Switzerland’s first blind politician on his career and direct democracy

Manuele Bertoli is the only visually impaired member of a cantonal government in Switzerland. How did he manage to have such a successful political career despite being blind? What is his vision of Swiss democracy and its instruments of direct democracy? We spoke to him just before his retirement from political life.

Bertoli, from the left-wing Social Democratic Party, became head of the government of the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in 2014. He has been a member of the Ticino government (composed of five members from four different parties) since 2011 and has held the cantonal presidency thrice. In April 2023, at the age of 62, the lawyer will complete his third and final term.

“Direct democracy in Switzerland is not something that those in power use to confirm their own ideas,” he explains. “But something that often starts from the bottom, with citizens’ initiatives.”

This article was published as part of a journalistic collaboration between Animal Político and SWI swissinfo.ch to exchange perspectives on democracy, its actors and the use of the tools of direct democracy in Mexico and Switzerland, in a global context.