Amazing Swiss politics

Its almost an year since we came here, and some of our friends have been here for over 10 years. We talk about so many things, we talk about differences and commonalities between people who have lived here long enough and those that came in only recently. But there is one thing that is common amongst all of us, whether we have lived here long enough or not: We don't know who the President or Chancellor or Councillor of Switzerland is.

Switzerland does not have a President or a Prime Minister. It has a group of Councillors advised by a Chancellor. The Councillors function on the basis of rotation. And none of them are poster boys or poster girls for the Swiss political system. You never see their faces dominating the front pages of the newspapers, nor on billboards. You can live here a lifetime and not know their names. What is even better: if you are not politically inclined, it doesn't matter a whit to your daily life.

It is said that the Councillors travel like ordinary Swiss citizens, and it is possible to come across them in the same tram as yourself i.e. provided you know who they are. You can chat with them and there are no bureaucratic formalities required to access them. No black cat commandos to guard their precious lives, no disruption of traffic to let the VIP entourage pass and no, 'May I know the purpose for which you wish to meet Mr.XXX, Sir?' business. I do not still fully understand how the system works, but I did encounter a French speaking black lady requesting me to vote for her in the elections to be held in October this year. She left me her card. She did not give a speech from any podium. She went to each person and spoke personally and gave them her card.

Swiss politics is citizen dominated. Major issues are placed before the citizens for their vote, and often decisions get stalled because of a lack of clear majority. Nevertheless, its greatest strength is the inability of the political system to bulldoze its citizens. If a decision fails, the citizens' have to live with the consequences. Sometimes the sheer force of the negative consequences influences the vote e.g. the recent decision (finally) of Switzerland to become part of the Schengen region. It was hard on many of the citizens, but forceful arguments provided on the drawbacks of defeating the vote led to it finally being passed through. The Swiss do not like being told what to do by the international community. In fact their self insulation from the chaotic decisions of the international community is the major source of Swiss pride.

When one contrasts this with the kind of incessant exposure given to political leaders worldwide, elevating their status to demi-gods through the sheer power of media exposure, attributing every success of the country to his or her leadership as if the rest of the citizens were nobody and nothing, I have to wonder: What is it about people that makes them want to live in the make-believe world of make-believe heroes????