Speaker Alain Berset, whose brief biography is provided below, is a friend of Russia. He is well aware of the global role played by this vast country, and also knows that Switzerland and Russia are bound by long-standing cultural and historic ties. Finally, he understands the importance of developing political and economic relations between the two countries.
On March 15, Mr. Berset spoke at a conference held in Zurich as part of a Russian finance and economic forum. He said, in part: “As I’m sure you are aware, Switzerland has announced its interest in negotiating a free-trade agreement with Russia.
From the Swiss point of view, a trade agreement with such a large economy would offer attractive possibilities. In 2007 the value of our exports to Russia was almost 3 billion francs while imports from Russia were around 1.5 billion francs. Unfortunately I don’t have any figures yet for last year. But in view of the current economic climate, they are expected to be lower. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that they will increase again in the future.
“Apart from easier access to markets, a free-trade agreement would also help to provide better guarantees for investments.
According to the Swiss National Bank, direct Swiss investments in Russia totalled 5.155 billion francs at the end of 2006. This money has helped to create 97,000 jobs in Russia, representing almost double the figure for the previous year. Some 150 Swiss companies that operate in Russia are registered with the Swiss Embassy in Moscow. According to Russian sources there are some 600 companies whose share capital is partly in Swiss hands. A free-trade agreement would provide an additional impulse for our bilateral economic relations – which, in this time of economic crisis, would be of great advantage to both sides.
“Innovation, ladies and gentlemen, is another key aspect that I should like to talk about today. Innovation is an important driving force for the economy.
If I think of innovation, I automatically connect it with research and science.
Scientific policy has become an important part of Swiss foreign policy. It is in Switzerland’s interest to publicize its competence as an internationally viable centre for scientific research and technological development, and to promote worldwide collaboration in the field of research and development at an individual as well as an institutional level.
“Both the Russian and the Swiss governments have noticed that joint research and scientific projects are extremely attractive, and they have succeeded in drawing up a framework agreement in this respect. This agreement is now ready to be signed. We could call such collaboration a renaissance of a long tradition. In earlier days there was a flourishing exchange of scientific expertise between our two countries. For example, a certain Swiss gentleman by the name of Leonhard Euler played an active part in reforming the Russian system of weights and measures almost 300 years ago. In contrast, at the beginning of the last century, “Present and Future Swiss Philosophy” was explained to us by the Russian professor AnnaEster Pawlowna Tumarkina.
“Joint Russian-Swiss projects in science and research will continue to take advantage of mutual potential in the future, and produce solutions in various fields.
“In view of the serious global crisis, a free-trade agreement and close collaboration in research and science will, it is true, be only a drop in the ocean.
Nevertheless, each individual agreement will mean new prospects for entrepreneurs, employees, scientists or students, and as far as I’m concerned that will be a positive thing.” In April, Speaker Berset led a delegation of Swiss lawmakers to Russia. He spoke to students of St Petersburg University about the Swiss political system.
He said, in part (as translated): St Petersburg University, April 25, 2009 “Is direct democracy a Swiss invention? No, luckily, we don’t have monopoly on this great political idea.
While drafting our constitution, we used the US law as a model.
“I would like to discuss a new aspect of SwissRussian relations which should be of interest to students like you. Indeed, our two countries are determined to develop scientific research cooperation and encourage contacts between Swiss and Russian universities. Our governments are to sign a relevant agreement this year.
“The practice of signature collecting is certainly a cornerstone of our political system. In our country, parliament is not the only institution that has power over the constitution and the law; citizens also can contribute to policy making. And they vote several times a year on fundamental policy issues.
“Direct democracy emerged along with Switzerland as we know today about 150 years ago. It was decided from the very beginning that all fundamental policy decisions would have to be accepted by a double majority of both the popular votes and a majority of the 13 cantons. I am referring to the practice of obligatory referendums.
“However, to take into consideration the interests of the minority, we also have what we call optional referendums. The parliament has to put draft laws to a popular vote if at least 50,000 people demand it. In this case, the initiative has to be approved by the majority of the citizens, but not of the cantons.
“In addition to the referendum law, the people's initiative was introduced in 1891. An initiative involves voting on an amendment to the constitution if 100,000 signatures of citizens (a little over 1% of the total number of the country’s voters) are gathered within 18 months. The signature collection process is carefully monitored, along with the format and content of the initiative. Then the Federal Council and the parliament issue a recommendation to accept or decline it. Sometimes they decide upon an alternative, which is then put before the people and the cantons at the same time as the initiative.
“Referendum is ‘king’ in Switzerland, and many analysts are right, I think, to describe our system as a ‘referendum democracy.’ Switzerland accounts for more than a half of the 1,000 referendums ever held in the world. Our citizens vote four to ten times a year. If they vote on a cantonal or communal level issue, they may express their will just by raising their hands at legislative assemblies in their communes or small cantons.
“In case of federal vote and elections, citizens cast their ballots into boxes or mail them.
“The Swiss are advocates of all instruments of direct democracy. In the past 150 years, they have expressed their will on about 540 federal initiatives and voted in thousands of referendums in cantons and communes. Their focus of interest changed over time. In the early 20th century, the most important issue was to create a proportionate election system to the lower house of parliament.
During the 1929 recession, the focus was on economic problems, while the post-war years mostly generated debates on social rights. In 1970s and 1980s, many referendums involved environmental issues, including nuclear energy.
“Today other issues have moved into the spotlight – transport, the tax system, national defence issues, immigration, social insurance, Europe and society problems.
“Looking at this system, one might get the impression that Switzerland refers any small issue to the public. Indeed, in Switzerland, the people are the ultimate judges of the government and parliament’s work. Any citizen may challenge the constitution and call for an amendment.
As of now, about a half of decisions passed through optional referendums, but most people's initiatives failed at the ballot box. Of the initiatives that were submitted to a popular vote, only 15 proposed amendments to the constitution passed.
“However, the popular vote today is more than the simple practice of passing laws or controlling them. This instrument is the core of the Confederation’s political system. It has grown so deep that, one might say, the direct democracy practice has literally shaped the local groups’ activities and the election system.
“Indeed, since any interest group or a minority can call for a referendum or submit a people's initiative, the government and lawmakers work hard to ensure that different views are taken into account. No civil society group should feel left out.
“To avoid obstacles in preparing new laws, the government starts a consultation procedure to find out what all the parties concerned think of the proposal.
“This equilibrium is perfectly adapted to the Swiss mosaic of minorities and particularisms.
However, it most probably doesn’t travel and cannot be directly replicated in other countries. This system’s effectiveness is largely defined by my country’s small size.
“The practice of referendums has a powerful unifying influence on the country, which was built ‘from below’ as a confederation of smaller administrative units. French-speakers and Italianspeakers in Switzerland borrowed the direct democracy idea from German cantons, which were at the origins of our statehood.
“Each citizen expresses problems that are of concern to his or her group: German-speaking citizens now focus on environmental issues, while the Romanic Swiss show more interest in foreign relations. But they all support the system that gives enough autonomy to cantons and communes. Our territorial administrative units are free to hold their own referendums on any administrative or financial decisions.
Even tax rates can be subject to voter approval.
“Switzerland’s experience shows that direct democracy protects minorities that are well integrated and recognised as constituent elements of the Confederation. This way, language minorities can expect the majority to support them.
“The Swiss are able to exercise their rights, which helps to avoid grudges and dissatisfaction.
“The parliament makes every effort to avoid the need for a referendum. Always conscious that its decisions can be put to the test of a popular vote by any interest group capable of initiating a referendum, the parliament prefers to take its views into account in the legislation process. Knowing that reaching an agreement is their priority, parliament members sometimes vote against their party’s or their electorates’ interests.
“Accession to collective security organisations or other supranational associations requires a change of the constitution. Accordingly, to join the European Union or NATO, Switzerland would have to hold a nationwide and cantonal referendums.
Our direct democracy requires a lot of information and communication effort.
“It took the Swiss some time to realise the benefits of membership in groups such as the IMF, the World Bank and the UN, even though it did not affect our neutrality. Other agreements may be put to optional referendums.
“Therefore, Switzerland with its cantons and communes provides for exercising the general suffrage not only though elections but also in what we call votations (direct nationwide vote).
“The Swiss political system is characterised by an ongoing quest for stability in the likeness of a scale that needs to be balanced by weights. By comparison, other democracies rather seek some long-term stability supported by the majority. These should rather be likened to a pendulum clock, where the pendulum keeps swinging back and forth.
“However, a political system is more than a simple mechanism. It also incorporates the history of a nation, its relations with neighbours, and values that keep it united. The main advantage of Switzerland’s institutional system is protection of minorities and guarantees of the country’s political and economic stability.” Finally, Mr Berset made an important proposal to establish an association of Swiss and Russian lawmakers with a mission to improve relations and mutual understanding between the two countries.
