The remuneration of executives, especially of Swiss public companies, has become a subject of public debate since the financial crisis of 2007. 'While in the past the salaries of executives were considered to be part of the private domain, the view has shifted since the publishing of the figures of the remuneration and bonuses of bank executives who held key positions in banks that had to be bailed out by the taxpayer. As a result of the public discussion, an initiative was launched pursuant to which stricter rules and disclosure requirements will apply to the remuneration of directors and managers of public companies in Switzerland. A popular vote on the initiative is expected to take place in March 2013. The parliament adopted a counterproposal incorporating most of the requests of the initiative, which is likely to become effective if the initiative is rejected.
The long-term energy policy of the Canton of Zurich aims on maintaining respectively enabling a high, but eco-friendly living standard. Until 2050 the CO2 emissions are to be reduced from today approximately 6.0 tonnes per year and person down to 2.2 tonnes. By 2034, all remaining nuclear power plants in Switzerland, some of them among the oldest in Europe, will be taken of the grid (in accordance with the new political decision taken by the Swiss Federal Council in the wake of the Fukushima desaster). The overall target is therefore the transformation of the energy supply from a nuclear and hydropower based to a more sustainable one. Security of supply is often identified as one of the principle challenges in this context. For all these aspects, support and promotion of Innovation beyond R&D is a key relevance as well. The smart city concept is not only multi-dimensional but also future-oriented in tackling energy consumption and CO2 emissions. It follows an urban development strategy whereby focussing on how (Internet-related) technologies enhance the lives of citizens, empowering them for contributing to urban change and realizing their ambitions.
The Swiss cantons dispose of a strong autonomy with manifold competences. In an international perspective, Swiss federalism can be called a 'decentralized' federalism. This means that changes in the direction of centralization require justification, whereas in the 'unitary' federalism of Germany, it is decentralization and competition which need to be justified (Braun 2003). However, during the last couple of decades, one could observe a certain tendency towards more coordination between the cantons and more centralization. The federal level plays a proactive role, which is backed by the citizens. This may be a consequence of enhanced competition between the European regions, economies of scale and scope which can be better used in a larger perimeter, and the expectations of citizens that cantons should provide a more comparable level of service provision. The small scale of the Swiss cantons is considered to be an obstacle. Amalgamations might appear to be a way of resolving these problems, but the Swiss cantons and the Confederation have chosen a more pragmatic way of coordination, in favour of keeping the responsiveness and proximity of the present small cantons towards their citizens and keeping the tax competition.
The Swiss ethos for solidarity strongly refers to social cohesion inside the various territorial levels of the nation-state. Swiss federalism accommodates diversity and autonomy as the mechanism that accounts for the political and social equilibrium between the shared-rule at federal level and the self-rule at the cantonal level. The relationships vis-a-vis solidarity and federalism are subject to the cultural and territorial complexity of the State, which ascribe a core set of values and duties that strong hold cantons and citizens' peaceful coexistence and well-being. This chapter analyses how solidarity is conveyed implicitly and explicitly within the Swiss legal system, focusing on the direct impact of federalism and diversity on institutional solidarity schemes.
The aim of this study is to determine the role of popular initiative in the political system of Switzerland. The term 'popular', or 'citizens' initiatives' refers to the procedures that allow citizens to bring new issues to the political agenda through collective action, that is, through collecting a certain number of signatures in support of a policy proposal. Citizens' initiative in Switzerland allows for any group outside parliament to put a proposal on the table. The proposal has to suggest a constitutional amendment. Changes to laws or any other government regulations cannot be the subject of a popular initiative at national level in Switzerland.Of the 174 initiatives that have made it to the polls, only 18 (10 per cent) had been approved prior to 2010, all the others were rejected. Initiatives are launched for numerous reasons. The agenda-setting effect is relevant for all initiatives. Parties and interest groups also launch initiatives for more strategic reasons. In Switzerland the institutions of direct democracy, including the popular initiative on constitutional amendments, play a most prominent role, both in terms of frequency and in terms of impact, in a political system shaped by consensus politics and a rather stable party system. ; Celem niniejszego artykułu było ustalenie roli, jaką pełni inicjatywa ludowa w systemie politycznym Szwajcarii. Inicjatywę ludową (obywatelską) możemy zdefiniować jako procedurę, która umożliwia obywatelom przedstawienie swoich propozycji ustawodawczych (konstytucyjnych) poprzez zgromadzenie wymaganej liczby podpisów pod wnioskiem. Inicjatywa ludowa w Szwajcarii pozwala grupom obywateli złożyć propozycje w zakresie zmiany konstytucji. Należy podkreślić, iż na poziomie federacji nie funkcjonuje inicjatywa w zakresie ustawodawstwa zwykłego.Spośród 174 inicjatyw ludowych, które zostały poddane pod głosowanie w referendum, do roku 2010 jedynie 18 (10%) zyskało aprobatę większości. Pozostałe wnioski odrzucono. Inicjatywy są zgłaszane z różnorodnych powodów. Elementem wspólnym jest efekt tworzenia programu politycznego. Partie polityczne oraz grupy interesu podejmują inicjatywy także z powodów strategicznych. W Szwajcarii instytucje demokracji bezpośredniej (w tym inicjatywa ludowa) odgrywają istotną rolę, zarówno w zakresie częstotliwości stosowania, jak i pod względem wywieranego wpływu, w systemie politycznym ukształtowanym przez politykę porozumienia i dość stabilny system partyjny.
The development of political science in Switzerland in terms of an academic recognition has its origins in the French part of Switzerland in the 1960s to 1980s, followed by the German part. Today, ten institutions in Switzerland offer political science at Bachelors and at Masters level. While in 2'000, only about 2'300 students studied political science in Switzerland this number almost doubled within ten years. One of the main changes in political science education in Switzerland consists in the replacement of the existing degrees of Lizentiat and Diplom by Bachelor- and Master-programmes according to the 'Bologna reform' in the early 2000s, by which Switzerland has pioneered the transformation processes. The first chair in political science was installed in 1959. Currently, there are about 50 full professorships at Swiss Universities. The main research fields of political science consist of international studies, democracy and Swiss politics, although Swiss politics still is considered particularly important in Switzerland due to of its unique political system within Europe such as direct democracy.
Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries are noted for their low levels of industrial conflict. Thereafter the similarity between the two approaches to industrial relations becomes rather tenuous. The Swiss system of industrial relations is anything but centralised. It demonstrates what many outside observers might consider acute sensitivity to the preservation of individual freedom of choice. To some extent this may be explained in terms of Switzerland's unique form of direct democracy. At the same time, there is evidence that this multi cultural federation with complications of language and religion has achieved a large measure of consensus on the procedural aspects of industrial relations. In this respect, the peace agreement approach first introduced in 1937 has been described by an experienced Swiss mediator as the main pillar of Swiss industrial peace.
Switzerland is a Confederation composed of 26 state-like bodies referred to as Cantons. As a federal system, Switzerland's governance of health-related matters is normally managed at the Cantonal level. At the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Federal government opted to centralize the response by enacting the 2016 Epidemics Act. This Epidemics Act gives latitude to the Federal government to declare a health crisis to be an "extraordinary situation", allowing it to take conservatory measures. On 16 March 2020, the Federal Council acted unilaterally in by deciding to implement the strictest measures ever to be taken on a national level during a time of peace, with measures including "semi-lockdowns," closures of schools, bars, restaurants, and non-essential shops, among others. As of June 2020, Cantonal governments regained more localized control over the management of the pandemic. In addition to the Epidemics Act, the Swiss parliament passed the Federal COVID-19 Act on 25 September 2020. The Federal COVID-19 Act added additional regulations and limitations to the Federal Council's powers and responsibilities in managing the epidemic so that the regular legal channels, such as the Swiss parliament, would not be overlooked for future decision-making. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Switzerland had one preparedness plan primarily related to potential influenza pandemics, the latest Swiss Influenza Pandemic Plan established in 2018. This pandemic plan found legal basis in the Swiss Epidemics Act (2016) and had clearly delineated responsibilities delegated between different levels of governance (federal and cantonal) and different health authorities and actors. However, the Influenza Pandemic Plan did not foresee a crisis that would be long-lasting and instead included provisions for short-term mitigation measures. Early on in the epidemic, several measures in the Plan were put in place, such as a "semi-lockdown" on 16 March 2020. All shops, restaurants, and bars were closed, while food stores and health establishments, such as pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics, remained open. Work from home policies were put in place and were mandatory whenever possible. The government innovated by developing measures that went further than the Pandemic Plan's measures for two aspects. First, the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force (SN-STF) was created at the end of March 2020 as an ad hoc response to the COVID-19 pandemic that was not planned in any of preparedness plans. Second, on 16 March 2020, the Federal Council established border controls between Switzerland and Germany, France and Austria. It also imposed entry bans into Switzerland, with some exceptions, for people coming from these three countries and Italy. This measure regarding restriction on borders was decided unilaterally by the Federal Council, and was further extended to all Schengen countries on 25 March 2020 (FederalCouncil, 2020e). All levels of government were directly engaged in broadcasting similar prevention messages to encourage the population to comply with sanitary and mitigation measures and did so by mobilizing traditional forms of media, such as television, radio, newspapers, poster and billboard campaigns. They also engaged with Swiss residents through Internet channels via online news outlets and social media platforms. The Federal Council participated in widely followed weekly press conferences to inform the Swiss population about the most current decisions and developments. Furthermore, the Swiss Federal government launched a large economic package aimed at providing financial support to most of those who have lost earnings (employees, employers, business owners, and independent workers). Most of subsidies cover 80% of the loss of earnings and were paid out with a maximum of 196 CHF (Swiss francs) per day.
The purpose of this study is analysis of Austrian Chancellor Metternich's approach towards the civil war in Switzerland, which ensued in 1847 between the Catholic and Protestant cantons, and evaluation of the consequences of Metternich's diplomatic defeat, for him personally and also for Austria and its relationship with the German Confederation. Eruption of the conflict itself, its progress and its consequences will be discussed. Metternich considered the dispute in Switzerland to be an issue for Austria, because he believed that the radical (Protestant) cantons' efforts to create a unified federal state could act as an impulse for the increased involvement of German nationalists who would finally trigger a revolution in Germany. He made all possible effort to prevent this development, however, his intention this time was not just to use diplomatic means, but also armed intervention by Austria and France and he also considered using military assistance from the states of the German Confederation. But his efforts failed, the Sonderbund, a military defensive alliance of the seven Catholic conservative cantons created for the purpose of protecting the sovereignty of the cantons, was defeated in the civil war and a new federal constitution was adopted in Switzerland. The Prince's fears were realised when the victory of the Swiss radicals became one of the impulses for a revolution in Germany and Italy in 1848.
Switzerland is often viewed as a federalist curiosity and a unique form of direct democracy. But this view does not provide a proper understanding of the country. A theory of Switzerland is necessary. A consideration of the initial, exogenous geographical situation of Swiss territory provides a better understanding of the country's development. It was out of the frac-tured geography that the institutions of federalism and direct democracy as they are known today developed and established themselves. Although there was a trend to internal centralisation in the 20th century, the regional authorities have maintained their autonomy considerably better in Switzerland than in other states. An important factor is that the federal government, cantons and municipalities are each responsible for their own finances and debts. This stabilises not only the budget of regional and local authorities but also prevents interference on the part of the central government.
Doing Business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies— from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time. Regulations affecting 12 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, employing workers, and contracting with the government. The employing workers and contracting with the government indicator sets are not included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business. Data in Doing Business 2020 are current as of May 1, 2019. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents indicators for Switzerland; for 2020, Switzerland ranks 36.
This article analyses Swiss migration policy and Switzerland's role as a country of asylum from 1914 to 1918. Subsequent sections discuss the change in migration patterns; how political emigrants and refugees were dealt with; the role of exile communities; the establishment of new border controls and a Federal Immigration Authority; and eventually the discourse on "Überfremdung". This article argues that the war gave rise to new migratory patterns and a defensive outlook against foreigners in Switzerland. Furthermore, the state of war enabled the Swiss government to centralise migration control at the federal level.
Several activities ranging from subsurface data analysis, new data acquisition, database infrastructure design and policy making are ongoing in support of the large geothermal exploration effort in the framework of the 'GEothermie 2020' program in south-western Switzerland (Canton of Geneva). The step-wise approach strategy defined by the main project stakeholders aims at acquiring knowledge of the underground geothermal potential while ensuring continue support form public and political parties. The subsurface characterisation study carried out to date mostly by the University of Geneva is delivering encouraging results in support of future identification of drilling locations based on a detailed multidisciplinary study of the entire stratigraphic succession of the Geneva Basin underground. These will allow to meet both exploration requirements (i.e. reduce subsurface uncertainties) while responding to energy policy targets (increase use of sustainable energy source and increase energy efficiency).
INTRODUCTION: The Swiss health care system is characterized by its decentralized structure and high degree of local autonomy. Ambulatory care is provided by physicians working mainly independently in individual private practices. However, a growing part of primary care is provided by networks of physicians and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) acting on the principles of gatekeeping. TOWARDS INTEGRATED CARE IN SWITZERLAND: The share of insured choosing an alternative (managed care) type of basic health insurance and therefore restrict their choice of doctors in return for lower premiums increased continuously since 1990. To date, an average of one out of eight insured person in Switzerland, and one out of three in the regions in north-eastern Switzerland, opted for the provision of care by general practitioners in one of the 86 physician networks or HMOs. About 50% of all general practitioners and more than 400 other specialists have joined a physician networks. Seventy-three of the 86 networks (84%) have contracts with the healthcare insurance companies in which they agree to assume budgetary co-responsibility, i.e., to adhere to set cost targets for particular groups of patients. Within and outside the physician networks, at regional and/or cantonal levels, several initiatives targeting chronic diseases have been developed, such as clinical pathways for heart failure and breast cancer patients or chronic disease management programs for patients with diabetes. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Swiss physician networks and HMOs were all established solely by initiatives of physicians and health insurance companies on the sole basis of a healthcare legislation (Swiss Health Insurance Law, KVG) which allows for such initiatives and developments. The relevance of these developments towards more integration of healthcare as well as their implications for the future are discussed.
