Swiss Review 3/2021

Swiss Review / June 2021 / No.3 5 Mailbag E-voting gets a second chance The city of Zurich dispatches my voting papers in good time. But, a) I don’t receive them at all, b) I receive them too late to return themon time, or c) I don’t receive themat all until after the actual vote. Sending the voting papers back via the embas- sies seems like a good idea until e-voting is reintroduced, al- though the embassy in Thailand will have its work cut out, given the thousands of Swiss who live here. ROLF RAMSEYER, NONGPRUE, THAI L AND It is extremely regrettable that no suitable electronic voting systemhas been found. Essentially, I ambeing deprived of my political voice and rights. I cannot believe that financial or technical problems are the issue. Instead, the powers that be simply lack the urgency and drive needed to get the job done. NOEL FREI , ADDIS ABABA , ETHIOPIA It is very important for our democracy to be able to vote eas- ily. The Genevan system that I used each time I voted was far more reliable than voting by postal ballot, where we have no proof that our envelope has arrived safety and hasn’t just been mislaid somewhere! It’s true that democracy has a price. But we have to decide if, on cost grounds, we want to reduce the reach of Swiss citizens’ democracy. SACHA PERZOFF, MONTPELL IER, FRANCE Thank you very much for this enlightening article. Obviously, the federal government should help to fund e-voting. After all, it is mainly national issues on which we expatriates are able to vote. A secure e-voting systemshould be possible in this day and age – at least one that is as secure as ballot-box voting, which also has loopholes. We should not be so naive as to be- lieve that in-person voting is completely watertight either. MATTHIAS BRIAN, SUNDSVALL, SWEDEN E-voting is an absolute necessity for Swiss expatriates. It is the only way to be sure that our votes have actually been entered in the system. I have used it for several years and had zero is- sues. It givesme immediate confirmation thatmy vote has been recorded – which is what matters more than creating a paper trail. ROGER SUHR, INDIANAPOL IS, USA Sorglos Wasser trinken: Ein gefährdetes Privileg Bei den Bündner Bergbauern: Sie sind die Bio-Schweizer-Meister Psychoanalytiker Peter Schneider: «Mit dem Virus kann die Schweiz nicht verhandeln» SCHWEIZER REVUE Die Zeitschrift für Auslandschweizer APRIL 2021 Herausgeberin der «Schweizer Revue» ist die Auslandschweizer-Organisation Any e-voting system needs to be under centralised govern- ment control. As far as costs are concerned, expatriates being able to exercise their voting rights should actually be worth the government’swhile. In themeantime, returning our postal votes via the embassies is a good idea. GI LBERT L AISSUE, CHON BURI , THAI L AND IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 47 th year of publication and is published in German, French, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 431,000, including 253,000 electronic copies. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertisements and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. EDITORS: Marc Lettau (MUL), Editor-in-Chief; Stéphane Herzog (SH); Theodora Peter (TP); Susanne Wenger (SWE); Consular Directorate, Innovation and Partnerships, responsible for the “Notes from Parliament Building” section. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Sandra Krebs TRANSLATION: SwissGlobal Language Services AG; LAYOUT: Joseph Haas, Zürich; PRINT: Vogt-Schild Druck AG, 4552 Derendingen POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110. Account: IBAN CH97 0079 0016 1294 4609 8 / KBBECH22 Email: revue@swisscommunity.org COPY DEADLINE for this edition: 31 March 2021 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 fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent the magazine direct from Berne. www.revue.ch CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to the editorial office in Berne. Peter Schneider on Covid-19 What an insightful and honest comment from a Swiss colleague. Living in New Zealand, we have been successful in eliminating the virus fromour population, but it has come despite the clamour of some nay-sayers who took up the views of many Swiss and their leaders. The authorities held their nerve and followed scientific advice. Vi- ruses need to be treated as infectious agents that do notmake exceptions for commerce or personal preferences. As Dr Schneider said, you cannot have a healthy workforce if they play second fiddle to business interests. GI LBERT BARBEZAT, DUNEDIN, NEW ZEAL AND As someone who believed Switzerland to be beyond reproach, I was surprised to read this article. But these days anything is possible, unfortunately. But after all, we all makemistakes; the important thing is to admit themand do better next time round. MARIE FRANÇOISE MAAG, PARIS, FRANCE Thank you for this article. This man is a very clear thinker. It is not my place to judge the choices of each country in their han- dling of this virus; the life of each person must remain para- mount. DANIEL CHOLLET, FRANCE About “Swiss Review” in general I thought the April edition of “Swiss Review”was excellent. All the articles covered pertinent issues andwere polemical, frank and compelling. Based on thismaterial, it is good to see that you have no need or desire to pull punches any longer. IRENE VON HARTZ , BAD BERLEBURG, GERMANY