Federal Councillors praise Swiss democracy on the eve of August 1
Published: Wednesday, Jul 31st 2024, 20:00
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Against the backdrop of war and crises in the world, several members of the Federal Council emphasized the advantages of Swiss democracy in speeches on the eve of 1 August. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider was unable to appear. The celebration with her planned speech in Rorschach SG was canceled at short notice due to a heavy thunderstorm.
"We may speak different languages, but we are not talking past each other," said President Viola Amherd in front of around 300 people at the national celebration on Wednesday evening in Möriken-Wildegg AG. This was thanks to an "incredible achievement by Switzerland".
The country introduced direct democracy 150 years ago with a constitutional reform. The latter needs citizens who participate in it. Democracy places the responsibility on each and every individual to use their vote. Amherd hoped that the country and its people would tackle the tasks with courage and confidence.
"Citizens can step on the brakes"
Federal Councillor Albert Rösti (SVP) focused on the rights of the people in Kesswil TG on Lake Constance. In his speech, he spoke of a "special case of freedom". "We vote more in a single year than the citizens of other countries do in their entire lives." Elsewhere, people would take to the streets, here they could go to the ballot box.
According to Rösti, direct democracy transforms anger and rage into political participation. Thanks to their popular rights, citizens are the highest authority in the country. They had the final say with the optional referendum. "Citizens can put the brakes on if they don't like something."
Performance by Baume-Schneider canceled
The official August 1st celebration with Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider in Rorschach SG was canceled at short notice due to an approaching thunderstorm. The marquee was evacuated, as a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency reported in the early evening.
The cancellation was made for security reasons, said the head of security for the town of Rorschach. Several dozen people then left the festival grounds. It was raining heavily on site and thunder could be heard. Baume-Schneider intends to give her 1st August speech in Saint-Pierre-de-Clages VS on Thursday as planned.
Switzerland has "nothing to be ashamed of"
In Lucerne, Economics Minister Guy Parmelin called on Switzerland not to make itself smaller than it is. He dedicated his speech to the question of whether it is indecent to show national pride. "Is Switzerland condemned to modesty because of its modest size?" he asked the several hundred people who attended the celebration on the Europaplatz at the KKL Lucerne.
For Parmelin, the answer was clear. Switzerland knows how to help itself, he said. "We can stand up for it with confidence". Switzerland's problem is that it often looks at itself from the wrong side of the binoculars, making everything look very small, said the Minister of Economic Affairs.
Switzerland has a remarkable quality of life, great cultural diversity, many freedoms, but no oppression, hardly any corruption or unemployment, said Parmelin. The country has stable institutions. However, there was no reason for complacency. Like many other countries, Switzerland has its problems. Parmelin therefore called for the national holiday to be used for self-reflection.
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