A private citizen, Walter Knöpfel, 75, submitted a petition to the parliament, pushing for merging of Switzerland’s 26 canons into 10 regions. The proposal is currently being examined by the National Council.
He argues that the current geographical and administrative distribution of cantons makes no sense, because “many cantons are simply too small" to stand by themselves and should not form their own governments and other public entities, he told Swiss media.
“Appenzell Innerrhoden, for example, has 16,000 inhabitants. That is ten times less than the city of Lausanne. Seven other cantons have fewer than 100,000 residents, which corresponds to a population of a medium-sized municipality," he pointed out.
What does he propose?
He would merge and expand current cantons into larger regions.
For instance, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Zug, Lucerne and a part of Aargau would be grouped together into one geographic and administrative area.
In French-speaking Switzerland, Geneva and Vaud would merge, as would Fribourg with a part of Valais.
The same would happen in northern and eastern cantons, ultimately creating 10 large regions, with populations ranging from 2 million (northwest) to 279,000 (southeast).
The idea, while radical at first glance, does have some merit, an expert says.
For instance, Nenad Stojanović, associate professor of political science at the University of Geneva, pointed out that already now, smaller cantons are forced to pool their resources, like healthcare systems, for example.
Merging other infrastructure, such as public schools and universities, could therefore be beneficial as well, he pointed out.
Yes, but Is this idea realistic?
Its implementation would require a slew of changes from the legal perspective, because it would — both literally and figuratively — reshape Switzerland and its institutions.
One example is the parliament: if cantons as we know them were scrapped, tthe Council of States, which represents the cantons, would no longer exist.
The National Council, which represents the cantons according to the size of their respctive populations, would whittle down from 200 to 120 deputies.
Additionally, the move would have to be voted on in each canton, and that is not likely to pass.
In the past, voters have always refused mergers, according to Stojanović: the people of Vaud and Geneva flatly refused to unite in 2002, as have citizens of Basel-City and Basel-Country in 2014.
Knöpfel himself said he is aware that his idea will likely be turned down by the National Council (as it already was y the Council of States), but he decided to submit it nevertheless "because I think it's the right thing to do."
As an aside, can any Swiss citizen petition the parliament to consider an issue?
According to an official government site, “under Article 33 of the Federal Constitution, anyone can start a petition. The authority to which the petition is addressed is not required to respond. However, the authorities generally do consider petitions and respond.”
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