Kindness in politics. The Kindness Aneffect indicator of good governance. How it contributes to our well-being

TextKindness by Pina Anna-Grace in Depolitics. Rosa Avatars’An indicator photos by Maurizio of good Raffa governance.

Text by Matteo Quadranti Photos by Paola Rezzonico

1 GentleBooklets GentleBooklets Kindness in politics. Kindness in politics. An indicator of good governance. An indicator of good governance.

#15. Kindness in politics. An indicator of good governance.

Text by Matteo Quadranti Photos by Paola Rezzonico

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GentleBooklets It is a series of long-form articles written by different authors. The booklets, designed for a quick read, feature texts and images. We have kindly asked to the authors to comment on the term “kindness.” Authors and photographers have donated their work. The motivations behind the project are the same as those of Gentletude, the desire to spread awareness about the need for “kindness” in our society, a society too focused on personal success to remember the basics of everyday living and respect for the environment that hosts us. Our decision to present these ideas in a series of publi- cations is due to the awareness that, in order to stimu- late people to think about these issues, it is necessary to present some concrete examples. In this case, the ex- © 2014 Editions Gentletude Riva Caccia 1d POBox 5710 amples are provided in the texts written by the authors. CH-6901 [email protected] www.gentletude.com

Managing Editor for this issue: Chiara Ferrero.

Translation from the Italian by Valentina Gianoli ([email protected])

Distribution by www.steppa.net.

The duplication and use of GentleBooklets is possible after written permission and by citing the source.

If necessary, please print on recycled paper or FSC certified.

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Introduction

I have chosen to be involved in politics and I have made this decision during my stud- ies at the University of Geneva: this town is indeed very inspiring, even in international, political terms. My degree thesis, on Pub- lic Law, dealt with the governmental Finan- cial Plan and Agenda, used by the State as tools to act.

My main wish was using my skills to the benefit of politics, unselfishly focusing on the needs of the population and of the oth- ers in general, as I have done in several social and cultural charitable activities.

Of course, I also had some utopias and expectations. Even though I am now more disillusioned than I used to be while at uni- versity, these have remained almost un- changed and can be realized through some values and principles, such as social and distributive justice, focusing on people in need or having difficulties and the very same starting opportunities, regardless of their social condition, status or race.

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The political system in Switzerland The two chambers gather in the National Assembly for the elections of the Federal In Switzerland, but not only, the way pol- Council, that is the government, composed itics is dealt with has changed. It has of seven members. Therefore, the Swiss changed especially in the last 30 years, government is elected by the two Cham- due to laissez-faire, to the increasing bers and not by the population. Each Fed- power in the hands of mainly financial and eral Councilor has the same status and on economic lobbies, to the role played by an annual basis, a President is appointed, the media and the coming of populist “par- who mainly have representative functions. ties”. Conversely, each Canton has a unicamer- It has undoubtedly been a detrimental al parliament and a government (Council change, even though conflicts of parties of State). Their composition and election and strong fights on issues and ideas differ from one Canton to another. In the have always occurred in our history. To- Canton of , the population directly day, there is no respect for people, no elect the five State Councilors and the 90 time to reflect, no transparency and cor- members of the Gran Consiglio based on rectness to avoid conflicts due to personal the proportional system. interests. It is worth to highlight that the typically At a federal level, we have a bicameral Swiss direct democratic system and the Parliament including a National Council proximity of each politician with the pop- and a Council of States. The former is ulation allow for widespread contacts, composed of 200 members who are pro- therefore, local issues, but not only, are portionally elected by the population of quickly submitted to the parliament and each Canton. The latter is composed of to the government. Therefore, the feder- 46 members (two per Canton) elected by alist distribution of governmental tasks at the population of each Canton. These rep- a municipality, canton and federal level, resent the government of each Canton. which may however be optimized, is gen-

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12 13 Kindness in politics. Kindness in politics. An indicator of good governance. An indicator of good governance. erally more successful than centralizing In the parliament plenum, gathering ap- systems. Of course, due to these char- proximately 10 times a year for 3 or 4 con- acteristics, it takes long to adopt the rel- secutive days, individual parliamentarians evant solutions to issues, but this is the or groups may support or oppose the com- price to be paid to find the right political mission report. Eventually, speakers have compromises. the last word to persuade the majority to vote for their report. Also the Government The Role of Parliamentarians has the right to intervene and may support or oppose the commission report. Each In Switzerland, Parliamentarians conduct parliamentarian may at any time submit a militant activity, entering some commis- questions to the Government, on some sions that gather once or twice a month specific issues more details are required to analyze in depth some issues and bills of, to which the Government must reply. assigned by the parliament plenum. The aforementioned commissions receive Differences from the nearest Italy governmental messages, legislative initia- tives taken by the Members of Parliament The main difference undoubtedly lies in or by people, they discuss and examine alliances. In Italy, the center-right and them also relying upon some external ex- center-left wings exist, forming often tem- perts and/or lobbies and eventually as- porary and changing alliances, based on sess whether said initiatives comply with opportunistic or economic interests. In the Constitution and the higher federal Switzerland this does not exist yet, even law. though the proportional system has had In turn or upon demand, parliamentarians some flaws, especially since the creation volunteer as speakers for the report issued of new parties. Once only conservatism, by the relevant commission to be submit- liberalism and socialism existed, now also ted to the parliament plenary session. the , the Democratic Union

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16 17 Kindness in politics. Kindness in politics. An indicator of good governance. An indicator of good governance. of the Center, the Green Party and the understandings or irrelevant issues. The Communist Party do. In the past parties ability consists in fostering reflection and managed to reach agreement on the agen- analysis without imposing one’s opinion. da, but today they do not. Whenever they It takes respect of the citizens and of their exist, majorities constantly change, there- ability to have their opinion. One of the fore political activity becomes increasingly principles I often pinpoint is free will. difficult. A proposal may take a long time The best choice should not be the best and not be implemented because it is now decision for oneself, but for the greater fashionable to change one’s opinion at the good. very last moment, depending on the mood Citizens are undoubtedly disgusted by ag- of the population and the election period. gressive and shouted politics neglecting Another difference undoubtedly lies in the their interests. Kind politicians present is- federalist system I have mentioned ear- sues in simple and reassuring terms, be- lier. cause they are persuaded of their argu- ments and do not need to raise their voice. Kindness as an indicator of In the last few years, the degree of insecu- good governance rity and fear has grown in the country. It is therefore necessary to bring back serenity I think kindness is a way of thinking, partly also through the way we communicate. innate and partly learn from one’s parents and teachers. Kindness means respecting Today politicians’ fancy attitude is in- things, animals and people of any status- creasingly used to support their election. es, races and origins. The fancy approach used by some poli- ticians has been implemented following In politics, kindness translates in ex- the arrival of some populist movements, pressing oneself and making oneself un- wanting to have the exclusive proximity derstood correctly, honestly, without mis- to people. Politicians must undoubtedly

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20 21 Kindness in politics. Kindness in politics. An indicator of good governance. An indicator of good governance. reach consensus, but I believe that this economic growth, no bilateral agreements should be done with kindness and intel- with the European Union. This is an illu- lectual honesty and not with this false and sion, a populist utopia, because Switzer- biased fancy attitude. land lives thanks to relationships with the EU, its main commercial partner. Those who want most people to like them, will promise something to everybody. It is Bank secrecy actually was a real source of hypocrisy revealing itself in something in- wellness and wealth for Switzerland, but tangible. On the contrary, the need exists after 2008 global financial crisis, the other for people giving their vision in the politi- countries have started to wage war to all cal debate. countries having bank secrecy. Therefore, we can hardly think that we have strong New needs and new opportunities bargaining power. The Swiss economy strongly depends upon the pharmaceutical A kind way to deal with issues in politics is industry, precision mechanics and trade: disseminating one’s opinions clearly, con- these sectors imply relationships with the cisely and honestly. One should not prom- rest of the world. We therefore need to ise something that cannot be realized. find new compromises and to stop believ- One cannot promise miracles when reality ing we can live outside the world. goes the other way. Closed-mindedness can be also seen in For example, in Switzerland and in the the workplace, especially in bordering Canton of Ticino, we have experienced a Cantons, like Ticino. Cross-border work- closed-minded political propaganda. Peo- ers stealing jobs to Swiss people was the ple – a word I do not like – are told that main argument used in the vote of Feb- this approach will allow going back to Swit- ruary 2014, a vote against foreigners, be zerland of the Eighties, to bank secrecy, they cross-border workers, refugees or

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24 25 Kindness in politics. Kindness in politics. An indicator of good governance. An indicator of good governance. migrants. After 20 years of fear of foreign- unkind way to communicate using a cam- ers, instilled by populists, Switzerland has paign against foreigners that was almost voted with its guts. The issue of cross- xenophobic. border workers cannot be solved easily, because our economy does need them The issue of cross-border workers is com- in several fields, such as the social and plex and must be dealt with kindly, starting health sector, the industrial manufactur- from actual proposals, such as controls on ing industry and hospitality, especially for wage dumping, allowing the State to in- low-salary jobs that people from the Can- troduce normal employment contracts, in- ton of Ticino no longer want to do. volving minimum wages and respectable and binding working hours. Education and training, in certain areas, Then we have collective employment con- such as the health sector, have not been tracts, established based on agreements able to make forecasts on the future of made by employers’ associations and jobs and on the number of specialists to trade unions. Similarly, they have become be trained. more complex, due to increasingly radical stances, stemming from the general situ- After this vote, the economic sector, as ation. well as university and research, have started to worry, fearing they would lose Furthermore, training and education valuable professionals. should be restructured. Young people need We cannot rely exclusively on the best to know actual employment possibilities, talents educated in Switzerland. For re- future emerging jobs that do not require a searchers and students, we do need Eu- degree. Basically, people from the Canton ropean and world exchange programs. of Ticino need to be guided towards jobs This is why that has been an uninformed that are done by cross-border workers. vote to raise more consensus, but also an

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What does good to politics However, we are living a profound crisis and we should restore , a way of Politics based on vilification is an unkind living together based on mutual help and way to do politics very differently from the political debate focused on issues and no past, when debates were not disrespectful. longer on aggressiveness. Nowadays, political rivals are mocked, at- tacked also based on their physical de- We must realize that something has fects and personal affairs. Aimed at silenc- changed and will change us, that the pillars ing rivals, gossip and public maliciousness of the past have disappeared and therefore are used systematically, in the press, also we will have to be more resilient in the fu- leading to libeling and insults. ture and maybe start migrating again. We, as politicians, should start thinking about When those who have different ideas are a common future vision, should find a way vilified and insulted on a daily basis, citi- to build our country, reforming the system. zens are obviously likely to feel legitimat- ed to do the same thing and this appears evident in social networks.

In the last 30 years, thanks to wealth, we have become more individualistic, as we have nurtured the idea that money can buy anything and that we do not need the oth- ers: so, why shall we respect them? Such individualistic approach leads every- body to say whatever they want without any limit, which replaces solidarity that used to lay the foundations for mutual respect.

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Conclusions started destroying this world, increasing the gap between the rich and the poor and Rude politics, blaming rivals, blaming the creating difficulties for the middle class. others, regardless of who they are, with no self-criticism, distracts voters and re- duces projects and the ability to react to the changing world. We stop being proac- tive. I hope that people will soon realize that the world is interconnected and that issues are increasingly complex. Solutions are not always easy, as typically suggest- ed by populists, promising what they are aware they cannot actually do and being dishonest to those who believe them.

I think that we will have to draw from hu- manism, we will have to focus again on human beings, to try and ensure citizens the most peaceful possible future, caring more about the environment and fostering new technologies.

The last 60 years have been extraordinary in history, started by solidarity after the Second World War and involving shared objectives, which has led to a success- ful world. Then, the greed of a few has

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AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Matteo Quadranti Paola Rezzonico Owner of the Quadranti law firm, in . After the Cantonal School of Fine Arts in Sion, she Commitments in the social and cultural fields (since attended the Art School of BES at the University of 2010): Secretary of the Association “Incontro Demo- Bern. Later on, she started a vast path of expressi- cratico” - Board Secretary of the “Fondazione del Par- ve researches, with studies of serigraphy and typo- co delle Gole della Breggia” - Former Chairman of the graphy. Pushed by her curiosity, in 2004 she started Friends Association “La Nuova Scuola di Musica”, Ba- to be interested in photography. Encouraged by the lerna - Former Vice-Chairman of the Foundation Don results obtained, she exhibited her works during se- Bautista Gargantini for education and development veral manifestations and in galleries. aid - Former Vice-Chairman of the Association Frien- Her art works display many different expressive tech- ds of Argentina, since 2008 Chairman of the ACTG, niques and reveal her innate and learnt sense for de- “Associazione Cantonale Ticinese di Ginnastica”. sign, graphic, colour and calligraphic art. Political commitments between 1992 and 1996 as Se- In 2007 she explored the calligraphic art as an ex- cretary of the PLRT Section of . From 1996 to pressive necessity. This experience fulfils the eclectic 2012 Municipal and from 2012 Vice Mayor of the Ba- identikit of Paola who, in time, gains a growing confi- lerna Municipality - Education, Culture, Sport and Re- dence in switching from a language to another, with a lations between Municipalities Department. Between consequent contamination between them. 1996 and 2013 Cantonal Delegate at the Delegates Since 2011 she lives and works in Arosio (TI), where Assembly of the Swiss Radical Party. Between 2005 she opened her activity to the public, founding “Altro, and 2010 PLR Mendrisiotto District Chairman and Atelier D’Arte” and offering to her students courses member of the PLRT Presidential Office. Since 2011 that involve a multitude of disciplines, techniques and Deputy at the . languages in the field of visual arts. www.quadranti.ch www.paolarezzonico.ch

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GENTLETUDE

Gentletude is a neologism composed of the words “gen- tilezza” (gentleness/kindness) and “attitudine” (attitude). It pursues the aims for a better world without violence, ar- rogance and rudeness. A world where caring and paying attention to others, com- mon sense and balanced competitivity are the most impor- tant things. The production provided by the association was complete- ly free, based on the Commons Creative Criteria. Gentle- tude in Italy is a non-profit organization (NPO), and in Swit- zerland is a non-profit association.

Contact Gentletude on the website: www.gentletude.com

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Rude politics, blaming rivals, blaming the others, regardless of who they are, with no self-criticism, distracts voters and reduces projects and the ability to react to the changing world.

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