Too much democracy kills democracy?
Here's something curious. As we know, Switzerland is the country of referenda. Almost any issue of some import is decided by a popular vote. There are half a dozen general referenda every year, and many more on a canton level.
Well, the Swiss voters had yet another referendum the other day, where they decided... that democracy has gone too far in this country. They rejected by a huge majority a proposal for organizing referenda on international treaties before they could be approved by Switzerland.
As usual, the devil is in the details. The right-wing nationalists called this referendum, insisting that the Swiss people should have the decisive say whenever their government had to sign an important international agreement. But not even one of the 26 cantons came any close to voting in favor of the proposal, and the idea was rejected by 75% of the voters.
Most mainstream parties were against the proposal right from the onset, because, as one of the billboards said, "Too much democracy kills democracy". That's kind of funny. Reminds me of an eastern proverb, which says "Too much good isn't good".
With half a dozen nationwide referenda annually and a handful on a local level, Switzerland has become a permanently voting country, and granted, an example of direct democracy. The Swiss hold their sovereignty very dear.
The procedure for calling a referendum is very simple really. 50 thousand signatures are enough to call a vote on any draft piece of legislation or agreement that's deemed important for the citizens. If some organization wants to pass a completely new law, the threshold is a bit higher, 100 thousand signatures. Turnout seldom exceeds 40% on these votes (this one got 37.8%), with just a few exceptions, like the infamous referendum that approved the minaret ban.
Some people around here are now joking that we've gotten fed up with democracy, and no extreme ever brings any good in the long run. Well, I don't know. It's not like the really important government decisions, especially those of nationwide significance, wouldn't still be subject to thorough public scrutiny. But indeed, it would seem that sometimes enough is enough.
Well, the Swiss voters had yet another referendum the other day, where they decided... that democracy has gone too far in this country. They rejected by a huge majority a proposal for organizing referenda on international treaties before they could be approved by Switzerland.
As usual, the devil is in the details. The right-wing nationalists called this referendum, insisting that the Swiss people should have the decisive say whenever their government had to sign an important international agreement. But not even one of the 26 cantons came any close to voting in favor of the proposal, and the idea was rejected by 75% of the voters.
Most mainstream parties were against the proposal right from the onset, because, as one of the billboards said, "Too much democracy kills democracy". That's kind of funny. Reminds me of an eastern proverb, which says "Too much good isn't good".
With half a dozen nationwide referenda annually and a handful on a local level, Switzerland has become a permanently voting country, and granted, an example of direct democracy. The Swiss hold their sovereignty very dear.
The procedure for calling a referendum is very simple really. 50 thousand signatures are enough to call a vote on any draft piece of legislation or agreement that's deemed important for the citizens. If some organization wants to pass a completely new law, the threshold is a bit higher, 100 thousand signatures. Turnout seldom exceeds 40% on these votes (this one got 37.8%), with just a few exceptions, like the infamous referendum that approved the minaret ban.
Some people around here are now joking that we've gotten fed up with democracy, and no extreme ever brings any good in the long run. Well, I don't know. It's not like the really important government decisions, especially those of nationwide significance, wouldn't still be subject to thorough public scrutiny. But indeed, it would seem that sometimes enough is enough.