Who is the President of Switzerland?

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 446 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. Who is the President of Switzerland? (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Over the years, I have asked my university students this question: Who is the president of Switzerland? No one has ever answered; it is a trick question. Unlike most countries, the Swiss Confederation does not have a president or prime minister acting as the head of state or government. In Switzerland, the executive power is not vested on a single individual, but in a seven-member Federal Council. Each Council member has equal power, and each is operationally responsibly for one ministry. According to seniority, the seven members of the Council rotate yearly to serve as President of the Confederation, and chair Council meetings. It is this temporary assignment that we may figuratively call the President of Switzerland, although he or she is only a primus inter pares (first among equals). The President is principally responsible for representational duties but without any authority over the other Councilors, and must continue to run his or her department. Visiting heads of state are received by the full Council, and treaties are signed by all seven members. Interestingly, although Switzerland is classified as a semi-direct democracy (vs. a representative democracy), the Council members are not elected directly by the people, but by the houses of parliament in joint session. There is much more to this unique Swiss system of government, but what I want to highlight is that Switzerland is a multicultural society with four distinctly different ethnic groups: German 65%, French, 18%, Italian 10%, Romansh 1%, and 6% made up of other various ethnicities. And although Germans make up a dominant majority, and could win all elections, the country manages a federal system that gives each ethnic group the power to administrate their local affairs with significant autonomy and in their language of choice. Moreover, the Swiss have adopted a “magic 2-2-2-1 formula” of representation in the Federal Council with two seats going to the Christian Democrats, two to the Social Democrats, two to the Radicals, and one to the People’s Party. As eccentric as this system may seem to us, it works for the Swiss. In the United States, during the Constitutional Convention and the ratification process, the Founding Fathers faced an entirely different set of issues in the design of a federal republic. At that time American society was ethnically homogeneous. As John Jay noted in Federalist No. 2, America was “one united people - a people descended from the same ancestors, the same language, professing the same religion.” But, the problem of “factions,” as articulated by James Madison in Federalist No. 10 is loosely analogous to the ethnicity factions that make up the Swiss Confederation. Madison defined factions as “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority..., who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens...” In both cases, the question was, and is, how to guard against factions, or groups of citizens, whose interest defy the rights of other citizens. To Madison, factions were inevitable due to the very nature of man. As he saw it, as long as we hold different opinions, and possess different financial resources, we will continue to form alliances with like-minded people. Madison’s solution was not to seek to change the causes of factions, as egalitarians try to do, but to control their effect. Any efforts to remove the causes of faction, Madison argued, would destroy the liberty that is essential to political life. The United States and Switzerland are enormously successful societies that rank near the top in most metrics of national performance such as civil liberties, government transparency, wealth, or quality of life. And yet, each country approached the questions of governance and of factions in dramatically different ways. This raises a fundamental question as to what elements of their respective systems are to be credited for their success. We may not know who the President of Switzerland is, and it may not matter. The presidency of a country is not a metaphysical undertaking. In this tale of two systems, the common denominator is that both societies have sought to maximize individual freedoms. And that, is the source of their success. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish.