Democracy Newsletter October 2022

Dear subscribers to the SWI Democracy Newsletter,

Voting. The word has a ring to it, a positive sound – in the sense of a process that ultimately leads to a result that is right for as many participants as possible. In many democracies, votes on issues play a very important role, as do elections of parties and people, because they can help find out – in an orderly and peaceful manner – what voters’ preferences and opinions are.

The Swiss generally vote three to four times a year. This last ballot was at the end of September, when once again – for the 24th time (!) in 70 years – a pension system reform was put to the vote at national level. And lo and behold: after 15 failed attempts at reform, this time a razor-thin majority said yes to AHV21, which sets the retirement age for Swiss men and women at 65 by 2028. Until now, women could retire one year earlier.

Voting, as the controversial pension issue makes clear, also requires a lot of patience. The Swiss government did not show any patience on another issue, also influenced by the ongoing Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Despite a valid people’s initiative for a national vote on the procurement of 36 new F35 fighter jets, Defence Minister Viola Amherd went ahead and signed the purchase contract with the American supplier at the end of September. The next day, the popular initiative was withdrawn – not an everyday occurrence in Switzerland. This then prompted discussions on democratic politics in the country.

So far, so good. But what happens when a “vote” is forced, as was recently the case for the Russian occupying power in Ukraine? Or vice versa: when a large part of a population in a country is not even allowed to vote? These were the questions discussed by experts from four countries at the panel discussion organised by SWI swissinfo.ch at the end of the tenth World Conference on Popular Rights (Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy). The discussion was part of our series of articles on inclusion and our debate in ten languages: “How do we save democracy?”

As valued readers of this newsletter, we are also interested in your opinions and reflections on these topics. So feel free to participate in our democracy debates, or get in touch with me directly.

With kind regards,

Bruno Kaufmann

Global democracy correspondent and coordinator of the SWI democracy editorial team