Author: Maarten Koning

The long Process of Political Integration in Switzerland

As a critical friend of Switzerland, Karl Wolfgang Deutsch (1912-1992) addressed in 1976 the challenges of the 20th and the 21st century for Switzerland.

In the main part of the text, Deutsch deals with the “special case Switzerland”, the so-called – nowadays criticised – “Sonderfall der Schweiz” (special case Switzerland).

The basic question to be asked is why the process of integration in Switzerland happened and why such a singular process affected a particularly constant and particularly close integration amongst the people, who strongly adhered to their languages and the regional and other singularities to such a large extent, exists.

The process has happened over a long period of time with minimal common apparatuses of government, without common police, without common courts, and with a minimum of institutions and binding and enforceable laws. For a long time, the Swiss Confederation did not have a special and separate authority from the Cantons.

The major headings of arguments are geography, the special nature of the peasants and population, the traffic overpasses and the money economy, the ownership of weapons, the heritage of the communal movement, the lack of suppression of the peasants, the technique of federalism, a political culture of mitigation and courage, stagnation and the existence of oligarchies from 1555 to 1770, the formation of capital as a prerequisite for the industrial revolution and mitigation of social contrasts.

Karl Deutsch points to a specific pressure on the competitiveness of key industries. A country that cannot change without losing its essential identity may be in danger of future instability and even lose its existence. The solution to the problem, according to Karl Deutsch, lies in accommodating change while maintaining essential parts of the identity.

The text at hand is a published transcript of the lecture by Deutsch presented in Bern in 1976 in German. The actual text has not been formally published. The text was translated by the political scientist Daniel Frey, who published it in Switzerland in 1976.

(Source and further Information: Switzerland as a paradigmatic case of political integration, Bern, 1976; Wolf Lindner, Federalism. The Case of Switzerland, 2014)

Pavillon Le Corbusier

The Pavillon Le Corbusier on the shores of Lake Zurich is an architectural jewel. The idea for the building was initiated in 1961 by  Heidi Weber (1928).

She encouraged Le Corbusier (1887-1966) to develop his museum and pavilion to express and explain his ideas and achievements. The Pavilion opened its doors on July 15th, 1967.

Heidi Weber wrote for this occasion:  “Dieses Haus ist ein Werk von Le Corbusier. Ich habe es zu seinen  Ehren erstellen lassen um von hier aus seine Ideen zu verbreiten und in seinem Sinne in der Öffentlichkeit zu wirken“.

Le Corbusier completed the design in 1965. It was his last design and his only building of steel and glass. The Pavillon organises exhibitions and other events related to the work and life of Le Corbusier.

(Further information: Pavillon-Le Corbusier).

Maquette and images of several of his buildings 

The Rhine Gorge, the Ruinaulta and the World Water Library

The Rhine Gorge, also known as Rheinschlucht in German or Ruinaulta in Romansh, is a 400-metre-deep and 13-kilometre-long gorge located in Graubünden. It dates back to the great landslide of Flims, known as the Filmserstein-Bergstürz, which occurred approximately 9,500 years ago. Since 1977, the Rhine Gorge has been listed in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments of National Importance (BLN).

The landslide affected an area between Ilanz and Reichenau. A lake was formed, and the water of the Vorderrhein gradually made its way through the masses of stone and earth.

Numerous small peninsulas, islas, exist in the gorge. They were partly used as pasture, and arable land and settlements arose. The islas also have names: Isletta, Disla-Prau Grond, Isla Sura, Isla Sut, Islas da Bargaus, Isla da Corvs, Islas da Zir, Zir Grond, Zir Pign or Isla Davon.

Ilanz

Initially, passenger and goods roads did not run through the gorge but along its edges. They connected Reichenau-Tamins, Trin, Sagogn, Versam, Schluein, Ilanz, Castrisch, Flims, and Laax with Chur. With time, however, roads and bridges made the gorge accessible at several points.

Schloss Reichenau and the World Water Library (Welt Wasser Bibliothek)

The Vorderrhein and the Hinterhein near Reichenau-Tamins are on their way to Basel and the Netherlands

The Reichenau-Ilanz railway line, opened in 1903, connected several villages, including Versam-Safien, Sagogn, Valendas, and Castrisch, with the more distant Disentis-Mustér. Subsequently, new roads and bridges were constructed in conjunction with the railway’s development and the rise in motor traffic.

Today, with its beautiful landscape and flora, the Rhine Gorge is a nature reserve and a tourism project called “Monument Ruinault”.

(Source and further information: M. Bundi, La Ruinaulta. Ein kulturthistorisch Handbuch, Chur 2020)

Flims

Versam (Safiental)

Reichenau

Europe’s oldest democracy has a new government

On 13 December, Europe’s oldest democracy with universal suffrage (for men) elected the world’s most stable and oldest government with seven ministers (Bundesrat or Bundesratin). The appointment procedure for these seven ministers is also exceptional.

The powers, the number (seven) of ministers, the term of office of the national government, the Federal Council (Bundesrat/Conseil fédéral), and its relationship with the two chambers of Parliament, the National Council (Nationalrat/ Conseil national) and the Council of States (Ständerat/Conseil d’Etats), and the relationship with the (sovereign) cantons and their governments and parliaments are laid down in the federal Constitution.

Appointment of members of the government

The two chambers of Parliament elect or confirm each individual minister’s next term of office in a joint session (United Federal Assembly), whereby an absolute majority is required.

Any Swiss citizen is eligible to stand for election and hold this office. This corresponds to the militia system and the citizen as a politician/sovereign, who always has the last word (in mandatory and optional referendums) and sometimes even the first word (in popular initiatives).

In practice, however, the political parties nominate the candidates for ministerial office according to the magic formula (Zauberformel/formule magique). Since 1959, the four largest parties have formed the government based on a distribution according to the number of votes obtained in national elections.

This division serves to form a government as broad as possible. Swiss democracy provides for compromises and consultations with political parties and their constituencies before deciding.

Today, the Conservatives (SVP) have two seats, the Liberals (FDP) have two, the Social Democrats (SP) have two, and the Centre (Mitte) has one. This ratio reflects the results of recent national elections, although the rise of the Green parties may lead to a change.

A change in these proportions means a political earthquake, which is therefore rare. New parties or the rise or fall of existing parties must be sustained over a more extended period before the political composition of the government is changed.

Cantons and municipalities

Cantonal governments and municipal councils (comprising 5-7 people) are elected by the people based on an absolute majority per candidate. The parliaments in the cantons and communes are elected by proportional representation.

This is also a strength of the system: governments are based on an absolute majority per candidate, while parliaments are chosen by proportional representation. Only the Council of States is elected with an absolute majority per candidate.

The first Federal Council was elected on 16 November 1848. Photo: www.admin.ch

The seven wise men

The government is known as “Les sept sages” (the seven wise men/women). The quality, integrity and high level of government are generally guaranteed, even if the choice of ministers remains a political and human activity and not all choices fulfil their expectations.

Before the parties nominate candidates, an extensive and decentralised selection process is conducted, considering various criteria. Ultimately, the party leadership decides who is eligible for nomination, usually one to a maximum of three candidates.

They strive for the absolute majority in Parliament. The procedure in Parliament is strictly prescribed and involves several rounds of voting until a candidate receives the majority of the 246 votes in the United Parliament.

The vote on a new government in the united session of Parliament. Photo: www.admin.ch 

The seven Federal Councillors are elected for a four-year term. Parliament cannot dismiss them (or the government) prematurely; on the other hand, the Federal Council cannot dissolve Parliament. Federal Councillors can resign voluntarily or die prematurely within these four years, which is a rare occurrence. Parliament then appoints a new member of the Federal Council from the same party using the same procedure.

13 December 2023

On 13 December, Parliament elected or confirmed a government following the new elections to the national Parliament on 22 October 2023. Due to the resignation of a Social Democrat minister, a new Social Democrat minister was appointed. The choice fell on the candidate from the canton of Basel-Stadt. The remaining six ministers were reappointed for a four-year term of office according to the distribution of the magic formula.

Basel, 13 December 2023, after the appointment of ‘her’ federal councillor. 

Despite its great economic and strategic importance, except for two ministers, the Canton of Basel-Stadt (Canton of Basel until 1833) has not been represented in the federal government since 1848.

However, the canton played a prominent political role in 1648  (Peace of Westphalia) and in the Directorium of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803).

Johann Wettstein (1594-1666) was the most important diplomat of the Swiss Confederation in 1648 (the recognition of the Swiss Confederation of 13 cantons as a sovereign state).

Peter Ochs (1752-1821) was a member of the Directorium of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), modelled on the French model.

Peter Ochs from Basel (1752-1821), 1799. Unknown artist. Member of the Directorium of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), a kind of forerunner of today’s Bundesrat. Photo: Wikipedia

Although the parties nominate the candidates, Parliament is free to choose. It happens that “outsiders” (who were not nominated by the party) receive the most votes and not the “party soldiers”. On 13 December, a candidate from the Green Party also tried unsuccessfully to get the majority of votes. The current distribution of the magic formula is (still) intact. However, the number of votes achieved in the re-election is a judgment on the minister’s performance.

Once the new Federal Council, mainly the old Federal Council, has been confirmed, the ministerial posts are allocated to one of the seven departments. This issue is settled between the members of the Federal Council.

Conclusion

This simplified description of the election and appointment of a new Federal Council does not delve into the “political games” between and within the political parties, which also play a significant role in Switzerland.

However, the constitutional foundations (number of (seven) ministers and departments, collegiality and departmental principle), unwritten parliamentary law (magic formula and concordance principle), federal organisation, direct democracy, and the militia system guarantee adequate leadership at the national level, although polarisation does not stop at the Swiss border.

The other important principle, collegiality, is not always self-evident in this heterogeneous government (e.g. in terms of language, canton, and ideology) and is sometimes subject to tensions. However, direct democracy and the pursuit of compromise and consultation are good outlets for social discussions and political differences of opinion.

Due to the principle of collegiality, ministers speak to the outside world with one voice (in theory). However, this does not rule out differences of opinion. For example, citizens, interest groups, and politicians regularly organise referendums against decisions or laws made by ministers of their party. A popular initiative can also be directed against the government’s and its ministers’ policy.

The system also has its weaknesses. New parties, such as the Greens, often have to wait a long time to secure a seat in the government. In addition, the number of seven ministries is modelled on the situation in 1848, which is why the reform discussions focus, amongst other issues, on increasing the number of ministers and departments.

The principle and functioning of the Federal Council are not called into question. Therefore, the authors of the 1848 Constitution are the real “wise men”.

They drew on government practices in several cantons before 1798 and during the Regeneration (1830), the Directory (1795-1799) of the French Revolution, and the Directory in the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803).

The Directorium of the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803) was one of the sources of inspiration for the Federal Council in the Constitution of 1848. 

It symbolises Switzerland, an innovative and open country that combines the old with the new without neglecting its valuable heritage.

(Source: A. Vattel, der Bundesrat, Zurich. 2020; G. Malinverni, M. Hottelier, M. Hertig Randall, A. Flückiger, Droit constitutionnel suisse, Volume I, L’État, Berne 2021)

Neuchâtel Castle

In a deed of 1011, Neuchâtel (Neuenburg, new castle, castellum novum) is described as a royal residence (of Rudolph III (970-1032), the last King of the Kingdom of Burgundy, 888-1032). The first castle was built in the 11th century on an easily defensible rock.

As more houses were built around it in the 12th century, the western gate was constructed with granite. The tower, built in the 12th and 13th centuries and decorated with merlons in the 14th century, reached a height of thirty metres. A rampart with two towers doubled the dry moat at a later stage.  The castle expanded in the following centuries.

The nearby La Collégiale complex of church and monastry was built between 1185 and 1190.

(Source: J. Courvoisier et al., Neuchâtel. Histoire d’un paysage urbain, Neuchâtel, 1999).

La Collégiale de Neuchâtel 

Unrest and Unrueh in Saint-Imier and Switzerland

Switzerland is not known as a country of revolutionary change. Yet it is often at the forefront of scientific, industrial, democratic, ethical or social developments. One of these aspects was the foundation of the first democratic (for men only) Federation with three officially recognised languages in 1848.

In addition, the country served as a refuge for anarchists, revolutionaries, and political asylum seekers from all over Europe. French, Italian, Russian, Polish, German and Austrian exiles lived in all corners of the country.

Europe’s monarchs did not appreciate the Swiss concept of democracy (neither does the European Union). Following the French Revolution and subsequent wars, they sought no further experiments after 1815. The Holy Alliance was the guarantee. This alliance between Russia, Austria (Habsburg) and Prussia was concluded in Prussia on 26 September 1815.

St. Imier, building Longines in 1867. Collection: Musée Longines

Affiche Longines 1905. Collection: Musée Longines

St. Imier, Longines building today

Industrialisation created new social relations, including the rise of the working class and its movement, the emergence of the new bourgeoisie, the formation of the first political parties, and the development of anarchist and revolutionary movements.

One of the best-organised workers’ movements emerged in the watchmaking industry in the canton of Neuchâtel and today’s canton of Jura, until 1979, the canton of Bern. La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle set the tone in the canton of Neuchâtel. St Imier was an important watchmaking town in the canton of Bern.

Director Cyril Schäublin’s (*1984) film Unrueh presents a subdued and penetrating picture of the rapid changes in the organisation of capital, labour and technology in St. Imier and the rise of the anarchist movement through the eyes of a worker in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Her task was to set the central mechanism of a watch. This part was called ‘Unrueh’.

Anarchists and revolutionaries from all over Europe waited for their chance in Switzerland. Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) and Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni (1873-1910) are the most famous or notorious examples.

Geneva, along the shores of the lake

In St. Imier and the film Unrueh, the lesser-known Russian cartographer and anarchist Pyotr Kropotkin (1842-1921) is a main character. He was one of many anarchists and revolutionaries who used the social ‘Unruhe’ for political ends.

Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, 1820-1910),  Pyotr Kropotkin (1842-1921), 1900. Source: Wikipedia

(Source: The film  Unrueh by director Cyril Schäublin and the Longines Museum, St. Imier)

Collection: Musée de Longines

Longines

Saint-Imier

La tour Saint-Martin c.q. la Reine Berthe

 

Saint-Imier, La Collégiale 

The Cathedral or Münster of Basel

The Cathedral of Basel (das Münster) is over a thousand years old. In 1019, after renovating its early medieval predecessor, the cathedral was consecrated in the presence of Emperor Heinrich II (973-1024) and his wife Kunigunde (975-1040).

The copies

Henry II (973-1024) and Kunigunde (975-1040), the originals, Museum Kleines Klingental

Poster: Stadtgeschichte Basel

St. Martin, the original statue, Museum Kleines Klingental

Copy on the facade of the cathedral

The original. Museum Kleines Klingental

The cathedral around 1250. Collection: Museum Kleines Klingental

The Romanesque church, better known as the Münster, expanded into a large complex with chapels, the bishop’s palace, and chapitre palaces on the Münsterplatz and Rittergasse until the Reformation in 1529.

The Gallus Gate, 11th century.

The great earthquake of 18 October 1356 almost wholly destroyed the cathedral. Only the Romanesque Gallus Gate was preserved. The restoration lasted until the completion of the last tower in 1500.

The cathedral around 1500. Collection: Museum Kleines Klingental

The Museum Kleines Klingental, the Basel Historical Museum in the Barfüsserkerk, and the cathedral offer a well-documented (archaeological) overview of their (building) history and their many (religious) works of art.

Hans Heinrich Glaser (1585-1673) , 1642, the cathedral (das Münster). Collection: Dreiländer Museum Lörrach

Many prominent Basler citizens and European celebrities, including Jacobus Bernoulli (1655-1705) and Desiderius Erasmus (1467-1536), found their final resting place in the cathedral.

The Münsterplatz

The Rittergasse

Jacobus Bernoulli (1655-1705)

 Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536)

The reformer Johannes Oekolampad (1481-1531)

The Crypt

The Bishops and other personalities

Requiem eterna

Haus zur Mücke, the first secular public museum (1671) in Europe, the forerunner of the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Antikenmuseum Basel

Matthäus Merian (1593-1650), 1615. Basel around 1615, the Mittlere Brücke (1296) and the cathedral on the right. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Bildersammlung 1,291. Foto: Photo: TES

Christmas 2022

The Glacier Garden Cavaglia

During the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago, the Palü glacier of the Pru Valley formed the Cavaglia Plain (Piana di Cavaglia) in Valposchiavo (Italian-speaking part of the canton of Graubünden).

The melting of the glacier was accompanied by erosion due to the force of the meltwater, as well as the rocks, sand masses, and other objects carried away. This phenomenon (see also the Glacier Garden Luzern) created large glacier holes (Marmitte dei Giganti) and rock formations in the Cavagliasch Gorge (Forra del Cavagliasch).

The Association Glacier Garden Cavaglia (Verein Gletschergarten Cavaglia/ Associazione Giardino dei Ghiacciai Cavaglia, GGC), founded in 1998, has made this natural wonder accessible to the public.

From July 2021, a new walking path leads over rushing waterfalls and along rocky outcrops through the gorge. The path is made of local natural stone. The area is easily accessible from the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) station Cavaglia (1693 m).

(Source and further information: Verein Gletschergarten Cavaglia/Associazione Giardino dei Ghiacciai di Cavaglia (GGC).

The Jan Michalski Prize for Literature 2023

The Jan Michalski Prize for Literature 2023 was awarded on Wednesday, 29 November, to Karina Sainz Borgo for her book El Tercer País (2021), translated from Spanish into French under the title Le Tiers Pays.

The jury praised “a powerful novelistic universe that brilliantly combines several literary traditions, such as Greek tragedy, magic realism and the American western, to take an uncompromising yet humane look at the dramas of migration“.

The Jan Michalski Prize (le Prix Jan Michalski) has been awarded annually since 2010 by the Jan Michalski Foundation (Fondation Jan Michalski, Montricher, canton of Vaud) for writing and literature to honour a work of world literature.

Its originality lies in its multicultural aspect: awarded by a jury of multilingual personalities, it rewards works of all literary genres, fiction or non-fiction, whatever the language in which they are written. The winner receives a prize of CHF 50,000 and a work of art specially chosen or commissioned by the author.

(Source and further information: Fondation Jan Michalski)

The Cistercians and St. Urban Monastery

In the Middle Ages, 28 Cistercian monasteries were founded in Switzerland, eight for men and 20 for women. Today, only one men’s monastery (Hauterive, canton of Fribourg) and six women’s monasteries remain (Frauenthal, canton of Zug; La Maigrauge and La Fillle-Dieu, canton of Fribourg; Magdenau and Wurmsbach, canton of St Gallen, and Eschenbach, canton of Lucerne).

Other monasteries were abolished during the Reformation (16th century) or the French Revolution (1798-1813) and in the new Confederation of the 19th century. The once-mighty monastery of St Urban in the canton of Lucerne was dissolved in 1848.

The immediate cause was the defeat of the Catholic canton of Lucerne in the Sonderbundskrieg of 1847, political unrest in the canton against the conservative government and hostility to the monasteries (especially the Jesuits).

More than six centuries earlier, the Cistercian monastery of Lützel (Lucelle, Alsace) was founded in 1194. The name derives from a small chapel dedicated to Mary: “Monasterium Beatae Mariae de Sancto Urbano“. The barons of Langenstein provided money and land.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the monastery acquired more and more estates and villages outside its core area (Langenthal, Roggwil, Wynau and Pfaffnau). These areas were in the cantons of Thurgau, Bern, Schaffhausen and Aargau. The abbey was a small sovereign state with its jurisdiction and court.

By this time, the Cistercians were already known for producing bricks, roof tiles and relief stones. Agriculture was also an essential source of income. The monastery complex was further expanded to include a library and scriptorium.

However, the monastery was not spared from regional unrest. In 1375, mercenaries (the Gugler) plundered the monastery, becoming a bone of contention between Solothurn, Bern and Lucerne. Lucerne acquired the county of Willisau in 1407 and control of the monastery in 1420.

The monastery survived the Reformation and the disputes between Bern (Protestant) and Lucerne (Catholic) unscathed. The 17th and 18th centuries were a heyday, as the baroque monastery church and buildings still remind us.

The monastery church, built between 1711 and 1717, combines elements of Baroque and Cistercian architecture. The high altar features statues of the four evangelists, Pope Urban, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The choir stalls were constructed shortly after 1700, and the organ was built between 1716 and 1721.

However, the monastery had close financial and personal ties with Lucerne’s (aristocratic) elite. All the abbots came from these circles. It became the monastery’s downfall after the Sonderbundskrieg of 1847.

After its dissolution, the monastery served as a psychiatric clinic and nursing home for the mentally disabled for over a century (1873-1980). Its numerous art treasures, including (medieval) illustrated manuscripts, are preserved and housed in the Lucerne State Archives, the Lucerne Central Library and the Lucerne Historical Museum.

Since 1980, the Canton of Lucerne has been renovating and repurposing the complex. The monastery church is now a parish church. A spacious park surrounds the monastery and baroque buildings, walking paths, watercourses and forests.

A spacious park, footpaths, sculptures and woods surround the monastery and the baroque buildings.

(Source and further information: A. Meyer, Das ehemalige Zisterzienserkloster St. Urban, Bern, GSK, 1994; www.st-urban.ch).