SWISS MODEL
.
Switzerland’s ‘Model’ of democracy has evolved into a sophisticated instrument of translating the people’s will into practice. A delicate balance of representative institutions (a two chamber Assembly/Parliament) and direct democratic mechanisms e.g. Referendums and Citizen’s Initiatives, that operates in a federal state with appropriate power decentralised to their Cantons, has contributed to a peaceful and prosperous society.
.
.We would like a similar system introduced into the UK. For example, we have already used referendums and we are increasingly turning to them as a way of gauging and then acting upon popular opinion. We would like, however, for this to become the norm rather than the exception. Of course, such a system can only work if elected officials accept the People’s Will, hence the need for electoral reform that ensure representatives’ reflect popular opinion, their powers limited and their position reliant upon popular sufferance e.g. recall.
.
http://nationalliberal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NewHorizon2.pdf and https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/switzerland-direct-democracy-explained/
Date: April 25, 2019
Categories: Articles