Comment by soco
3 years ago
Switzerland mandates (okay not by law but an old custom) the government to be put together by all major parties whatever they are at the latest elections. Right now there are 7 persons from 4 parties and lo, it works finely. The USA and its bipartisan system is not exactly the yardstick for functioning politics and (super)majorities should definitely never become goals. As surprising as it might come, negotiations can and do work.
Can't agree more, super majority is a dangerous situation if folks laughing at democracy take helm (like it or not, Trump was a perfect definition of it within western democracies, although dictators like putin run circles with big grin around such people). 4 years is plenty to do a lot of damage if actors at power are malevolent.
The problem of using Switzerland as a yardstick is that barely any population anywhere can match up maturity and morality of them, maybe some nordics. Give a glimpse of same freedom/responsibility to otherwise mature British folks and we have brexit.
US has many fine things running for it, but politics (and healthcare, education, criminality etc) definitely ain't it and should not be taken as inspiration. The whole us-vs-them mentality that such longterm bipartisan system brings is very limiting. What if I like low taxes, while also supporting abortions and legal soft drugs? Or any other mix that would be pretty schizophrenic in US.
Maybe the maturity and morality in CH and the Nordics comes from properly funded and independent curriculum education, which probably stems from good governance, which comes from a system that rewards rough consensus and compromise. It's a virtuous circle.
> The problem of using Switzerland as a yardstick is that barely any population anywhere can match up maturity and morality of them, maybe some nordics.
I don't think that's fair, both to nordics and to British folks. People are mature because the system treats them as mature. If the system obviously has contempt for you and everyone like you, then of course you will act out like a youngest child.
> The problem of using Switzerland as a yardstick is that barely any population anywhere can match up maturity and morality of them, maybe some nordics.
GP isn't talking about direct democracy but their governing cabinet which is basically how governing cabinets in the majority of Europe are formed.
The majority of European cabinets are formed by a parliamentarian coalition which usually reached a majority. The Swiss cabinet is formed by design from all the major parties, so there's no coalition needed between them - once you get enough votes you're in. It's just when the ministers are in function they cannot publicly dissent from the governing line or they fly out (it happens) - which is forcing them to negotiate behind the scenes the governing line, of course each according to their party mandate.