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Archive-name: swiss/faq
Author: Marc SCHAEFER
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-Change: Mar 3 2002
Posting-Number: 96
soc.culture.swiss MONTHLY POSTING version: 1.68
This work is placed under the protection of the Bern Convention,
except that it is hereby authorized to copy it as part of the normal
USENET article transmission process and to archive it with other
FAQs for anonymous FTP or WWW retrieval. All other copies are authorized
as long as no money whatsoever is made from this work and if it is copied
in full. Inclusion in CD-ROMs and selling it as part of another work
is explicitly not allowed, except if a gift is given to a recognized
charity organization or the FSF GNU Project, and I am asked first.
0. Table of contents
1 ......................................... Introduction
1.1 .................................... Original newsgroup charter
1.2 .................................... Changes since last posting
2 ......................................... Switzerland: the country
2.1 .................................... Introduction
2.2 .................................... History
2.3 .................................... Figures
2.4 .................................... Political system
2.5 .................................... Issues
2.6 .................................... Visiting Switzerland
2.7 .................................... Looking for a job
2.8 .................................... School system
2.9 .................................... Swiss citizenship
3 ......................................... Frequently Asked Questions
3.1 ................................... Internet in Switzerland
3.2 ................................... Military service / guns
3.3 ................................... Swiss navy
3.4 ................................... 5th Switzerland
3.5 ................................... Swiss German vs German
3.6 ................................... Universities in Ticino
3.7 ................................... Swiss laws
3.8 ................................... Swiss tax system
3.9 ................................... Rumantsch
3.10 ................................... Abortion
3.11 ................................... World War II (ambitious)
3.12 ................................... Health system
4 ......................................... Institutions/products abroad
4.1 .................................... In the US
4.2 .................................... In Australia
4.3 .................................... In other countries
4.4 .................................... Swiss products
5 ......................................... More information
6 ......................................... Credits
1. Introduction
This newsgroup (in French, this is translated by ``forum'', or not
translated at all) soc.culture.swiss, was created in February
1994. Its aim is to be a forum where Swiss nationals and those
interested in Switzerland can exchange ideas and discuss politics,
economics, and everything that has a more or less distant link to the
word `swiss'. The newsgroup seems to focus itself on Swiss
culture-related items and political discussions.
However, as most of the readers of soc.culture.swiss are either non
Swiss or do not live in Switzerland, soc.culture.swiss should NOT in
general be used to contact Swiss people. The newly-reorganized Swiss
newsgroups are probably best suited for that purpose. Those newsgroups
are not distributed worldwide, but there are some sites willing to
offer NNTP feeds for those newsgroups in the US.
ch hierarchy newsgroups:
ch.general Misc. items of interest to Swiss newsgroups readers
ch.rec General info about recreational activity.
ch.talk Discussions in general.
ch.bulletin.avalanche Bulletins of the ISL Davos.
ch.comp Computer related topics.
ch.comp.networks Network technology and security.
ch.comp.os.linux Linux and Unix in general.
ch.comp.os.ms-windows The MS-Windows operating system.
ch.market Want to buy/sell.
ch.market.comp Want to buy/sell computers and peripherals.
ch.market.jobs Need/search a job.
ch.test A place for test postings.
Beware that those newsgroups are multi-lingual (especially German,
English and French, but also Italian).
Long distance companies or toll call companies and other commercial
postings are NOT appropriate, please use one of the biz hierarchy
newsgroups. Thank you. People interested by genealogy may want to use
the soc.genealogy hierarchy (French-speaking: fr.rec.genealogie). Also
note that Swiss genealogy is mostly discussed in the newsgroup
soc.genealogy.german (don't be afraid of the ``german'' :-))
As a general advice, please consult the newsgroup
news.announce.newusers and follow the discussion in soc.culture.swiss
for some time before your first posting. Articles cross-posted to
another newsgroup are normally NOT appropriate for soc.culture.swiss.
Recently there has been quite a lot of discussion in soc.culture.swiss
about recurrent topics: guns, Europe, service providers and so
on. There have also been a lot of inappropriate or irrelevant
postings; this FAQ may help reduce the noise in the newsgroup.
The question about what language this FAQ should use is difficult to
answer. My first language is French. Many languages are spoken in
Switzerland. However, people in this country do frequently know
English as a second or third language: the fact that most articles in
soc.culture.swiss are in English proves me right. Thus, this FAQ's
official language will be English. Feel free to translate the document
into another language if you like, or to submit new information in
your language (French, German, Italian) which I will be able to
translate. Submit changes to the e-mail address shown at the
beginning of this article.
WARNING: This document contains some views of the political situation
in Switzerland. If you do NOT agree with what I say, because you think
differently, please send me a _mail_: the idea is not to use the
newsgroup as a meta-discussion about the FAQ itself :-) In general, I
try to be as open-minded as possible.
WARNING-2: This document has been written in the hope it would be
useful. There is absolutely no warranty on the content. Feel however
free to spot errors and send corrections to me.
This FAQ is available by WWW
http://www-internal.alphanet.ch/~schaefer/scs/faq
(soft-link to the master version)
http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r14160/swiss/swiss.html (Christian ZIMMERMANN)
(this version is usually up to-date, and is faster for North America).
Note that this posting is automatically archived somewhere in
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
Note for French-speaking people: there is a FAQ about accentuation in
the USENET news system available in fr.usenet.8bits. To stay general,
ISO Latin-1 (8859-1) accentuation _is_ tolerated on the news system,
MIME base-64 or even quoted-printable is not.
1.1 Original newsgroup charter
PURPOSE AND MISSION
This newsgroup will serve as a common ground for the exchange of ideas
and information about Switzerland and the several cultures that
inspire the alchemy of this special land. Switzerland is one of the
world's smaller nations, but its impact on science, technology, art,
statesmanship, and education has been greater than its size would
suggest. It has been the seat of religious revolution, home to
political dissidents, bastion of neutrality, and cauldron for a
national character that is at once diverse and unified --
hard-working, independent, and resolute. The paradox of the modern
Switzerland is that its independence rests on its inter-nationalism.
The Swiss are all over the globe, and the world's architects of
commerce and state-craft are constant visitors to Switzerland.
Switzerland is a microcosm of Europe and an outpost for observing
change and development within the European Community. This newsgroup
should provide a place for those with an interest in Swiss culture,
politics, and national affairs to trade thoughts, and for those who
want to learn more about this unique land to do so. For the Swiss
Abroad -- known as the "Fifth Switzerland" (after the German, French,
Italian, and Rumantsch) -- this newsgroup should provide a way to keep
in touch and to discuss the frequent referenda that typify the direct
Swiss democracy and which are so important in maintaining a sense of
national unity and full participation in the life of the country. For
the Swiss in Switzerland the newsgroup should be an additional way for
the three language cultures to interact.
RULES
(a) Contributors may use any written language they would use in
Switzerland, as well as English. But if a sender chooses to use a
dialect, it will be an understood courtesy of the newsgroup to offer a
summary translation for others. Any message can be answered in the
same, or a different language. The newsgroup should not be a "club"
for any one language community.
(b) Within the general purpose of the newsgroup, there will be no
restrictions on topics or message content. However, contributors will
emphasize the decorum and respect that typify Switzerland, even when
there are disagreements. Thus, the newsgroup should try to become a
model of meaningful, but respectful communications, so sorely needed
in the world.
(c) Contributors should use best efforts to distinguish
messages of general interest from personal mail. It is perfectly
proper to seek specific help or information, but if the result is
a strictly personal exchange, contributors should consider direct
E-mail, instead of postings to soc.culture.swiss.
(d) This charter is provisional and subject to the wishes of the
community it serves. It is not "owned" by any person, language
community, or commercial interest. Users with ideas for amendments or
improvements should post them to soc.culture.swiss or to the present
contact person.
1.2 Changes since last posting
- UNO membership
2. Switzerland: the country
2.1 Introduction
Switzerland is a small country in the center of Western Europe[1],
next to Germany in the north, France in the west, Italy in the south,
Austria and the tiny principality of Liechtenstein in the east. Its
size is 41,290 km2 (15,942 sq mi), which is about one and a half times
the size of the US-state Massachusetts. Time zone is MET [ DST ] or
CET [ CED ]. Daylight saving time is one hour ahead, in the summer,
and is called Sommerzeit in German, and Heure d'ete in French. The
standard denomination for daylight saving times is in square brackets.
The country has a long tradition of federalism[2] and direct
democracy, which helped sustain its multi-cultural and multi-lingual
character. The official languages in Switzerland are German, spoken by
2/3 of the population (in a variety of dialects collectively known as
Swiss German); French, spoken by about 20%; Italian, spoken by 8%; and
Rumantsch spoken by less than 1% of the population. Switzerland is
called in German: Die Schweiz, in French: La Suisse, in Italian: La
Svizzera, and in Rumantsch: La Svizra. The official name is in Latin:
Confoederatio Helvetica, which lead to its international (ISO)
acronym: CH. International telephone country code is 41.
The federal capital of Switzerland is the picturesque city of
Bern/Berne (Italian: Berna), located close to the center of
Switzerland. The largest city in the country is Zuerich, an
international financial center. Geneva, on the western tip of the
country (French: Suisse romande; German: Welschland) on the shores of
Lake Geneva (properly called Lac Leman in French), is the largest city
in the French-speaking area. It is home to the United Nations, the
World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the
International Committee of the Red Cross, CERN, and many other
international organizations.
Despite hosting many international organizations, Switzerland is not a
member of the European Union, and wasn't until recently (2002-03-03) a
member of the UNO neither. Switzerland is, however, member of the
European Council, of the EFTA and although it wasn't UNO member was
active for a number of years in many international organizations (such
as HCR, WHO, UIT, IMF and so on). Neutrality has been one of the
pillars of Swiss foreign policy and has not yet given way to
membership in supranational organizations (even if the reason for
refusing those might not have been so rhetorical, and UNO is probably
the precedent now.).
In 2000 the population of Switzerland reached 7'204'000, of which
19.8% are foreigners. This used to be the fastest growth in Europe,
mainly due to immigration: now Ireland apparently grows faster than
Switzerland.
In 1994, life expectancy at birth is 78 years. There are 1.6 children
born per woman (Sensitive people may prefer 8 children for 5 women,
but as polygamy is illegal, they must be from different fathers :-))
Switzerland has many lakes and is situated between two mountain
ranges: Jura (> 1000 m/3000 ft) and the Alps ( > 3000 m/10,000 ft).
The country has no natural resources other than salt, water
(electricity) and stones. Main export products are machines, chemical
products (including pharmaceuticals), instruments and watches. Other
revenue is from services (banking, insurances) and tourism (skiing is
one of the national sports) as well as exporting some electricity. As
for tourism, it should be mentioned that Swiss tourists spend more
than 10 billion CHF abroad, compared to the 13 billion CHF visitors
spend in Switzerland.
The Swiss flag should be constructed as follows: A free floating white
cross on red square ground. The arms of the cross are of equal length
and of 1/6 longer than wide (established in 1815).
[1] In the geographical sense, not the European Union.
[2] Switzerland consists of 26 Cantons and half-Cantons. There are 6
half-Cantons. See section 2.4.2
2.2 History
2.2.1 Some dates
Founding date of the Swiss Confederation by the central
Swiss cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden: 1291
(traditionally 1st of August 1291, national day, but this was
set in the 19th century)
Battle of Morgarten: 1315
Battle of Sempach (Arnold Winkelried): 1386
Battle of Morat/Murten: 1476 (a defeat of Charles the Bold)
Battle of Marignano: 1515 (first mention of neutrality)
Savoy attacks Geneva: the Escalade: 1602
First official mention of the separation of the Swiss federation
from the Holy Roman Empire: 1648
Invasion by Napoleon (Helvetic Republic): 1798
Armed Neutrality internationally recognized (Vienna congress): 1815
Chocolaterie Cailler founded at Vevey: 1819
War of Sonderbund (Civil war): 1847
Jesuits expelled: 1847
Federal Constitution: 1848
Shoe manufacturer Bally founded: 1850
1st Geneva Convention establishes International Red Cross: 1864
1st Socialist International meets in Geneva: 1866
Nestle founded: 1866
Federal Constitution revised: 1874
General strike: 1918
Youngest Canton Jura: voted 1974, created 1978
Women allowed to vote on federal matters: 1971
Women allowed to vote on Canton matters in all Cantons: 1991
About the Women's suffrage: On the Federal level, it was introduced in
1971. The last Cantons to accept it at their level were AR and AI:
Appenzell-Ausserrhoden (at the 1989 Landsgemeinde) and
Appenzell-Innerrhoden in 1991 (by a Federal Court decision). It is
interesting to note that the Women's suffrage was voted by the male
population, not by a legislative entity (except for AI).
2.2.2 Well-known Swiss people (past and present)
NOTE: there is no point in submitting new items for this
section, we don't want it to grow.
Alain Tanner, film-maker
Alberto Giacometti, sculptor
Arthur Fraucci, aka Arthur Artousov, first chief of soviet
counter-intelligence
Auguste Piccard, scientist
C.F. Ramuz, novelist and essayist
Carl Gustav Jung, psychologist (1875-1961)
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, architect
Domenico Tresini, architect (Peter and Paul cathedral in St. Petersburg)
Dr. Hofmann, LSD discoverer.
Ferdinand de Saussure, linguist
Frederic Sauser, known as Blaise Cendrars, writer
Friedrich Duerrenmatt, novelist and play writer
Henri Dunant, founder of International Red Cross
Horace-Benedicte de Saussure, naturalist
Huldrych Zwingli, priest/reformator
Isabelle de Charriere, writer
Jean Piaget, psychologist
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher, born in Geneva
Jean-Luc Godard, film-maker
Johann Pestalozzi
Johann Sutter (owned much of California, initiator and victim of the
Gold Rush)
Karl Brunner, economist
Leonhard Euler, mathematician
Mario Botta, architect
Marthe Keller, actress
Max Frisch, novelist
Michel Simon, actor
Napoleon III, in Canton Thurgau (spoke German, French, Italian and English)
Niklaus Wirth, `father' of many programming languages (Pascal,
Modula, Oberon)
Paracelsus, physician (1400, Basel)
Pirmin Zurbriggen, skier
Tony Rominger, cyclist
Ursula Andress, actress
Vreni Schneider, skier
and more ...
Note that Albert Schweitzer is Alsatian and *not* Swiss, as the
name might wrongly imply (most SchweiTzer are Alsatian).
2.2.3 Well-known people who have lived (or live) in Switzerland
NOTE: there is no point in submitting new items for this
section, we don't want it to grow.
Alain Prost
Albert Einstein, became Swiss
Byron
Charlie Chaplin, actor/comedian/movie director, 1889-1977
David Niven
Elias Canetti, Nobel prize for literature.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Georges Simenon
Gustave Courbet
Hermann Hesse, writer, Nobel Laureate for Literature (1946), 1877-1962,
became Swiss in 1923
Igor Stravinsky
Jackie Stewart
James Joyce
John Calvin, priest/reformer, 1509-1564
Mussolini (studied at the Gymnase Cantonal de Neuchatel)
Paderewsky
Peter Ustinov
Rainer Maria Rilke, became Swiss
Richard Burton
Richard Wagner
The Aga Khan
Thomas Mann, Nobel Laureate, in Kuesnacht (ZH), later in Kilchberg.
Tristan Tzara
Vilfredo Pareto, social scientist, 1848-1923
Vladimir Ilitch Oulianov (Lenin)
Voltaire
various dictators
and many, many more ...
2.2.4 Swiss Nobel Prize winners
1901 Henry Dunant, Peace (red cross)
1902 Elie Ducommun, Charles Albert Gobat (Peace)
1909 Emil Theodor Kocher (Medicine)
1913 Alfred Werner (Chemistry)
1919 Carl Spitteler (Literature) (from Liestal)
1920 Charles Eduard Guillaume (Physics)
1937 Paul Karrer (Chemistry)
1939 Leopold Ruzicka (Chemistry) (born in Croatia)
1946 Hermann Hesse (Literature) (born in Germany)
1948 Paul Hermann Mueller (Medicine) (DDT)
1949 Walter Rudolf Hess (Medicine)
1950 Tadeus Rechstein (Medicine) (born in Poland)
1975 Vladimir Prelog (Chemistry) (born Sarajevo)
1978 Werner Arber (Medicine)
1986 Heinrich Rohrer (Physics)
1987 K. Alexander Mueller (Physics)
1988 Jack Steinberger (Physics)
1991 Richard Robert Ernst (Chemistry)
1996 Rolf M. Zinkernagel (Medicine)
Sources: World Almanac 1991 (quite wrong)
"Der Neue Brockhaus", Encyclopedia, 1991
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~clancey/Nobel/Nobel-Physics.html
http://www.theo1.physik.uni-stuttgart.de/~marlow/physics_nobel.html
http://www.chem.ethz.ch/D-CHEM-Prof/ernst/ernst.html
It should be noted that for many nobel laureates who changed
nationality in their life, most prominently Einstein, but possibly
also Canetti, Prelog, Ruzicka, Hesse, nationality is/was simply a
non-issue; thus a list as the one compiled above is only of
informative value, without any nationalism intended. A more
interesting list could be which nobel laureates received their prizes
for work done at swiss institutions.
The "Bureau International permanent de la Paix", Berne, founded by
Ducommun/Gobat, was awarded the prize for Peace in 1910.
The ICRC (Comite International de la Croix-Rouge), Geneve, was awarded
the prize for peace in 1917, 1944 and 1963.
See: (http://www.icrc.ch/icrcnews/242a.htm)
2.3 Figures
These figures where found in "La Suisse - de la formation des Alpes a
la quete du futur", Ex Libris, 1975. This book is a very interesting
overview of Switzerland, even if it is a bit old now. Some were also
found in the CIA World Fact-book, even if not all information there
is correct.
2.3.1 Languages
Swiss citizens living in Switzerland (1970)
German and Swiss-German (many dialects): 74%
French: 20%
Italian: 4%
Rumantsch: 1%
All people living in Switzerland:
German and Swiss-German (many idioms): 65%
French: 18%
Italian: 11%
Rumantsch: 0.8%
Others: 5.2%
There are no dialects in the French speaking part: however, there are
some ``patoits'' which are not spoken by the new generations. There
also some swiss expressions and specific words: for example, 70 is
called ``septante'', 80 ``huitante'' (in Vaud) or ``quatre-vingts'',
90 is called ``nonante''.
For reference, consult the book
Glossaire des patois de la Suisse romande / elabore avec le
concours de nombreux auxiliaires et redige par L. Gauchat, J.
Jeanjaquet, E.Tappolet avec la collaboration de E. Muret.
Neuchatel : V. Attinger, 1924-. - 6 v + 8 unbound parts.
Library has v1-4, A-C and index; v5-6; v7, fasc. 85-86,
88-89, 91,93,95-96 f - fille; v.8, fasc. 94 g-gale. -
There is a ticinesi dialect, which is being slowly suppressed by the
use of the (official language) Italian.
2.3.2 Main cities
Zuerich, (`ue' replaces the German umlaut), business and industrial
center, one international airport, only 350,000 inhabitants.
Basel, Chemicals, and gateway to France and Germany, Rhine waterway,
chemical and pharmaceutical industries, International airport.
Geneva , many international organizations, International airport.
Bern, Federal Government.
Lausanne, International Olympic Committee, Federal Court, Cinematheque
Suisse.
Lucerne, with its brand new bridge, Federal Insurance Court (not _because_
of old covered bridge burned lately :-)).
Lugano.
Locarno, Cinema Festival.
Davos, the World Economic Forum (which is a very small city, indeed).
Neuchatel, where I live.
2.3.3 Miscellaneous
"BIGGEST"
glacier: Aletschgletscher (VS), 117.6 km2 and 23.6 km long
lake (entirely in Switzerland): Lac de Neuchatel (NE/BE/FR/VD), 218.3 km2
lake (partially French): Lac Leman (VD/GE/France), 581.3 km2
Canton (size): Graubuenden (GR), 7108.9 km2
Canton (inhabitants): Zuerich (ZH), 1'211'600 (end 2000)
"HIGHEST"
mountain: partly Swiss Dufourspitze/Pointe Dufour (Monte Rosa)
4634m
entirely Mischabelsdom 4545m
2.4 Political system
The political system is mainly composed of three levels: the communal
(city), the state (Cantonal) level and the federal level. At all
levels, the voters have the right of active participation through
elections, petition, initiative and referendum, and of course by
running for public office.
- voters: the people who can elect people. It should be noted that the
participation rate is usually very low (about 33%, except for
the canton SH, where the rate is usually about 65% because any
voter not voting pays a fee of 3 CHF per missed voting date,
if not excused.)
- eligible: the people who can be elected for public office
- petition: non-binding request for legislative action through signatures.
- initiative: proposition from a group of voters which becomes a law
if there are enough people signing it and it passes the
vote (majority of people FOR it. Note that at the
federal level, the double majority of citizens and Cantons is
necessary, because it only allows currently Constitutional
changes; in the now proposed reform, however, the initiative
for laws would be allowed at the federal level).
- referendum: popular vote on a bill that has been passed by a legislative
corpus (federal level: Federal Assembly).
A fixed number of signatures (at federal level: 50,000)
is required to request a (facultative (== non compulsory)
referendum on an ordinary law.
Constitutional changes, international treaties, or executive
emergency decrees are followed by a compulsory referendum
vote.
Some Cantons require a referendum vote for expenditures
exceeding a certain amount.
The law/constitutional change/treaty/budget item comes into
effect if a simple majority of voters approve it.
Note: There are no non-binding, informative referendums in
Switzerland.
There is also an administrative entity called a district (county) and
the rough concept of a region.
Public officials face re-election every four years. There
are usually 4 to 6 ballots a year on multiple subjects (mainly
referendums) and elections, on all levels.
Women and men have equal rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution.
2.4.1 Communal
Those 18 years of age or older are eligible to vote. In some cantons,
such as Neuchatel, non-Swiss long-time residents (C permit, 5 years)
may also vote. Eligible are usually the same as the voters (even
foreigners in some cantons, except for special offices). The main
apparatus is the Communal Council (executive) and the General Council
(legislative branch). The mayor is usually called a chairman;
sometimes he is called `maire' (Jura) or `syndic' (Vaud), and he is
called a Gemeindeamman or Stadtamman in AG. In BE, there is the
Gemeinde-(or Stadt-)praesident, and the Gemeinderatspraesident.. There
are usually initiative, petition and referendum possibilities.
2.4.2 Cantons
Voters are women or men aged 18 (no foreigners). Eligible are same.
There is usually a `Grand Council' (legislative branch) and a `State
Council' (executive). The Cantons have a very high degree of
independence. See 2.5.1. Basically each canton has its own political
model and a generalization is only possible to a certain
extent. Foreigner's vote has been discussed in Neuchatel (voted and
refused), Geneva and AR, but has not been accepted yet.
Some Cantons (Swiss-German) have a very special democratic assembly
called a Landsgemeinde where all important decisions are made. This
public assembly is held on the central square of the Canton's capital.
These are the following Cantons and half-cantons, along with their
entry dates into the Swiss Confederation:
Aargau (AG; 1803), Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden (AR/half; 1501),
Basel-Landschaft (BL/half; 1501), Basel-Stadt (BS/half; 1501), Bern
(BE; 1353), Fribourg (FR; 1481), Geneve (GE; 1815), Glarus (GL; 1352),
Graubunden (GR; 1803), Appenzell Inner-Rhoden (AI/half; 1501), Jura
(JU; 1978), Luzern (LU; 1332), Neuchatel (NE; 1815), Nidwalden
(NW/half; 1291), Obwalden (OW/half; 1291), Sankt Gallen (SG; 1803),
Schaffhausen (SH; 1501), Schwyz (SZ; 1291), Solothurn (SO; 1481),
Thurgau (TG; 1803), Ticino (TI; 1803), Uri (UR; 1291), Valais (VS;
1815), Vaud (VD; 1803), Zug (ZG; 1352), Zuerich (ZH; 1351).
You can find a map of Switzerland with the Cantons and lakes at the
following URL:
http://www-internal.alphanet.ch/archives/gfx/maps/suisse2.gif
2.4.3 Confederation
The Federal Constitution from 1848 has been largely influenced by the
constitution of the USA: a Parliament made up of the representatives
of the People and of the States. Voters are the same as in
Cantons. There is the `Federal Assembly', the legislative branch,
composed of two chambers (National Council, or People's chamber, and
the Council of States). Members of both chambers are elected by the
people; the election procedures are, nevertheless, different for the
two chambers: each state has a number of seats in the National Council
proportional to its population and the election modus is
proportional and handled at the federal level. On the contrary, the
Council of States is meant to represent the Cantons (there are 2
senators per Canton, 1 for half-cantons) and councillors are elected
with rules varying from Canton to Canton, usually
majoritarian. Originally, the role of this chamber was to prevent a
single Canton (e.g. Zuerich for Swiss-German, or Geneva for
French-speaking) to control the decisions. A bill becomes law if it
passes both chambers (assuming the law is not subject to compulsory
referendum, or referendum, where the people have the last
word). Differences in opinion between the two chambers are conciliated
in a joint conference committee.
There is no Constitutional Court: thus federal laws and acts sometimes
conflict with the Constitution. As a last resort, the Federal Court can
hear specific cases and emit a jurisprudence.
The executive power is vested in the Federal Council, composed of 7
Federal Councillors, each of whom is the head of a federal
department. The presidency and vice-presidency are held every year by a
different member of the Federal Council (by rotation). The Federal
Council is elected by the Federal Assembly after proposition by the
main Parties.
The 1999 Federal Councillors and their portfolios are:
Ruth METZLER, AI [ CVP ] Department of Justice and Police
Joseph DEISS, FR [ CVP ] Department of Foreign Affairs
Kaspar VILLIGER, LU [ FDP ] Department of the Treasury
Samuel SCHMID, BE [ SVP ] Department of the Defence
[ Formerly ``of the Military'', now
including again sports ]
Ruth DREIFUSS, GE/AG/BE [ SP ] Department of Internal Affairs
Pascal COUCHEPIN, VS [ FDP ] Department of Public Economy
Moritz LEUENBERGER, ZH [ SP ] Department of Energy, Transport,
and Communications
[ naming has slightly changed, but
we don't care, really ]
President for 2001 is Kaspar VILLIGER (2001: Moritz LEUENBERGER; 2000:
Adolf OGI; 1999: Ruth DREIFUSS; 1998: Flavio COTTI; 1997: Arnold
KOLLER; 1996: Jean-Pascal DELAMURAZ; 1995: Kaspar VILLIGER).
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