Swiss Review 2/2019

Swiss Review / March 2019 / No.2 18 Politics JÜRG MÜLLER Swiss living abroad had to wait ex- actly 167 years from the founding of the federal state in 1848 until one of their own was first elected to the Na- tional Council. It finally happened in 2015. The prominent ex-diplomat Tim Guldimann (SP), resident in Ber- lin, entered parliament as the first “true” Swiss Abroad. There is a reason for the weak representation of the “Fifth Switzerland” in parliament. In contrast to Guldimann, the majority of the candidates are relatively un- known both at home and abroad. De- spite this obstacle, interest in an elected role is growing. Only three Swiss citizens living abroad stood for election in 1995. In 2015, the number had grown to 56. Interest in elections and voting in the homeland is also in- creasing slightly. In 2018, the number of registered voters abroad rose from 172,000 to 174,000 out of a total num- ber of 752,000 Swiss expatriates. Problems after the election Once an expatriate is duly elected to the National Council, certain prob- lems need to be overcome. These be- gin with Article 10 of the Parliament Act: “Assembly members are obliged to attend themeetings of the councils and committees”. Thatmeans live and in person. No one is allowed to partic- ipate in a parliamentary debate or committee meeting via Skype, not even if they live in Australia. Travel costs begin to pile up – and the govern- ment is left footing the bill. Travel to Bern is paid for every member of the National Council regardless of where they live, even if it means they must make the trip from South America. The journey to the Swiss border is charged to the government; all mem- bers of parliament are given a Swiss GA travelcard for travel within Swit- zerland. There is still another problem, however, for those who want to fulfil a Swiss parliamentary role from abroad. It is not easy to live in one country and engage in politics in an- other. Tim Guldimann summed up the dilemma nicely: “A tram inZurich is not the same as the U-Bahn in Ber- years ago twomembers of parliament made an unsuccessful proposal to cre- ate guaranteed seats for Swiss expatri- ates in the National Council and the Council of States. This approach is not common across Europe; only France, Italy, Croatia, Portugal and Romania have permanent seats in parliament reserved for the diaspora. The issue of whether Switzerland should reserve a guaranteed number of seats in parliament for its citizens living abroad will arise again even- tually. According to Ariane Rusti- chelli, director of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), a working group from the Council of the Swiss Abroad is currently investigating how to go about that. During the course of 2019, a final report with corresponding recommendations should be available. Politicians want to restrict voting rights of Swiss Abroad In Swiss politics, however, there are also sporadic efforts being made to re- strict rather than extend the right to vote and stand for election for Swiss citizens living abroad. In an interview with swissinfo, FDP member of the Council of States Andrea Caroni said that he finds it: “strange that people who have never lived in Switzerland and are not planning on returning have the right to vote and stand for election here while completely inte- grated foreigners in Switzerland are not given the right to vote on issues that affect them directly”. SVP Na- tional Council member Peter Keller, Questions are being asked about voting rights for Swiss living abroad Anyone who has a Swiss passport and lives abroad may vote and participate in elections – even standing for a seat in parliament. However, in Switzerland itself there are critical voices being raised against the expanded political rights of the “Fifth Switzerland”. lin.” He said that as a Swiss Abroad, he only managed to be present in his Zu- rich constituency for limited periods. As a result, he stood down just two years after his election in 2015. Permanent seats for Swiss living abroad? Nevertheless, efforts are continually being made to ensure the presence of the “Fifth Switzerland” in parliament on an institutional level. Around ten Tim Guldimann, the first “true” Swiss Abroad in the National Council, comments on his di- lemma: “A tram in Zurich is not the same as the U-Bahn in Berlin.” Photo: Keystone