just short of2% (German: 77.2%, French: 20.8%). Theauthors of the above-mentioned study putthis down to the fact that few Italian speak-ers hold senior positions. Added to this isthat most federal government employeesfrom German and French-speaking Switzer-land have a poor knowledge of Italian, whichis why Italian speakers tended to draw uptheir documents in one of the other two of-ficial languages.

Ticino MP speaks FrenchMembers of Parliament from Italian-speak-ing Switzerland have also experienced thesame thing. According to the Language Law,all Members of Parliament can express them-selves “in a national language of their choicein the sessions of the Swiss councils and theircommittees”. However, Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, a National Councillor from Ticinowho was President of the National Councillast year, says this provision is an illusion inpractice. Anyone who wants to be heard andunderstood must speak German or French.She explains that she herself chaired meet-ings of the Council in French to put down amarker at least for the linguistic minorities.

The last Federal Council election was alsoa disappointment for Italian-speaking Swit-zerland. Politicians from Ticino stood forboth the Free Democrats and the ChristianDemocrats as would-be successors to PascalCouchepin, yet neither was even selected astheir party’s candidate. Italian-speakingSwitzerland has not been represented in na-tional government since Flavio Cotti stooddown in 1999. There are now calls to increasethe number of Federal Councillors fromseven to nine to ensure Italian-speakingSwitzerland has a permanent seat.

Retreat on both sidesHowever, such proposals cannot be intro-duced overnight. Improving the position ofItalian in the federal capital also presents achallenge. This is partly owing to the atti-tude of Italian speakers themselves. Humanresources managers constantly say how dif-ficult it is to attract people from Ticino andItalian-speaking Grisons to positions inBerne. And many return home before theyare able to rise to more senior positions.While the media in Ticino points to growingalienation between their canton and the restof Switzerland, they should also be mindfulof their own failings. Newspapers fromsouthern Switzerland have reduced theirpresence in the Federal Palace enormouslyin recent years.

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30 S W I S S P O L I T I C A L P A R T I E S – I N T E R N A T I O N A L S E C T I O N S

“The Swiss abroad are ambassadors for Switzerland”With the FDP Switzerland International section, the FreeDemocrats (FDP) are the first Swiss party to set themselves the goalof facilitating political co-determination and active participationfor the Swiss abroad and of representing their interests. HelenFreiermuth, a member of the Executive Committee and herselfa Swiss abroad, explains why in an interview with “Swiss Review”.The questions were put to her by Heinz Eckert.

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“swiss review”: What do the Swiss abroadmean to you?

helen freiermuth: The Swiss abroad areambassadors for Switzerland in their countryof residence. They help shape Switzerland’simage in their respective environment. Butequally important is the fact that they bringhome new ideas through their experiencesabroad and contact with foreign cultures,thereby enriching the political debate.

What were the aims behind the foundation ofFDP International?

Initially, the emphasis was on providing ourcompatriots abroad with information on polit-ical affairs in Switzerland. However, it is be-coming increasingly important for us to engagein dialogue with the Swiss abroad and to har-ness their enormous potential in terms of cre-ative ideas and solutions.

Of all the Swiss parties, yours is one of the mostactive in terms of the Swiss abroad community.Why?

For the reasons I mentioned earlier. TheSwiss abroad have to be well-informed inorder to exercise their political rights know-ledgeably, and we benefit from the exchangewith highly motivated and committed citizenswho have an international background.

How many members do you have among theSwiss abroad?

We currently have just over 200 members in26 different countries. We are delighted with

the number of new members in recent months.This is a testament to the growing commitmentof the Swiss abroad and strengthens our beliefin our new strategic approach.

How do you maintain contact with Swissabroad?

To date, mainly throughmailings and “Freisinn”, ournewsletter. Though, we havemade it a top priority to im-prove communication with ac-tive and potential membersand we intend to adopt innova-tive means by which to do so.

What does the Council of theSwiss Abroad mean to you?

The Council of the SwissAbroad is the direct voice ofcitizens residing abroad andensures that the concerns ofour expatriates are taken seri-ously in Parliament.

Will a Swiss abroad ever makeit onto the National Council?

The existing system wherecandidates have to stand forelection in individual cantonsmakes a successful candidacyrather unlikely. Our task, nev-ertheless, is to ensure that theinterests of the Swiss abroadare safeguarded through our

Members of Parliament, even without directrepresentation in Parliament.

Where do you believe you have the most commonground with the Swiss abroad?

As a party committed to a Switzerland thatis open to the world, we are particularly closeto our compatriots residing outside our na-tional borders. When we fight for the integra-tion of foreigners in Switzerland, we are empa-thising with the situation faced by the Swissabroad in their respective countries of resi-dence.

Why have you abandoned the Swiss Abroad ofthe Year prize?

Definitely not because of a lack of worthycandidates. FDP International was reorgan-ised last year and set itself new strategic prior-ities. We considered how we could offer the

Swiss abroad the greatest pos-sible support and had to bun-dle our resources. Eventhough it was not an easy de-cision, we came to the conclu-sion that the Award for theSwiss Abroad no longer fittedin with our strategy.

What does FDP Internationaldo for the Swiss abroad in con-crete terms?

We offer an increasinglywide range of specific infor-mation for the Swiss abroadon political events in Switzer-land. We are also working ona new website and are devel-oping innovative ways ofcommunicating more effec-tively and more directly withour members. The objectiveis to stimulate debate on var-ious topical issues among theSwiss abroad. This will ena-ble them to play an active rolein shaping the future of theirhomeland.

HELEN FREIERMUTH has herroots in Switzerland, but is a citi-zen of the world. She has livedabroad with her family for 14 yearslike a modern-day cultural ex-plorer (China – USA – Canada –and China again since January2010). Before setting off on hertravels, she lived in Bassersdorfand Freienstein-Teufen in thecanton of Zurich, where sheworked in school administrationand for the audit commission.She supports a modern, outward-looking and confident Switzerlandthat takes its opportunities ina changing world. Her diversecultural experience on three conti-nents enables her to bring theperspective of a Swiss citizenabroad to the work of the ExecutiveCommittee.

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31E C H O

■ Switzerland won nine med-als at the Olympic Games inVancouver. There was goldfor Didier Défago in thedownhill, Carlo Janka in thegiant slalom, Dario Colognain the 15 km cross-countryskiing, Mike Schmid in skicross and Simon Ammann inski jumping in both the nor-mal hill and large hill events.His two medals, combinedwith his two victories in SaltLake City in 2002, make Am-mann the most decoratedSwiss competitor in the his-tory of the Olympic Games.Olivia Nobs in snowboardcross, Silvan Zurbriggen inthe super combined and themen’s curling team, led byMarkus Eggler and RalfStöckli, all picked up bronzemedals.■ Alinghi lost the America’sCup in Valencia (Spain) to theAmerican Oracle team in the33rd staging of the race lastFebruary. Holders of the pe-riodically contested trophysince 2003, Ernesto Bertarel-li’s crew had to recognise thesupremacy of the challengerwhich it has been fighting incourt for more than twoyears.■ Upheaval at the top ofSwiss Post. Claude Béglé,Chairman of the Manage-ment Board, has handed in hisresignation to the FederalCouncil following contro-versy over his strategic visionand outside activities. Whileworking on a part-time basis(50%) for the Swiss postalservice, Béglé, from the can-ton of Vaud, also held an-other position for an Indiancompany based on a 75% levelof employment. He has beenreplaced by Peter Haslerfrom Zurich.■ The new “Learning Center”at the Federal Institute ofTechnology in Lausanne hasbeen officially opened. This

futuristic building, which re-sembles a giant undulatingrectangle, measures 15,000 m2,an area greater than two foot-ball pitches. This colossalwave, dotted with holes likegruyère cheese, was designedby the Japanese architecturalstudio Sanaa and contains theFederal Institute’s librarywith half a million books.■ Daniel Vasella will step

down from his position asCEO of Novartis, while re-maining Chairman of theBoard of Directors. The Ba-sel-based pharmaceutical gi-ant has enjoyed an exception-ally good year in 2009 with a7% increase in revenues. TheAmerican Joe Jimenez willsucceed him. The group hastaken over the Americancompany Alcon, the global

leader in ophthalmology. Atan estimated total cost ofUSD 49.7 billion, it is thebiggest acquisition in Swissbusiness history.■ In 2009, applications tocarry out civil service tripled.More than 7,000 men chosethe route that enables themto avoid military service. Thisis almost certainly due, atleast in part, to the abolitionof the test on conscientiousobjection to the duty to per-form military service in 2009.However, Andreas Stett-bacher, the army’s head doc-tor, believes interest will levelout as civil service takes oneand a half times longer tocomplete.■ After devoting half of hislife to working for the SwissNational Bank (SNB), includ-ing nine years as its chairman,63-year-old Valais-born Jean-Pierre Roth left the institu-tion at the end of 2009 tomake way for new leadership.“The effects of the crisis willbe felt for a long time tocome. Economic recoveryand the reform of the inter-national financial system willrequire SNB’s fullest atten-tion. A new board, withoutforeseeable changes, will beable to focus fully on thesetasks”, explained the architectof the salvation of UBS.■ Switzerland has its highestlevel of unemployment for 12years. In February, around176,000 people were regis-tered unemployed, which is4.5% of the working popula-tion. The situation has wors-ened significantly since Janu-ary 2009, with an additional47,335 people looking forwork (+36.9%). Unemploy-ment could reach 5% by theend of 2010, confirmed SergeGaillard, head of the labourdivision at the State Secretar-iat for Economic Affairs(SECO).

“An earthquake, like the one in Haiti, could also strike Basel or Zurich,causing widespread damage, costing billions of francs and claiming thou-sands of lives.”

Stefan Wiemer, Professor of Seismology at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich

“I challenge anyone to try living on CHF 930 in welfare benefits a month.Accommodation and health insurance costs also have to be met. Goodluck!” Hugo Fasel, Director of Caritas Switzerland

“We can’t say we experienced a crisis in Switzerland in 2009. Spendingpower rose sharply, employment increased and major bank UBS was re-structured.” Beat Kappeler, Publicist

“The temperature in the Engadine has increased by 1.6 °C since 1976. Asa result, the tree line has risen by 250 metres.” Global Change Newsletter

“Unless the old-age and survivors’ insurance (AHV) pension scheme isreformed, we will face a critical situation between 2021 and 2025. Therewill no longer be any guarantee that all pensioners will receive theirmoney each month.” Yves Rossier, Director of the Federal Social Insurance Office

“The many German employees in the hotel and restaurant industry haveimproved quality tremendously. They are a blessing for Swiss tourism.”

Jürg Schmid, outgoing Director of Switzerland Tourism

“We are one of the last, if not the last hotel in Switzerland to put suchgreat emphasis on old-school etiquette.”

Vic Jacob, Hotelier, St. Moritz’s luxury Suvretta House

The entire village of Unterwasser turned out to welcome its ski jumper SimonAmmann, winner of two Olympic Gold medals, back from the Olympic Games inVancouver.

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