New year, new agenda: Switzerland's seven-member Federal Council constitutes the country's executive branch of government that functions more like a board of directors. The captains of politics recently presented their new strategic course for the year 2005, but some experts suggest that the Council is just sailing a business-as-usual course.

AuteurAnderson, Robert
Fonction Politics

The Federal Council has laid out its roadmap for steering the country's politics in 2005, which pursues three distinct paths: The Council strives to boost Switzerland's prosperity and ensure its sustainability, to meet the challenges posed by the country's shifting demographics and to secure the tiny nations' position in the world.

Ambitious Plans

With its strategic objectives for 2005, the Federal Council presents its plan for the second legislative session. But some politicians say the goals are too far-reaching and overly ambitious, ranging from improving the Swiss financial centre through a vast array of economic policy measures, to introducing new statutes governing higher education, as well as regulating research in the area of human embryonic stem cells and revamping existing patent laws to conform with EU standards.

The ever-controversial tax reform issue will also he on the table in 2005, with proposals for revising the corporate income tax, streamlining the value-added tax scheme and taxation of individuals. The Council also intends to introduce legislation aimed at reforming the federal railway system and particularly the financing thereof with respect to the transportation network at the agglomeration, national and regional levels.

The Swiss Voters

Since Switzerland's political machine is fuelled by direct democracy, the people will certainly have a stake in deciding which of these initiatives will be passed into law.

The mood of the voters was certainly not conducive to advancing the government-sponsored proposals in 2004, with the Federal Council and Parliament coming up short at the ballot box again and again. Nevertheless, the government has put forth its political agenda for 2005 in the form of 16 initiatives.

Sixteen Steps

* Objective 1: Strengthening the educational system and enhancing the field of research

The Federal Council will announce its position on a new law governing higher education, encompassing general, occupational and youth programs, as well as participation in seven research projects with the European Union. It will formulate the Constitutional amendment and federal law on regulating human stem-cell research. Moreover, the Council proposes to establish nation-wide coordination of all technical schools in the areas of architecture, life sciences and design. It will also propose legislation on revising the existing laws on patents for new discoveries. And it plans to strike a deal between the federal...

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