Blogger Writes to President of Switzerland About Ron Paul; She Writes Back!
PrimarilyPaul writes:
First, some background on Switzerland. Unlike the US and most countries, Switzerland does not have a single person as head of state like the US has George Bush, Canada has Stephen Harper, or Mexico has Felipe Calderón. Instead they have a seven person Federal Council that is the head of state and executive branch.
Yes, that’s right, instead of one person being the executive branch, they have seven people simultaneously doing the job. Bosnia and Herzegovina and San Marino also have a multi-person head of state. No single member has more power, they share it equally. However, the logistics of having seven people meet other heads of states would be quite challenging so a president is chosen from the council who servers a term of one year. The president has no more power and simply serves as representative of the entire council. This year it is Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Here is what I wrote her through her contact form:
Continue reading at his website, which is also an excellent source that he put together with information on the Republican Primary dates and how to register.
Did not know that
Wow. So a country really does have that system. I had no idea, but for a long time I have advocated such a system for the US. Not specifically a seven member council, but sort of. There would be a commander in chief that would be elected, a prime ambassador to be the primary representative of the US, and a few other positions like that. The executive branch would consist of about half a dozen mostly autonomous divisions that no one person could sway.
But I also like the federal council idea. Imagine if we had to vote for seven people. In the current atmosphere, Ron Paul would definitely make it onto that council and then we'd have a huge voice in the executive. It would be a far better scenario than the all or nothing situation we have currently.
Federal council
Hello Mesogen,
>But I also like the federal council idea. Imagine if we had to vote for seven people.
That's right, direct election of these guys might improve things (even further), to some degree.
FYI, this is not the case in Switzerland, where the 7 are elected by the parliament (~congress) where party-affiliation is of high importance.
Best regards,
Marc
Ron Paul and Switzerland's Rivo Cortonesi
Rivo Cortonesi from Ticino (see www.liberisti.org) is Switzerland's Ron Paul.
Calmy-Rey
Hi there,
living in Switzerland, I can assure you that Calmy-Rey, a member of the so-called "Socialist-Democratic Party of Switzerland", is among the last persons who protect individual liberties here.
She and her party aim at raising taxes, enhancing Switzerland's international affiliations (e.g., EU membership) etc. pp.
Insofar, it's kind of funny that she (or her ghostwriter) seemed to show interest in meeting RP. Most probably, that was just a standardized answer. Nevertheless, a great endeavor!
I partly agree with Ron's statement of Switzerland being among the countries protecting individual liberties best - that's also the reason why I emigrated from Germany.
As is well-known, the Swiss haven't participated in any war for more than 200 years (when they were over-run by Napoleon).
They have quite a decentralized structure, with tax competition among cantons (~states) and even communities, which is, to my knowledge, singular within Europe.
Homeschooling is allowed as is weapon ownership (and, to some degree, weapon carrying in public areas).
And the most important advantage, comparing with the rest of Europe, might be direct democracy which drastically cuts the power of the political/coercive class.
Neither Calmy-Rey nor the six other "Federal Commissioners" (as you might translate the term "Bundesrat") may, e.g., declare war, raise taxes significantly, build a major road, join the EU, etc., without consent from the people. The result - the sharp distinction to almost all other European countries (excluding Liechtenstein, which is affiliated, and maybe Slovakia) is striking.
Many of my libertarian German frieds have already emigrated or consider doing this.
As said, Calmy-Rey is certainly no defender/promoter of this state of affairs.
The "Free Democratic Party" and the "Swiss National Party" are much closer to libertarian views.
I might be worthwhile to contact Christoph Moergeli, the major consultant of another "Bundesrat", Christoph Blocher, regarding a meeting with RP. Moergeli might be characterized as a Hayekian; Blocher himself also knows his stuff about Hayek and Mises.
(By the way, my personal favorite for a long time has been David Friedman, whose "Machinery of freedom" I had the honor to translate to German.)
We follow your campaign with the greatest interest - Fabio Bossi has even set up his German Ron-Paul-Blog to show his support.
We wish you great success - if not in the actual election, at least on the "enlightenment front" ;-)
It's terrific to see your campaign grow!
Best wishes from Zurich,
Marc-Felix Otto
CH
Hi Theodosi,
thank you for taking interest in our small & interesting country.
To be sure, Switzerland is far from the perfect libertarian (or minarchist) state.
Overall, the state share of GDP is around 30%, however, varying greatly among cantons/communities.
The canton of Zug and other central Swiss cantons lead the edge regarding low taxes.
Obwalden, e.g., has just introduced a flat income tax at 12% (to which adds the state income tax which is progressive - for me, around 6%).
And I regularly meet people here who feel the need to move towards that good direction.
So, I'm happy to answer your questions:
> Can you tell us more about Switzerland's relationship to the E.U. and the E.F.T.A. and the E.F.T.A. surveillance authority?
Well, the Swiss rejected EU membership. There are now bilateral agreements EU-CH which are relatively harmless. Rather, these agreements focus on free trade an transnational employment.
I don't know much about EFTA, which might be a good sign - EFTA's certainly not such a central-planning organization as the EU.
>I was told that the Swiss use cameras as they are doing in London (and now in the U.S.A.).
That may well be - again, I don't know much about this.
In my opinion, it's certainly not a very critical point, since the police is very decentralized (at canton level). Actually, I believe Switzerland has no federal police (~FBI) at all.
Still, again, this is by far not a perfectly free country.
>I am happy to hear that you can homeschool in Switzerland. I know a couple in Germany had their child taken from them for homeschooling.
Do you have to report to the state if you homeschool?
AFAIK, the need/frequency of having to report to the state increases with your child's age.
But again, I'm sorry not to know the details.
One more good thing is the relatively free job market, resulting in a jobless rate currently around 2.5%.
Best regards,
Marc
Two links ...
... as my previous post was not so well-informed:
on homeschooling
http://www.cruxmove.com/S...
on EFTA (in German)
http://de.wikipedia.org/w...
It basically states that current members are (only) Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland (by the way, these are probably the wealthiest European states today).
It focuses on free trade organization (hence its name) & does not pursue "harmonization" on the political level.
.
.
Calmy-Rey
... another double post (no clue, why)
that's not too bad but...
She likes the UN. We have work to do.
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RoW
Dear Theodosi,
>The William Tell Story is Swiss and has an interesting twist at the end of the tale which few in this country have probably been told.
Actually, Schiller's "Wilhelm Tell" is standard literature in Swiss schools. Obviously, it somewhat depends on the (home) teacher whether the freedom message gets across.
>However, I have heard troubling stories from people who have been there that the place is awash in cameras and is the proto-type for the surveillance-society. I heard that a couple of years ago. I hope that is not true.
Awash: No!
But the average Swiss is very law-abiding (which might have to do with the feeling that it's THEIR law, which they and their parents personally voted for over the decades). Not in favor of the state - in favor of the law.
>From all of the data I have looked at- this is it, folks. Our America is the last free place on earth. If Freedom is lost here, people, get ready for globalism's brave new world.
Well, I believe it's great if we all do the best to struggle for freedom in our own countries. But what's more, we - individuals - have a very powerful tool to overcome the state's territorial monopoly on force: migration. Germany actually starts to suffer from the constant brain drain towards the US, UK, Switzerland etc. And the migrants profit immediately.
Kind regards,
Marc
oops, ignore this
(tech glitch = double post)