WASHINGTON (AN) — One big similarity between the two countries where I'm a citizen – I was born in Palo Alto, California, where my Swiss parents lived at the time, but I mostly grew up in the Swiss capital, Bern – is a continuing clash between the far-left and the far-right.
Another is the tendency to hear liberal views in cities and conservative views in rural areas. One big difference, though, is how we view women leaders. Twelve days before America decides if it will have its first woman president, Switzerland's sixth woman president chaired a U.N. Security Council session about giving women a greater role in peacemaking.
It's unusual for Switzerland to be in charge of the U.N.'s most powerful body. Swiss President Viola Amherd, who's probably best known for convincing the Swiss to buy new F-35 fighter jets from the United States, headed the council's annual debate on women, peace and security.
She said research shows peace accords that involve women in the negotiations process are 30% more likely to last at least 15 years. "We are clearly heading in the wrong direction. Women are increasingly less involved in peace processes, violence against women and girls is taking on dramatic proportions, especially online," she said.
Swiss people generally aren't as fascinated with their president as Americans, partly because of differences in the power of the top job and some cultural differences, especially privacy.
It's not so unusual for a Swiss woman to be in charge of the country, or for the president – who only holds the job for one year at a time — to be seen out in Bern, without security, going to have lunch, or running some errands, or catching a train, wheeling her own suitcase.
On the other hand, Swiss women only got the right to vote in federal elections after a referendum in Feb. 1971 — a half-century after American women got the right to vote from the 19th Amendment in August 1920. Despite an active Swiss women's movement, the traditional belief that women were born for a non-political life was slow to fade away.
The casualness that a Swiss woman president can have in public isn't common for women in politics globally. "Women’s rights must be better protected so they can engage in politics in complete safety," Amherd said.
"I am appalled to see that women and girls still face systematic hostility, intimidation and violence today, whether at the highest political level, at the local level or in their personal environment," she told the U.N. "Technological progress has its downside: women are being digitally pilloried, and artificial intelligence makes attacks even easier."
Swiss government is headed by a seven-member Federal Council that runs by consensus. Each member heads a federal agency and takes a turn as president. Amherd is the first woman to head the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport, which includes the Swiss military.
Since 1999, five women before Amherd held the one-year presidency, but some had it for more than one term, so Swiss women collectively have held nine one-year presidential terms. Like U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Amherd is a lawyer. She's also a notary, part-time judge, and member of a center-right political party, Die Mitte, which literally means "the center."
Just in the past week, a Washington Post article asked if America is ready for its first woman president and said Harris "faces a familiar foe: sexism." Last month, a U.S. News poll of people ages 18 to 34 found more than 80% in key battleground states say a woman could be an effective president and strong leader, but only 68% agreed the country was ready for that.
The Swiss multi-party system might be good for the U.S.
The U.S. and Swiss democracies are a lot alike, but the Swiss love initiatives and referendums more. Voters are often asked to give opinions of decisions by Swiss Parliament and propose amendments to the Constitution.
In Sept. 2020, Swiss citizens just barely approved — in a 51.1% to 49.9% vote with a margin of less than 9,000 votes among the approximately 3 million cast – Defense Minister Amherd's proposal to spend up to 6 billion Swiss francs (US$7 billion) on the fighter jets.
In Switzerland, political parties work through a consensus democracy, sharing power in a multiparty system with proportional representation. The Federal Council includes members from the largest parties, ensuring collaboration over strict party lines.
Each of the 26 Swiss cantons also have elected parliaments, similar to the 50 U.S. state legislatures. Within political parties, some are active regionally, others are national in scope, but still vary by region.
Switzerland's average voter turnout is only 46.61%, according to the Washington-based International Foundation for Election Systems, or IFES. America's political culture seems to emphasize conflict and victory, but its average voter turnout is 54.55%.
In recent years, younger, more progressive Swiss voices have gained strength. All the political leaders have to deal with Switzerland's multiparty system, which might be a good thing someday for the U.S., too.
Like the U.S. system, the Swiss government is meant to be decentralized. Deference is given whenever possible to the cantons, or states. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was unusual for the federal government to take control — and for voter participation to peak at 65% on a referendum.
The Swiss federal elections, which shape the government and focus on the shares of votes each political party receives, are held every four years. The first one I can vote in will be in 2027, but I'm excited that I'll be able to vote sooner than that in the Canton of Bern's general elections in 2026.
If I seem fascinated with comparing the two nations, it's probably because of the privilege and responsibility I now have of being able to vote — for the first time in my life! — in these two democratic countries.
They differ greatly in size and, it seems, in political cultures, but maybe not so much in other ways. Time will tell, as I explore life from a new teenage voter's perspective in the U.S. capital during a pivotal election year.
