POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION
Federal Councillor Keller-Sutter visited the University of Bern on November 5, 2020, as a guest speaker at a lecture entitled the “Political System of Switzerland I”. The Minister of Justice stressed the importance of federalism and answered questions asked by students via video conference.
It was an event with a special omen: Adrian Vatter, Professor of Political Sciences, had invited Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter to his lecture entitled the “Political System of Switzerland”. “Especially in difficult times like these, there’s no guarantee that a member of the Federal Council will visit a university,” says Vatter. In the end, however, the second wave of the pandemic prevented students from attending the lecture in person and it had to be broadcast virtually from the University’s lecture hall.
In her speech, Karin Keller-Sutter revealed that her understanding of federalism and Switzerland’s direct democracy is unwavering, even despite the coronavirus crisis. She explained that “in difficult times, as well, these institutions form the pillars of the Swiss political system”. The government engages in an active dialog with the cantons and other players, even in exceptional situations like the current one.
Keller-Sutter talked about how the government had to take charge by enacting emergency legislation during the first wave of the pandemic and making far-reaching decisions that could only be approved by Parliament after the fact. She emphasized that, “As Minister of Justice, I felt a great sense of relief when we were able to resume Parliamentary business.” Nevertheless, the coronavirus crisis has stoked the debate about federalism, one that is not likely to subside any time soon. Critics condemn the patchwork of different measures and allege that the response is too slow, too sluggish and/or too indecisive. But Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter was staunch in her defense of federalism: “Reforms are important and have to be discussed, but the federal system isn’t obsolete – it’s actually still a pivotal factor in the success of the Swiss model.”
Karin Keller-Sutter compares the Federal Council to a shared living situation – people hailing from different regions, speaking different languages and shaped by different influences all have to communicate with one other (Video in german).
One of the questions asked of Federal Councillor during the question and answer session was about the influence of lobbying. Karin Keller-Sutter stressed that its influence on the Federal Council is very minor. At the same time, she also reminded the audience that nobody is free of their own convictions and even federal councillors bring their own personal viewpoints to bear in their everyday work. These experiences are precisely the factor that helps the Federal Council work like a shared living situation – one in which people with different personalities from different geographic and language regions have to work together to reach decisions with majority appeal.
The lecture, which is conducted each fall semester, focuses on political actors and institutions at both the federal and cantonal levels, political decision-making processes at the various levels of government, and an in-depth examination of selected policy areas. Prof. Dr. Adrian Vatter of the Institute of Political Science invites a representative of the political system to conduct a lecture with a subsequent discussion once per lecture cycle.