Last chance to win the favour of the Swiss Abroad

The concerns of emigrants are also negotiated under the dome of the Federal Palace in Bern. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

As the current parliamentary term comes to an end, issues concerning the Swiss Abroad are popping up on the political agenda. SWI swissinfo.ch gives an overview of all the proposals that have been received at the last minute.

“It wasn’t easy,” says Filippo Lombardi, president of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). Over the last four years of the current legislative period, the political priorities of the Swiss Abroad have been put on the backburner in parliament. There were other, more pressing issues such as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s latest aggression against Ukraine. “During COVID-19 it was difficult for us to meet parliamentarians [in person],” Lombardi told SWI swissinfo.ch in an interview this summer.

A lost legislative period?

Looking at the number of sessions parliament spent addressing issues that concern the Swiss Abroad during the current legislative period, it becomes clear that only a few proposals were submitted in their favour, and even fewer that were effective.

However, the proposition launched by Swiss parliamentarian Andri Silberschmidt from the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party kept the government busy for a while. In 2021, he called on the government to examine how delivery could be sped up if ballot papers were dispatched via diplomatic post. The motion passed through both chambers and eventually required the Federal Chancellery to conduct several surveys [among parliamentarians].

Laurent Wehrli, Radical-Liberal Party. Niels Ackermann / Lundi13

Centre-right Radical-Liberal Party member of parliament Laurent Wehrli also made several attempts to put the Swiss Abroad back on the political agenda. He launched an interpellation on e-voting, proposed to print ballot papers at home, asked questions about the framework agreement with the EU and requested to set up a vaccination programme for the Swiss Abroad.

Continuous pressure for e-voting

There have been several proposals to increase the pressure on widening the possibility of e-voting. In 2022, Social Democrat member of parliament Carlo Sommaruga wanted to know how e-voting would be used in the 2023 elections. Marc Jost of the European People’s Party (EVP) followed up with an interpellation which included a questionnaire on the federal elections; support of the cantons and ways of how to use e-voting for which initial test trials have been conducted again since June 2023.

Liberal Green Party parliamentarian Katja Christ is submitting a similar inquiry this week. She wants to know how the government plans to evaluate the test trials for e-voting, and if it does not pass, she wants to know: “Which steps will be taken if the e-voting system of the Swiss Post is not suitable?”

Catching up just before the elections

With 227,000 voters, the Swiss Abroad are a very powerful electorate, and the final race to win their favour has just kicked off. The catch-up race began in May this year, just barely six months ahead of the federal elections on October 22. During that time, Swiss parliamentarians noticeably increased their support and commitment to the Swiss Abroad.

At the same time, Sudan was in crisis, and Swiss expats had to be repatriated but this brought to light that the Swiss government had no plane available to send for their repatriation. 

SWI swissinfo.ch reported about it here:

After fighting broke out in Sudan, parliamentarian Anna Giacometti of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party launched an interpellation with the title: “In times of crises, we must not abandon our fellow Swiss Abroad.” The government responded to the question whether it could organise its own aircraft with a simple ‘No’. Pierre-Alain Fridez of the Social Democrats submitted a similar interpellation entitled: “A transport aircraft for Switzerland would be appropriate”. He also received a negative answer.

Interpellations are a parliamentary procedure use to obtain information from the Federal Council on important domestic or foreign affairs issues.

Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, meanwhile, caused a great stir among the Swiss Abroad. The centrist politician called for “guaranteed health insurance for the Swiss Abroad”. Her proposal aims to support the growing number of Swiss pensioners living in Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brazil who only have limited access to a viable insurance solution.

 SWI swissinfo.ch has published several reports on it. Here is the latest:

Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, The Centre Keystone

Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter also stressed her commitment to the Swiss Abroad in the current autumn session. She submitted an interpellation that addresses an idiosyncrasy in Swiss politics: the Swiss Abroad are eligible to vote in elections to the Senate in one half of the Swiss cantons while in the other half they are not. This means that the Swiss expats from the cantons which do not allow them to participate in these elections are limited in their political rights, Schneider-Schneiter politician writes in her interpellation.

Two more proposals that address the representation of the Swiss Abroad in the political arena in Bern have just been submitted. Nicolas Walder of the Green Party wants to know whether the members of the Federal Council could imagine that the Swiss Abroad would receive permanent seats in Bern’s parliament according to their proportional size.

SWI swissinfo.ch reported about it here:

An answer to this question was made public at the end of August. The Federal Council decided that creating a new constituency for the Swiss Abroad would require a change in the constitution and that no further steps in this direction are planned.

Swiss People’s Party’s member of parliament, Jean-Luc Addor, submitted practically the same proposal dubbed: “Constituencies for the Swiss Abroad?”. The Swiss government’s response to this proposal was also practically the same: negative.

Last-minute proposals

The current parliamentary term has just entered its final week. However, it is not too late for the Liberal Green Party to submit another set of proposals in favour of the Swiss Abroad.

Parliamentarian Melanie Mettler of the Liberal Green Party asks about the pension schemes that are available for Swiss citizens who emigrate temporarily. She wants to have an overview of the pensions of those who returned from abroad in order to identify any possible gaps and measures. Her interpellation is called: “Guaranteed pension scheme for people who are internationally mobile.”

The motion launched by Mettler’s party peer Michel Matter is also interesting for returnees. He wants Switzerland to recognise the French Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS).

Busy agenda for next legislature

PACS is a type of registered partnership which is more binding than concubinage and less binding than marriage. In France, it is as common as marriage, however, it is not recognised in Switzerland which means that the 200,000 Swiss who live in France will be faced with legal uncertainties once they return.

Most of these proposals are still waiting to be addressed by parliament. Some questions, or interpellations, could be followed up with a postulate or a motion which are both more binding. However, one thing is certain: the next legislature will kick off with a busy agenda.

Edited by Marc Leutenegger. Translated from German by Billi Bierling/ds