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All in favour, raise your hands!Swiss politics at local level: the citizens’ meeting
Swiss politics at local level: the citizens’ meeting
Gipf-Oberfrick
Gipf-OberfrickWill Sangeetha get her citizenship?
"The people at work are wishing me well and saying I should have nothing to worry about."
Sangeetha Baskaran, shortly before the meeting
Sangeetha Baskaran, shortly before the meeting
Kammersrohr
KammersrohrDemocracy in the living room
"What use is a rich resident, when he doesn’t get involved? Here we all have to pull together."
Ueli Emch, mayor
Ueli Emch, mayor
Bassersdorf
BassersdorfA midsummer night’s event
"When the year’s financial statements are being approved, there is not much for the citizens to say."
Elvira Venosta, town clerk’s office, Bassersdorf
Elvira Venosta, town clerk’s office, Bassersdorf
The citizens’ meeting at Bassersdorf
In summer there are open air festivals going on all over Switzerland.
They draw big crowds. In Bassersdorf, a municipality near Zurich
airport, the council is trying for the same effect - casting the
citizens’ meeting as an enjoyable public event, so that people actually
come.
Gallery Bassersdorf
Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first page Goto first pageEggiwil
Eggiwil"That’s why we don’t go"
"I don’t drive any more, and it would take me an hour to walk from my isolated farm to the village schoolhouse."
A citizen
A citizen
Martin Brechbühl Proprietor of a building firm
Martin Brechbühl Proprietor of a building firm
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"I have a meeting myself and can’t go to the citizens’ meeting. Usually I do go, especially if there’s an election. The year’s financial statement doesn’t arouse my interest much. I trust the council to get it right. If there is anything special, I always go. For example, about 20 years ago we had to decide whether we should have a wooden or concrete bridge at the entrance to the village. As proprietor of a building firm, I felt strongly about that: for years I had to drive back and forth over that rickety narrow wooden bridge. Now there’s a concrete bridge as well as the wooden one."
Werner Jutzi Proprietor of a carpentry shop
Werner Jutzi Proprietor of a carpentry shop
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"As a onetime municipal councillor myself, I am aware of the problem of low attendance at citizens’ meetings. I used to get frustrated when I saw more councillors than voters at the meeting. So I will be at today’s meeting, although there’s nothing very spectacular on the agenda, just the year’s financial statement."
Sonja Vogel Housewife and mother
Sonja Vogel Housewife and mother
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"I trust the council, and prefer to stay in the background anyway. This evening I have a music rehearsal, so I can’t attend. That is almost always the case, since the meeting is usually on a Friday. I’ve been to just one citizens’ meeting. It would have to be something important. For example about the children, or the school, then I would go. If there was an electronic citizens’ meeting, I would participate."
Gottfried Hirsbrunner retired
Gottfried Hirsbrunner retired
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"I live in the old people’s home with my wife. I won’t be at the meeting today, as at the age of 90, I think I’m too old. When I was younger, I used to go. In those days, I wanted to change the world. Today I realise that can’t be done. In years gone by people took more interest in the municipality. Maybe the fault lies with the helpful summary of items to vote on put out by the town clerk’s office: people are so well informed, they no longer need to go to the meeting."
Hans Kern Bed and Breakfast manager
Hans Kern Bed and Breakfast manager
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"I can’t go to today’s meeting, because I’ve been invited to a wedding. When it comes to more important things than the year’s financial statement, I do my best to fit it in. Elections are more interesting. On the other hand: since so few people now want to take on the office of municipal councillor, there are hardly any elections to speak of.
I remember one spectacular meeting, when the topic was the old people’s home, which had attracted attention due to high staff turnover and poor morale. My own mother was living in the home, so I knew about the situation. At the meeting I talked a lot – almost too long, but the mayor let me keep going. At the end there was quite a response, people clapped for a long time. In the end, the manager of the home lost her job. That is one positive aspect of the citizens’ meeting, it is a very direct kind of democracy."
I remember one spectacular meeting, when the topic was the old people’s home, which had attracted attention due to high staff turnover and poor morale. My own mother was living in the home, so I knew about the situation. At the meeting I talked a lot – almost too long, but the mayor let me keep going. At the end there was quite a response, people clapped for a long time. In the end, the manager of the home lost her job. That is one positive aspect of the citizens’ meeting, it is a very direct kind of democracy."
Zürcher family
Zürcher family
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"Oh, is the citizens’ meeting today? We forgot. Yes, we do vote, but to go to the citizens’ meeting is usually too much of a bother. Only on special occasions we manage to walk or drive down the valley – when grandfather got a diploma for target shooting, the husband was honoured for Swiss wresting (schwingen), or the youngsters got their coming of age citizenship documents at 18."
Kurt Meier Proprietor of the Bear inn
Kurt Meier Proprietor of the Bear inn
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"It is a tradition after the citizens’ meeting to come into the Bear for a beer. That way I know what’s going on and can even have my say, even though I only go to every third citizens’ meeting and no more.
The first time I went to a citizens’ meeting I was still at school. It was all about the purchase of an inn. It was as exciting as a detective story! I intend to go to the citizens’ meeting this evening – if I don’t forget!"
The first time I went to a citizens’ meeting I was still at school. It was all about the purchase of an inn. It was as exciting as a detective story! I intend to go to the citizens’ meeting this evening – if I don’t forget!"
Bernhard Wüthrich Butcher
Bernhard Wüthrich Butcher
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"This evening I am going to a meeting of the ice hockey club. I’ve never been to a citizens’ meeting, it just doesn’t interest me. If it had to do with zoning of land, I would go. Most people I know don’t go to the meeting. But I would think it a pity if they actually abolished the citizens’ meeting."
1.1% of the voting publicThe Eggiwil meeting
“It’s the football match today, so that’s why there aren’t so many people here,” explains an attendee at the citizen’s assembly in Eggiwil, to explain why the sports hall is half empty.
Indeed, of the 1,891 villagers with voting rights, just nine men and three women have turned up - in addition to the seven municipal councillors, the town clerk and the new municipal councillor and his wife. That brings the total to 22, or just 1.1% of the voting public.
The first task is to chose the evening’s vote counter from among the few attendees. A beekeeper gets the job. “He normally counts bees,” jokes the mayor.
The financial statement is presented and the citizens get to ask questions. One wants to know whether making two years of Kindergarten obligatory has had any effect. Nobody knows, so the answer is not forthcoming. There is only one dissenter in the final vote – 21 citizens accept the year’s financial statement.
Next up come questions, observations and concerns from the attendees. Another beekeper thanks the municipal council for the letter in which it was stated that he would receive CHF20 subsidy per bee colony. “This was really great, a super gesture,” he shouts exhuberantly.
The mayor smiles paternally and moves on to the next citizen who wants to know what all the fuss is about with the old people’s home, due to regular coverage in the local media. “Is the village doing something about it?” he wants to know. “Don’t believe everything that’s in the newspapers,” comes the answer from the mayor.
Another attendee speaks up. “My uncle was buried today,” he explains. “He lived in the old people’s residence. And I can only say that he felt very at home there.” This seems to reassure the person who brought up the topic.
But then a third citizen speaks – who sits on the board of the senior’s home – who says there are too few care staff in Switzerland and that employees tend to quit straightaway over minor issues. The first man then wants to know why this is, but is interrupted by the mayor. The man then jumps up from his chair and shouts, red faced, “if we are simply supposed to say yes then we can do this by post!” He then storms out.
“Bye Erich*,” the mayor says and continues the meeting without batting an eyelid. A citizen invites people to a shoot, attendees are encouraged to find out from their social circles whether people need a daycare facility, a goodbye is said to the retiring councillor and his replacement welcomed – and then the group heads to the Bear inn for a beer and a bite to eat.
*Name has been changed
Sibilla Bondolfi
Indeed, of the 1,891 villagers with voting rights, just nine men and three women have turned up - in addition to the seven municipal councillors, the town clerk and the new municipal councillor and his wife. That brings the total to 22, or just 1.1% of the voting public.
The first task is to chose the evening’s vote counter from among the few attendees. A beekeeper gets the job. “He normally counts bees,” jokes the mayor.
The financial statement is presented and the citizens get to ask questions. One wants to know whether making two years of Kindergarten obligatory has had any effect. Nobody knows, so the answer is not forthcoming. There is only one dissenter in the final vote – 21 citizens accept the year’s financial statement.
Next up come questions, observations and concerns from the attendees. Another beekeper thanks the municipal council for the letter in which it was stated that he would receive CHF20 subsidy per bee colony. “This was really great, a super gesture,” he shouts exhuberantly.
The mayor smiles paternally and moves on to the next citizen who wants to know what all the fuss is about with the old people’s home, due to regular coverage in the local media. “Is the village doing something about it?” he wants to know. “Don’t believe everything that’s in the newspapers,” comes the answer from the mayor.
Another attendee speaks up. “My uncle was buried today,” he explains. “He lived in the old people’s residence. And I can only say that he felt very at home there.” This seems to reassure the person who brought up the topic.
But then a third citizen speaks – who sits on the board of the senior’s home – who says there are too few care staff in Switzerland and that employees tend to quit straightaway over minor issues. The first man then wants to know why this is, but is interrupted by the mayor. The man then jumps up from his chair and shouts, red faced, “if we are simply supposed to say yes then we can do this by post!” He then storms out.
“Bye Erich*,” the mayor says and continues the meeting without batting an eyelid. A citizen invites people to a shoot, attendees are encouraged to find out from their social circles whether people need a daycare facility, a goodbye is said to the retiring councillor and his replacement welcomed – and then the group heads to the Bear inn for a beer and a bite to eat.
*Name has been changed
Sibilla Bondolfi
Troistorrents
TroistorrentsIt all depends on the snow
"The three villages of Troistorrents, Val d' Illiez and Champéry have wasted a decade fighting for their own particular interests, instead of thinking ahead."
Luc Fellay, mayor of Champéry
Luc Fellay, mayor of Champéry
Lokaldemokratie
Crisis without endLocal democracy faces uncertain future
"The declining willingness to take on public office is cramping the ability of the municipalities to get things done."
Claude Longchamp, political scientist
Claude Longchamp, political scientist
Local democracy faces uncertain future
Local democracy faces uncertain future
Men, older people, business, associations, and firefighters are overrepresented
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"The notion of local democratic self-determination is on a collision course with the realities of modern living," thinks political scientist Claude Longchamp.
For the growing cracks in the democratic basis of Switzerland he gives these reasons:
Alienation: municipalities are becoming dormitory towns. The place where people have their home is not the place they identify with as the place they actually live and work.
Growing individualism: discourages people to take up public office. This in turn is cramping the ability of the municipalities to get things done.
Lack of manpower: around the country, municipalities are lacking 3,000 to 4,000 volunteers to take up public offices. Many municipalities have their backs to the wall.
Declining skill base: municipal work is complex. Social welfare, which used to be one of the traditional municipality tasks, is now handled by professionals (social services, child protection agency).
Democratic deficit: Technocratic solutions may be efficient, but mean that less influence is exercised by the citizens. This in turn makes the citizens feel alienated from the institutions, and undermines the ideal of amateur, part-time politicians.
Financial difficulties: more and more municipalities have this problem, especially the ones with populations under 500.
Legitimate concerns: taking on a public office may mean less spare time, little remuneration, greater exposure to the public gaze and criticism in the media. Women in particular are put off by this. "They would like to be able to do something for the community, but don’t like all the criticism and abuse that comes with it," says Longchamp.
Citizens’ meeting: the format has its downside. Men, older people, business, associations, and firefighters are overrepresented. People who have recently moved to the place, women and younger people are underrepresented.
Possible solutions: bringing in a municipal elected assembly and/or merging with other municipalities. In Scandinavian countries, municipalities are being welded into super-municipalities and the management contracted out to external service providers.
Weakening of democracy: Switzerland works according to the bottom-up principle. This involves a corporatist and cooperative system. Any deficit of local democracy eats away at the core values of Switzerland.
Outlook: Municipalities that are a model for others are important, and will remain so," says Longchamp.
Renat Kuenzi
For the growing cracks in the democratic basis of Switzerland he gives these reasons:
Alienation: municipalities are becoming dormitory towns. The place where people have their home is not the place they identify with as the place they actually live and work.
Growing individualism: discourages people to take up public office. This in turn is cramping the ability of the municipalities to get things done.
Lack of manpower: around the country, municipalities are lacking 3,000 to 4,000 volunteers to take up public offices. Many municipalities have their backs to the wall.
Declining skill base: municipal work is complex. Social welfare, which used to be one of the traditional municipality tasks, is now handled by professionals (social services, child protection agency).
Democratic deficit: Technocratic solutions may be efficient, but mean that less influence is exercised by the citizens. This in turn makes the citizens feel alienated from the institutions, and undermines the ideal of amateur, part-time politicians.
Financial difficulties: more and more municipalities have this problem, especially the ones with populations under 500.
Legitimate concerns: taking on a public office may mean less spare time, little remuneration, greater exposure to the public gaze and criticism in the media. Women in particular are put off by this. "They would like to be able to do something for the community, but don’t like all the criticism and abuse that comes with it," says Longchamp.
Citizens’ meeting: the format has its downside. Men, older people, business, associations, and firefighters are overrepresented. People who have recently moved to the place, women and younger people are underrepresented.
Possible solutions: bringing in a municipal elected assembly and/or merging with other municipalities. In Scandinavian countries, municipalities are being welded into super-municipalities and the management contracted out to external service providers.
Weakening of democracy: Switzerland works according to the bottom-up principle. This involves a corporatist and cooperative system. Any deficit of local democracy eats away at the core values of Switzerland.
Outlook: Municipalities that are a model for others are important, and will remain so," says Longchamp.
Renat Kuenzi
Men, older people, business, associations, and firefighters are overrepresented
Municipalities dying out
Municipalities dying out
The rule seems to be: the bigger the municipality, the less the citizens participate
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When it was founded as a modern nation-state in 1848, Switzerland had a total of 3,205 municipalities. The number remained constant until around 1990.
In the last 30 years, 800 municipalities have disappeared, almost a quarter of the total, so that as of 2018 there were only 2,222 municipalities.
This huge decline is due to a wave of mergers of municipalities, often typically proposed to solve financial and staffing problems.
Mergers come with a price, though, as recent studies show. One negative result is a further decline in citizen participation, which has been noted for the past 30 years.
The rule seems to be: the bigger the municipality, the less the citizens participate.
About a fifth of present-day municipalities in Switzerland have replaced the citizens’ meeting with a semi-professional elected assembly. This is the case mostly in the larger municipalities and in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland.
Elected assemblies are not necessarily the last word, though, for there are municipalities which have gone back to holding a traditional citizens’ meeting.
Renat Kuenzi
In the last 30 years, 800 municipalities have disappeared, almost a quarter of the total, so that as of 2018 there were only 2,222 municipalities.
This huge decline is due to a wave of mergers of municipalities, often typically proposed to solve financial and staffing problems.
Mergers come with a price, though, as recent studies show. One negative result is a further decline in citizen participation, which has been noted for the past 30 years.
The rule seems to be: the bigger the municipality, the less the citizens participate.
About a fifth of present-day municipalities in Switzerland have replaced the citizens’ meeting with a semi-professional elected assembly. This is the case mostly in the larger municipalities and in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland.
Elected assemblies are not necessarily the last word, though, for there are municipalities which have gone back to holding a traditional citizens’ meeting.
Renat Kuenzi
The rule seems to be: the bigger the municipality, the less the citizens participate
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All in favour, raise your hands!
Swiss politics at local level: the citizens’ meeting
Will Sangeetha get her citizenship?
Chorus of boos
Tension rising
Well received
Democracy in the living room
Making room for meetings
The world is getting more complex – here too
A midsummer night’s event
The citizens’ meeting at Bassersdorf
Stacked chairs
Foreigners are not allowed to vote
Audience
Vote by hand
Drinking water
Plenty of free water
Reload the ice
Laughing
"That’s why we don’t go"
Martin Brechbühl
Werner Jutzi
Sonja Vogel
Gottfried Hirsbrunner
Hans Kern
Zürcher family
Kurt Meier
Bernhard Wüthrich
The Eggiwil meeting
It all depends on the snow
Valley and mountain
Winter sport location a cause for concern
Cracks in the community
Local democracy faces uncertain future
Local democracy faces uncertain future
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