THE MAGAZINE FOR THE SWISS ABROAD NOvEMBER 2011 / N O. 5 50 years of development aid: prospects needed, not good intentions The Swiss political landscape after the elections Swiss literature – constantly restricted ORGANISATION OF THE SWISS ABROAD “The SwissCommunity platform networks Swiss people worldwide via the web.” Ursula Deplazes Researcher from Graubünden, living in Rome “Networking plays an important role among the Swiss abroad – both personally and profes- sionally.” Daniel Keller Manager from Zurich, living in Hanoi “The local experience Urs Steiner of Swiss people can Teacher from Berne, head be very valuable to an of the Swiss School in Peru international consultant like me.” “Get to know other Swiss people abroad, exchange useful addresses, nd out about Switzerland … I can do all these things on SwissCommunity.” Network with other Swiss abroad Keep up to date on relevant news and events Find an apartment – or the best fondue in town Discover Switzerland Sign up for free membership www.swisscommunity.org SwissCommunity partners EDITORIAL CONTENTS 3 The course has not yet been set 5 WITZERLAND HAS VOTED, and we now know the winners and losers. However, Mailbag the results of the elections on 23 October do not tell the whole story of Swit- 5 Szerland’s political future. The situation will become clearer after 14 December Books: Democracy and the people following the Federal Council election. The key issue at the moment is whether the 7 system of concordance will be revived by a newly negotiated magic formula or whether Images: Changes in China it will be abandoned. In the September edition of “Swiss Review”, Professor Georg 8 Kohler outlined how this could result in political deadlock with unforeseeable con- Switzerland has been committed to develop- sequences for Switzerland. One thing is for sure and that is that ever since CVP Fed- ment aid for 50 years – some controversy eral Councillor Ruth Metzler was voted out of office in 2003 the magic formula that over how much and what type of aid to give had existed with stability since 1959 has been consigned to history. Read about the 12 possible scenarios for the Federal Council election and how the parties and candi- Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey dates are positioning themselves on page 13 onwards. steps down – a review of her term in office This election also raises the question of what the parties actually understand by concordance. Is the magic formula a purely mathematical model according to which 13-16 Parliamentary elections Federal Council seats are distributed by share of the vote? Or does concordance re- quire a degree of agreement on issues, values and ideas about how a state should function? Regional news The de-selection of Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher in 2007 resulted in considerable intense and sometimes absurd de- 17 Didier Cuche – already a legend, but he has bate in Switzerland and ultimately led to an initiative for the postponed his retirement popular election of the Federal Council. Blocher has still not come to terms with the humiliation of this defeat. In an inter- 20 view with the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” two months before the The role of the media – critical analysis from elections, when asked to comment on his present frame of mind, Professor Kurt Imhof he said: “Of course I am bitter.” This bitterness has provided him with the incentive 21 to carry out a tireless campaign over the past four years and he has succeeded in mak- Swiss writers – unable to survive on a domes- ing himself the centre of attention, whatever happens in politics. Blocher provides tic readership alone and often overlooked his party with political ideas and principles and – together with his extremely wealthy abroad friends – he possesses the financial means to engulf Switzerland, from Romanshorn 22 to Geneva, with propaganda. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is increasingly adopt- The legendary Alps – an archive containing ing the approach of playing popular rule off against the rule of law. Opponents are images and documents spanning several defamed and simplistic solutions are put forward to complex problems. Populism is centuries experiencing a boom. This was one of the main issues for debate at the Congress of the Swiss Abroad in Lugano in August (page 24). 24 OSA news Much was written during the election campaign about how right-wing conser - vative politicians, with the support of industry federations, were specifically 27 setting out to bring about a fundamental transformation of Swiss politics. A book Notes from Parliament by Oswald Sigg and Viktor Parma (page 5) provides an insight into this. The loss 30 of solidarity within society and the egotism of a decadent upper social stratum – Treasures not just in Switzerland but worldwide – should not be overlooked. This has already led to revolt and unrest in many places. Let’s hope the new and re-elected politicians 31 Echo comprehend that the growing number of disillusioned and frustrated who have no prospects is also a threat to social harmony and prosperity in Switzerland. Barbara ENGEL Cover image: The construction of bridges is part of Swiss development aid work. Ghana, where this photograph was taken, is a priority country for Switzerland. Photo: Keystone IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss abroad, is in its 38th year of publication and is published in German, French, Italian, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 395,000. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. These contents do not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. vember 2011 / No. 5 / No. vember 2011 n EDITORS: Barbara Engel (BE), Editor-in-Chief; René Lenzin (RL); Alain Wey (AW); Marc Lettau (MUL); Manuel Gnos (MAG); Jean-François Lichtenstern (JFL), responsible for “Notes No from Parliament”, Relations with the Swiss Abroad, FDFA, CH-3003 Berne. Translation: CLS Communication AG n LAYOUT: Herzog Design, Zurich n POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, edito- W IE rial office, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Berne. Tel.: +41313566110, Fax: +41313566101, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. V E n n n n E-MAIL: [email protected] INTERNET: www.revue.ch PRINT: Swissprinters St.Gallen AG, CH-9001 St.Gallen. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consu- R n ISS late. Do not write to Berne. All Swiss abroad who are registered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual W S fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. Copy deadline for this edition: 26.10.11 Vorsorgen in Schweizer Franken. Agentur Auslandschweizer Stefan Böni Dorfstrasse 140, 8706 Meilen +41 44 925 39 39, www.swisslife.ch/aso Inserat_Midi_Stefan Böni_90x64.5.indd 1 01.12.2010 14:26:28 TEMPTED BY A RAGUSA? We’d be pleased to tell you where you can buy Ragusa in your area, or how you can open your own Ragusa depot: tel. 0041 32 945 12 00 or [email protected] MAILBAG BOOKS 5 Fukushima: warning sign tion with solar has been so deep a federal council spokesman and a journalist – two people and wake-up call and dismal a failure that it’s who are extremely familiar with the workings of the Federal The conservative parties hard to understand people tak- Palace in Berne – have written a book together. However, this and right-wing journalists al- ing it seriously. is not a title full of anecdotes about Bernese political life. ways focus on costs when it GEOFF RUSSELL, AUSTRALIA Instead, Oswald Sigg and Viktor Parma focus on the mecha- comes to the issue of abandon- nisms behind Swiss politics that few know about. The book’s ing nuclear power. Whatever Offensive final chapter begins: “Whether we are talking about lobbying, the cost of decommissioning a It is fantastic that “Swiss sleaze or the political class, anxiety over the corruptibility nuclear power plant, that is Review” keeps us up to date of democracy is spreading.” Even the Federal Council is only part of the problem. The about the latest developments concerned about democratic deficits, otherwise why would it permanent disposal of nuclear and events in Switzerland. have declared the “challenges to democracy in the 21st waste still has to be resolved, However, I was outraged at century” a national research priority? but the advocates of nuclear the picture on page 19 in the The chapter on the Federal Council’s meetings and the power do not tell us about September 2011 edition. It is meeting room makes entertaining reading (see page 16). Few that, let alone what a disaster not only offensive and dis- From inside the circle of power people have better knowledge of this than Sigg, who first would cost Switzerland. The tasteful towards our female worked under several Federal Councillors before later becoming right-wing and conservative Federal Councillors but also Vice-Chancellor and Spokesperson for the Federal Council. In his groups are also reticent to re- towards women in general. view, the tradition of open debate where joint solutions are sought veal how many new jobs with- This was very inappropriate and decisions taken collegially has been completely eroded in recent drawal from nuclear power for “Swiss Review” and indeed years. Voting has become increasingly commonplace on the Federal would create. any other magazine. Council, like a small-scale parliament, and everyone is eager to Progress means demon- MARGRET ZINGG, Taiwan conclude meetings before lunch if possible. strating the courage and de- In the chapter entitled “Parliament”, Viktor Parma provides an as- sire to embrace innovation.