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British schoolchildren are being invited to study and
compare the British and Swiss systems of government using a project pack
being sent to secondary schools by the Swiss Embassy.
There is a competition in which schools are invited
to enter teams in age ranges 11-13 and 14-16. Shortlisted teams will be
invited to London to debate the case for change on an issue and to visit
the Houses of Parliament, and the national winners will be given trips
to Switzerland, visiting the Swiss Parliament in Berne and the UN in Geneva.
The material in the pack highlights "the values
of using direct democracy to bring issues closer to citizens". Switzerland
is described as a "bottom up" system while the British system
is "top down". The Swiss system is said to be slow but stable;
the British system in which government and parliament take decisions largely
without consulting the people is described as often faster but "more
subject to short-termism as politicians live from one election to another".
The two systems are illustrated in the form of triangles;
the British one has the Queen perched uncomfortably on top of a heap with
normal people at the bottom; the Swiss triangle is upside down with the
people on top and the President of the Confederation apparently bearing
the whole weight of the democratic system.
Matters discussed in the pack include different electoral
systems, popular initiatives and referendums including developments across
the EU.
The emphasis on consensus building is mentioned but
the lack of any sense of a role for an opposition is not.
The Swiss system is described as "bottom up"
but not as "federal" although there are references to the Confederation
and the federal government and institutions.
There is discussion of the difficulties which direct
democracy may create if Switzerland joins the EU and of the fears of some
Swiss for change in their institutions if they join. The Swiss government,
the Federal Council, has only seven ministers; no reference is made to
the difficulties this may cause in EU Council meetings. This lack of political
ministers gives a greater political role to national civil servants.
The pack is written by Julie Easy of the Institute
for Citizenship with contributions by Bruno Kaufmann of the Initiative
and Referendum Institute Europe (IRI) and Paolo Dardanelli of the University
of Kent and is linked to the Local Government Association's Local Democracy
Week, 18-24 October. Competition entries have to be submitted by 25 February
2005.
The pack highlights the attractions of the Swiss system;
could this be part of an attempt by pro-EU elites in Switzerland to make
EU countries become more like Switzerland and so make EU entry more attractive
to the Swiss? This is in parallel with an initiative which many British
people would applaud;: the Swiss Embassy held a Railway Timetabling Workshop;
the British participants agreed that Britain should adopt Swiss methods.
The schools project is one of a number of initiatives
which have been undertaken while Bruno Spinner has been Ambassador in
London; he is now leaving so let us hope that such activity will continue
under his successor.
The schools packs should have reached teachers of citizenship;
secondary schoolchildren should be encouraged to see them.
This article was written by Lawrence Fullick, treasurer
of Federal Union. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Federal Union. 25 September 2004
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