Learnings from Switzerland’s system
At San Sebastian’s historic La Perla seaside restaurant, Switzerland played host to conference attendees with a panel discussion on its system of direct democracy. Participants were Stefan Klauser of the ETH Zurich, Global Forum organizer Bruno Kaufmann, Swiss political scientist and democracy expert Andi Gross, and swissinfo.ch journalist Belen Couceiro.
Key quotes from the evening:
“Never vote on the rights of minorities, don’t let money get too involved and don’t limit direct democracy to the nation state” – Andi Gross on lessons Switzerland has learned and continues to struggle with in direct democracy
“Is it necessary to have a common language for a democracy? The Swiss example says no, and the work that is required to understand each other with all those languages makes the democratic process more effective.” – Bruno Kaufmann
“Data is the oil of our times, and we have to ensure democratic access to it.” – Stefan Klauser
“Switzerland’s direct democracy isn’t perfect, but it can be a source of inspiration for others” – Belen Couceiro
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