political system of Switzerland - копія

Switzerland is governed under a federal system at three levels: the Confederation, the
cantons and the communes. Thanks to direct democracy, citizens can have their say
directly on decisions at all political levels. This wide range of opportunities for
democratic participation plays a vital role in a country as geographically, culturally
and linguistically varied as Switzerland.
The Confederation
The Federal Constitution defines the tasks of the Confederation. These include,
among other things, foreign relations, national defense, the national road network,
and nuclear energy. The National Council and Council of States form the federal
parliament, the federal government consists of seven federal councillors, and the
Federal Supreme Court ensures national jurisdiction. The Confederation raises
revenue, including direct federal taxes, for its financing. The Confederation consists
of 26 cantons. Each canton has its own parliament, government, courts, and
constitution.
The Cantons
The 26 cantons implement the federal guidelines but shape their activities according
to their own needs. They have significant leeway, for example, in education,
healthcare, cultural affairs, and the police. Each canton levies cantonal taxes for its
financing.
The communes
Due to mergers, on average, there are around 30 fewer municipalities each year. The
26 cantons are divided into 2148 municipalities (as of 2022). Each canton
independently regulates the division of tasks between itself and its municipalities.
Municipal tasks include local planning, running schools, social welfare, and
firefighting. Larger municipalities and cities have parliaments and referendums. In
smaller municipalities, decisions on political proposals are made by the citizens in
town meetings. Each municipality collects local taxes.
Switzerland has a long republican tradition, its modern democratic constitution dates
back to 1848.
While Switzerland's electorate has more rights of participation than in any other
country and makes extensive use of them, women's right to vote was introduced
relatively late in Switzerland: Only in 1971, women got the right to vote on national
level and the last canton was forced by the federal court to introduce it on cantonal
and communal level as late as 1990.
Switzerland is governed by the Federal Council, a seven-member collegial body

whose decisions are made by consensus. Federal councillors are elected by the United
Federal Assembly, which consists of an upper and a lower chamber. The National
Council is the lower house, and represents the people. The Council of States is the
upper house, and represents the cantons.
Switzerland's Federal Two-Chamber Parliament
 The National Council is Switzerland's "house of representatives". The 200
members are elected every four years according to a refined proportional
election system, but since every canton forms a constituency and cantons have
extremely different numbers of inhabitants, a few smaller cantons may only
send one member to the national council, which results in majority elections
for these.
 The Council of States represents the cantons (like the U.S. senate). Full
cantons send two members, half cantons one, giving a total of 46 members.
The rules how to elect the members are made under cantonal legislation, so
they may differ from canton to canton. A majority of cantons does elect their
members of the Council of States every four years on the same day as the
members of the National Council, however.
 Both chambers discuss new laws separately. Sometimes they have to repeat a
discussion if the other chamber has passed a different version of a law. Which
chamber is discussing a new proposal first is not determined by the constitution
 Being member of parliament is not a full-time job in Switzerland (at least they
are not paid accordingly ...). Formally, parliament meets four times a year for
several weeks. In between, each member has to read proposals for new laws
individually and to attend one-day conferences of commissions.
Federal Government and Administration
Switzerland's federal government is called Bundesrat (Conseil Fédéral, Consiglio
Federale) [Federal Council]. the official German term Bundesrat is used in
Germany and Austria with a completely different meaning for the small chamber of
their parliaments;
Switzerland's government is a team consisting of seven members with equal rights.
Each member of the government acts as head of a department of the federal
administration, but all major government decisions are taken in weekly government
conferences either by consensus or by majority voting of all seven members. The
members of Switzerland's federal goverment are usually (re-)elected every four years
in December after the parliamentary elections by both chambers of the federal
parliament meeting together as the Federal Assembly. There is no legal limit to the
total term of office, some federal councillors have been in office for over 20 years.
Switzerland's President
Switzerland does not have a full-time president; the representational functions of a
president are taken over by one (or all) of the government members. Every year
another member of the government team is elected federal president in turn so that
every government member assumes this role once in seven years. The president
is primus inter pares [first among equals] with very limited special powers: he/she
sets the agenda of the weekly conferences and leads the discussion, addresses the
population on 1st of January, 1st of August (National Holiday) and similar occasions
and represents Switzerland on some international conferences.
Direct Democracy: Referendum and Initiative
 Ordinary citizens may propose changes to the constitution ("initiative"), if they
can find a number of supporters (100,000 out of about 3,500,000 voters).
Parliament will discuss it, probably propose an alternative and afterwards all
citizens may decide in a referendum whether to accept the initiative, the
alternate proposal or stay without change
While the federal system can be found in many other countries like the U.S.A.,
Germany, Austria etc., and separation of powers (government, parliament, courts) are
common to all democracies (or at least should be), referendums are rare in most other
countries. In Switzerland's long tradtion of Direct Democracy, frequent referendums
do have a stabilizing influence on parliament and government.
For example, Switzerland was the only country in the world that had two
opportunities, in the past year, to vote on a COVID-19 law.
Political culture:
In terms of sovereignty, it is the people, not Parliament, who have the last word. Placing great value on the
ability to compromise, the Swiss people are not interested in electing a strong government. As a result,
there is very little room for maneuver, from a relatively weak central government and strong local cantons.
Swiss people generally exhibit a high level of engagement and participation in

politics. They have a strong tradition of direct democracy, where citizens are
regularly involved in decision-making processes through referendums and initiatives.
The population is often well-informed about political matters, and voter turnout is
relatively high in national, cantonal, and communal elections.
Swiss attitudes toward politics often emphasize the importance of consensus-building
and compromise. The country's federalist structure and multicultural nature
contribute to a political climate that values negotiation and cooperation between
different linguistic, cultural, and regional groups.
Swiss citizens tend to be well-educated about political issues and are often active in
expressing their opinions through various democratic tools, such as referendums and
initiatives. There's a prevalent sense of civic duty, and many Swiss people take their
roles as informed voters seriously.
However, like in many other countries, there can also be differences in political
attitudes among Swiss citizens. These differences may be influenced by factors such
as regional disparities, language divides, economic concerns, and social ideologies.
Overall, a commitment to democratic processes, a tradition of political engagement,
and a focus on consensus characterize the Swiss approach to politics.

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political system of Switzerland - копія

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Switzerland is governed under a federal system at three levels: the Confederation, the

Switzerland is governed by the Federal Council, a seven-member collegial body

Swiss people generally exhibit a high level of engagement and participation in

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