Swiss abroad air concerns

The Swiss abroad have the October general election on their minds (OSA) swissinfo.ch

Parliamentary representation and spending cuts have dominated the agenda at this year’s annual gathering of the Swiss abroad.

The Swiss president, Pascal Couchepin, told delegates Switzerland had to carve out more of a role for itself on the international stage.

In his address, Couchepin said Switzerland could improve its image around the world – and especially among the young.

“Switzerland enjoys a generally good reputation worldwide and joining the United Nations was certainly a step in giving us more of an international presence,” he told delegates to this year’s three-day congress of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), held in the Alpine resort of Crans Montana.

“But in Europe in particular Switzerland’s image is a hazy one,”

Couchepin said he hoped negotiations over a second set of bilateral agreements with the European Union, would be wrapped up by the end of the year.

Election countdown

Almost 400 delegates attended this year’s congress, and the one issue dominating much of the agenda, and many people’s minds, was this year’s parliamentary elections, which are less than two months away.

For many Swiss abroad, Switzerland’s relations with the European Union are a major concern, – a subject which does not yet appear to have become an election issue with the Swiss-based electorate.

“Around 60 per cent of the Swiss abroad actually live in EU countries,” Georg Stucky, president of the OSA, told swissinfo.

“For them whether Switzerland joins the EU and the development of the second set of bilateral agreements are the most important issues.”

Jean-Paul Aeschlimann, a Swiss research scientist who has lived abroad for the past 30 years and is now based in the south of France, thinks the everyday contact many expatriate Swiss have with the EU makes them more “open” to the idea of EU membership.

“Many Swiss who have lived in EU countries for a number of years know the benefits and the limitations of possible membership,” he told swissinfo.

“They know what to expect from the EU and are ready to encourage the Swiss living in Switzerland to join,” he added.

Aeschlimann’s opinion is backed up by an online survey commissioned by swissinfo and the OSA earlier this year and presented to participants during the congress.

It reveals the Swiss abroad are much more enthusiastic about Switzerland joining the European Union than their counterparts back home, and it a top priority for them when it comes to issues affecting Switzerland.

Pensions

Social insurance and health also figured high on the list of election concerns voiced by many of those attending this year’s congress.

Giuseppe Broggini, an architect who has been living in Britain since 1986, says many expatriates need to safeguard their retirement years by ensuring they continue to have access to the state pension scheme.

“Old age entitlements in Britain, for example, are far lower than in many other countries and certainly behind those of Switzerland,” he told swissinfo.

“The Swiss abroad are used to the idea of higher pensions and we feel it is important to have a second string to our bow by being able to make contributions and secure our entitlements,” he added.

Rotating presidency

There was a mixed reception to the idea proposed earlier in the week by Couchepin that the duration of the rotating Swiss presidency should be extended.

Under the current system the seven members of the cabinet take it in turns to serve as president for a year.

Although it has not yet been discussed by the congress, the idea of extending the president’s mandate was supported by some delegates.

“I certainly think Switzerland needs more [international] visibility,” Aeschlimann said. “ Having a president appointed for more than one year would certainly help in building and maintaining contacts and raising the level of visibility.”

But others attending the congress felt there was little need to tinker with the current system.

“Perhaps a two or three-year mandate would enable better and deeper contact abroad,” said Broggini.

“But basically and constitutionally in Switzerland, the presidency is not as powerful a political position as in other countries and consequently the number of years served would not make a great deal of difference.”

Finance

One day of the congress was dedicated to examining the role Switzerland’s position as an international financial centre plays in shaping the image of the country around the world.

The president of the Swiss National Bank, Jean-Pierre Roth, told delegates that trust in Switzerland as a financial centre had to be strengthened, and this could be achieved by stepping up the battle against money laundering.

“We have to fight energetically against the reputation Switzerland has in some quarters that it is only interested in attracting money laundered that needs to be laundered,” he told the congress.

“There is enough ‘clean’ money around for it to be worthwhile for us to make every effort to protect ourselves from “dirty” money,” he added.

swissinfo, Jonathan Summerton in Crans Montana

Key facts

There are almost 600,000 Swiss living abroad and over 70 per cent of them have dual nationality.
Around 83,000 expatriates are registered to vote in this year’s parliamentary elections on October 19.
Almost 60 per cent of the Swiss abroad live in the European Union.
The largest Swiss community abroad is in France – almost 155,000, followed by the United States and Germany – around 69,000.