More and more Swiss emigrants in places like Algeria or Congo had turned to the federal government after being stripped of their land and wealth. This motivated Berne to frame Switzerland’s relationship with its emigrants in unequivocal terms. Secondly, the Cold War of the 1960s marked a return to “geistige Landesverteidigung”, the intellectual defence of the nation, which advocated Switzerland’s “otherness”. Everything Swiss was good, both in Switzerland and abroad. Thirdly, globalisation: so much was changing around the world, so it made sense to focus on what made Switzerland unique. The economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s brought high levels of immigration, construction activity and population growth. The Swiss economy became more insame time. Calls for national vigilance during the national exhibition of 1964 were juxtaposed with messages of openness and optimism in the future. The Zurich philologist Karl Schmid described this contradiction notably as a form of malaise in his 1963 book “Unbehagen im Kleinstaat”. The constitutional change in 1966 suited both sides of the argument, because it was an affirmation of Switzerland and its values both at home and abroad. The new clause was duly accepted by all the cantons and almost 70 per cent of voters. The biggest yes vote was in Geneva, the lowest in Schwyz, Valais and Obwalden. The fact that over 30 per cent voted no nevertheless showed that some Swiss still viewed emigrants as absconders who did not merit any state handouts. After 1966 The popular decision redefined the relationship between Switzerland and its diaspora. Emigrants and their families felt valued by their inclusion in the constitution. In its review of 1966, the OSA spoke of the “dawn of a new age”. The new constitutional article prompted the federal government to gradually address some other issues: access to welfare benefits (responsibility for this shifted from cantonal to federal level in 1974); military service in peacetime; and the right to political participation. Expatriates are entitled to vote and stand for election, based on a federal act that came into force in 1977. This entitlement never expires but is inherited by the passport-holding next of kin. Restricting voting rights to expatriates who have lived outside the country for no more than a few years (as was the case in Canada until recently) was not considered an option. Expatriate voting was less widespread at first, because emigrants still had to physically cast their vote The constitutional change in 1966 suited both sides of the argument, because it was an affirmation of Switzerland and its values both at home and abroad. tegrated with other economies. Swiss banking was on the up. Berne signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the precursor of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in 1966. This transformation also stirred up fears: the anti-immigration farright Nationale Aktion party was founded in 1961. In the 1960s, Switzerland was opening its economy while pulling up the psychological drawbridge at the Voting papers land in our letter boxes three to four times a year. The procedure is so regular, or even humdrum, that many people don’t bother to vote these days. But direct democracy can have a durable impact, explain David Hesse and Philipp Loser in their book. The two authors – both of them journalists and historians – had the brilliant idea of selecting 30 of the most consequential referendums out of the hundreds of plebiscites that have taken place since the birth of the federal Swiss state in 1848. Some votes are automatic choices, such as the emphatic yes to OASI (1947), the belated yes to women’s suffrage (1971), and the narrow no to Switzerland joining the European Economic Area (1992). Yet the book also addresses issues that are a little less memorable, including the birth of the Swiss Federal Railways (1898), the integration of the “Fifth Switzerland” (1966, see main text), and the end of patriarchical marriage (1985). Switzerland played a pioneering role in protecting workers’ rights, by approving the Factory Act in 1877. And whereas the “excess of foreigners” initiative failed at the ballot box in 1970, the initiative “against mass immigration” was approved 44 years later. Many of the referendums covered in the book were a proverbial tale of blood, sweat and tears. Hesse and Loser document the backstories, debates, results and real-life consequences of each vote, providing a refreshing and extremely interesting take on these events. “Switzerland is the product of water, weather, rocks – and popular votes,” they write. (SWE) Every vote counts “Heute Abstimmung! 30 Volksabstimmungen, die die Schweiz verändert haben”; David Hesse and Philipp Loser, Limmat-Verlag, 2024, 248 pages, CHF 38.00 in Switzerland. The situation only changed in 1992 when postal voting was introduced. Swiss Abroad can now vote at their original or most recent Swiss place of domicile – physically or otherwise. Individual cantons have been piloting e-voting for Swiss Review / April 2025 / No.2 21
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