Under this system, the people are regularly invited to vote on various issues in national or regional referenda through popular initiatives, an optional referendum or a mandatory referendum. The Federal Council holds the executive power and is composed of seven power-sharing Federal Councillors elected by the Federal Assembly. The Swiss ambassador to the US, Martin Dahinden, stated that “Swiss direct democracy is not an export product”, but that it could certainly serve as “inspiration”. In May 2011, due to the Fukushima accident in Japan, the Swiss government decided to abandon plans to build new nuclear reactors. “Citizen participation is a central element of our democracy,” says Dane Waters, head of the University of Southern California’s Initiative and Referendum Institute. The Index of perception of corruption puts Switzerland among the least corrupt nations. There’s a reason: constitutional changes in all states must be approved by voters at the ballot box. [4] Such a federal popular initiative is formulated as a precise new text (general proposal initiatives have been canceled in 2009[5]) whose wording can no longer be changed by parliament and the government. The only exception is Delaware. Under this system, the people are regularly invited to vote on various issues in national or regional referenda through popular initiatives, an optional referendum or a mandatory referendum. Voters in the canton of Geneva also voted separately on a union-backed proposal to introduce a minimum wage for the canton. Nearly 62 percent of voters said they wanted to keep free movement, while 38 percent were against, representing a major victory for the government. The democracy expert’s topic of interest – supported by a grant from the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich – is the mutual inspiration and transfer of ideas between the US and Switzerland. Switzerland is often considered as a role model. This power-sharing system serves to avoid monopolization of federal politics by more populated cantons to the detriment of smaller and rural cantons. ‘Never let anyone else define who you are’ – valedictorian of CPTI class of 2020, Students get new option for school leaving memorabilia, Sharpes football title goes Up in the Hole, Table Tennis keep fit tournament restarts tomorrow, Ronaldo Franklyn heads out to GC Foster College, ULP has failed Southern Grenadines – Ollivierre, NLA $125,000 scratch game jackpot claimed, Brewster assures youth their future is secure with ULP, National Nine Mornings committee meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Unicomer announces new credit recovery programme, NDP, please shed light on my concerns – Student in Taiwan. From 1959 to 2003 the Federal Council was composed of a coalition of all major parties in the same ratio: two each from the Free Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and Christian Democratic People's Party and one from the Swiss People's Party. However, what is important here is the principle of having a more people-centred democracy which could also be achieved through a more deliberative form of democracy. Initiatives (that are of constitutional level) have to be accepted by a double majority of both the popular votes and a majority of the cantons, while counter-proposals may be of legislative level and hence require only simple majority. Also, any citizen may seek a decision on an amendment they want to make to the constitution. In recent years, Switzerland has seen a gradual shift in the party landscape. Together with seven other European nations, Switzerland leads the 2005 index on Freedom of the Press published by Reporters Without Borders (with a score 0.5 points, zero being the perfect score). This role is assumed by the people, which acts as a guardian and can repeal any legislation or constitutional change. “Here in the library of [President Wilson], who was a supporter of the direct democratic rights of the people, I have access to all of the writings and books that exist on my topic.". From time to time there is talk in Switzerland about creating larger cantons. However, at a time when democracy appears to be broken in many countries around the world (recall a few weeks ago I wrote about democratic backsliding), finding a way to have a more inclusive form of governance might be key to curing some of the democratic ills that many countries are currently facing. The Information & Communications Sector is led by Vice-Chancellor André Simonazzi, this role also has expanded to become the official spokesman for the Federal Council in 2000. However, in more recent times the powers of the Confederation have increased with regard to education, agriculture, health, energy, the environment, organized crime, and narcotics.

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