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by m_mueller
4388 days ago
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As a Swiss I like your idea - I do think that an EU handled the right way[TM] could be a successor to national governments of federalistic countries such as Switzerland. However, there is one big thing missing right now in the EU (and you do hint at it yourself): Strong civil rights for the population resulting in keeping the political apparatus in check. The right to stop (and even introduce) any and every law through national votes keeps politicians nicely at bay. Large government projects need to be explained really well if people are to vote for it - yet they're still possible as the gotthard base tunnel proves[1]. Even the banking secrecy has the effect of keeping governments humble when it comes to taxation - people will simply just pay what they think is fair. It comes down to the government being more like an employee rather than an employer - and the Swiss people would loose dearly if they had to give this up. The EU at this point would require a complete reboot to get such strong mechanisms of checks and balances - and I'm not convinced that the Swiss system couldn't work for larger entities. [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel. |
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