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Should the role of president carry more weight?

Each Swiss president only serves for one year, making it impossible to build continuity or long-term diplomatic relationships. Should the president’s term be extended, or would that complicate the balance of power among the country’s regions and political parties?

Merkel, Monti, Mursi and Obama are all well-known players on the world stage. In times of crisis, they work together and even talk to each other on the phone, but because of the Swiss president’s one-year term limit, Switzerland is often left out of the conversation. The head governmental position has little meaning, as the focus remains on maintaining an balance between linguistic regions and political parties. Is this model still the right one for Switzerland?

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President makes the government’s voice audible

This content was published on On December 5, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate will gather to elect the president for next year. Based on cabinet seniority, it will be Defence Minister Ueli Maurer’s turn at the helm. The president leads government meetings and represents the country abroad on state visits. While still pursuing his ministerial activities,…

Read more: President makes the government’s voice audible

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR