Tag: Politics of Switzerland

Brussels insists on the free market, including for wages, but Bern wants to keep high Swiss salaries at any price. Switzerland’s political system is based on broad compromises in parliament so that solutions are not vetoed in referendums. Red lines and Europe More than 25 years ago, Swiss voters threw out a framework agreement of cooperation with the EU: the European Economic Area. Parliament has found a solution for an arbitration mechanism. Brussels argues this rule restricts the free movement of people, a key political tenet of the EU. If such a compromise becomes part of a future framework agreement between Switzerland and the EU, both the left and the right would most certainly force a referendum. At the same time, the leftwing Social Democratic Party (one of four main parties represented in the Swiss government) argues that concessions of this kind are unacceptable and can’t be part of any form of negotiation with Brussels. Optimists and pessimists Political scientists in Switzerland have described this policy as a “veto game”. The political impact is not defined by the share of votes in an election, but by the ability to challenge an issue to a public vote, thereby overturning a decision by the parliamentary majority. The centre-right Radical Party wants to ensure access to the common EU market for Swiss companies but without Switzerland joining the 28-nation bloc.