THE POPULAR VETO IN SWITZERLAND.
CANTON Berne is revising its Constitution. Time was when the Constitution of a Swiss Canton had a semi- sacred character, and remained unaltered for centuries. But that time is past, and, except in the four or five States where the laws are still made by Landesgemeinden, a Constitution rarely outlasts a generation. On the other hand, revisions do not often lead to very profound changes, for local laws, to be valid, must strictly conform to the provisions of the Federal Con- stitution. The question at present most debated in Berne concerns the Referendum,—the right of the citizens to veto the Acts of their representatives. The history of the usage is both curious and interesting. Introduced nearly half a century ago by the Radical party as a democratic and essentially Swiss measure, and opposed by the Demo- crats as a dangerous innovation, it has since been adopted by every Canton of the Confederation save two. Swiss Radicals, it may be well to mention, are doctrinaire Jacobins of the French type ; and the Democrats, whatever they once were, are now Liberals of the English type. Advo- cates of Parliamentary Government, they objected to the Referendum as incompatible with the independence of Local Legislatures, and on the ground that the masses, albeit fully competent to choose their representatives, were not always competent to form a correct judgment on matters of detail and complex questions of law and administration. They urged, further, that members, once elected, should be gener- ously treated and allowed a wide discretion, and not degraded into mere mandatories, liable at any moment to have their most carefully conceived and laboriously executed measures vetoed by the people. But their great fear was that the adoption of the Referendum would open the door to all sorts of violent changes, that its tendency would be sub- versive and destructive, and so impair the influence of the State as to render government impossible and property insecure. A minor, yet still greater evil apprehended by the Democrats, as a, consequence of the proposed change, was that the people, weary of perpetual voting, would end by losing all interest in the doings of their representatives and the affairs of the country, and become the tools of designing and unscrupulous politicians. The Radicals contended, on the other hand, that as the people were the source of power, so they were the fountain of wisdom, and that the only way of rendering them the true masters of their destinies was to submit to the general body of the citizens every measure pro- posed by their representatives. By this means alone could the popular sovereignty be efficiently exercised, and pure demo- cracy, as it prevailed in the Waldstatten, extended to the whole of Switzerland. This view obtained acceptance in Berne, and the obligatory Referendum became a part of the Cantonal Constitution. All projects of law must be sub- mitted to the people, after they have been discussed by the Legislature. In other Cantons, the Referendum is optional ; the people are appealed to only when a demand to that effect is made by a certain number of citizens. The question in Berne is not so much whether the Referendum shall be re- tained or abolished, as whether it shall be obligatory or optional. Its working, except in one or two particulars, has confirmed the previsions of neither party, and so little realised the hopes of the Radicals, that if the system were less popular with the masses they would certainly propose its abolition ; while the Democrats, without approving of it in principle, support it as the only check on the authoritative tendencies of their opponents, when the latter are in power, and they generally are in power.
So far as the character of the legislation and the influence of Government are concerned, the effect of the obligatory Referendum has been distinctly unfavourable. The people have come to look upon their Deputies as mere mandatories, charged with the preparation of measures which, until approved by the popular vote, can possess no validity. As a natural consequence, the position of Deputy is less valued and less sought, and the pre- sent generation of Deputies are inferior in character and social position, if not in ability, to their predecessors ; there is more self-seeking among them, the functionaries they appoint are said to be less zealous, and too often less honest, than those of former Governments ; several branches of the Administration, especially the Department of Finance, are less efficiently con- ducted, and have even been charged with favouritism and corruption. On the other hand, the people have shown un- expected wisdom and moderation, manifesting greater respect for prescription and tradition, and more solicitude for the interests of the country, as distinguished from those of party, than the Parliaments whom they have elected. In Federal, as in Cantonal matters, the electors have over and over again rejected innovations of which their representatives have approved, and they give no countenance whatever to the -doctrinaire schemes of Socialist reformers. This is doubtless in part due to the wide diffusion of landed property among the Swiss people ; but the fact that the constituencies display greater wisdom and more moderation than their legislators is none the less remarkable. It offers the best justification for the popular veto, and proves that the instincts of the masses, except when they are wild with want, or moved by some sudden gust of passion, are essentially Conservative. The Radicals are so much disappointed with the working of the Referendum—it has answered so little to their expecta- tions—that if they could they would abolish it utterly. But it has struck its roots so deeply that an open display of hos- . tility would imperil their ascendancy ; and though some of the leaders denounce it in set terms, the party wisely abstain from opposing an institution which they are powerless to crush. M. Carteret, the leader of the Geneva Radicals, stigmatises the Referendum as a "legislative phylloxera," and affirms that although the people are capable of choosing their representa- tives, they are not capable of controlling their work. This amounts, in effect, to an adoption of the ancient Parlia- mentary principles of his political opponents. Democrats have equally changed front, and seeing from how many dangers the popular veto has preserved the commonwealth, and that, with volution de liste, it is the sole safeguard against the tyranny of an accidental majority, and the only check on hasty legisla- tion, they have become the warmest friends of the system which they once condemned.
There is some difference of opinion as to whether the Referen- dum has rendered the electors less disposed to exercise their poli- tical rights. As a rule, the citizens who take part in elections do not exceed fifty per cent. of those entitled to vote. But as Switzers are called upon to vote, for something or another, at least a score of times every year, it is no wonder that there are many abstentions, and that when a project of law is offered for their acceptance only those whom it particularly affects .give themselves the trouble to make their opinion effective. On important occasions, however, when the general interests of the -Canton or the Confederation are at stake, the proportion of Swiss .voters who go to the poll is as large as in any other country. The Bernese Radicals complain that Bills are not unfrequently vetoed to which no open opposition has been manifested, and against which no valid reason has been alleged,—and this they ascribe to a perverse tendency on the part of the people to reject measures merely because they emanate from the Government,—a strange theory to be enunciated by a party whose device is, Vox populi, vox Dei. The truth is, that the average Swiss citizen wants to let well alone, and is always indisposed to sanction schemes which he does not understand, or of which he does not see the necessity. On the whole, .there can be little doubt that the working of the optional, as distinguished from the obligatory, Referendum has been satis- factory in Switzerland. So far as it is an evil, it is a necessary one ; and it might be well if the system were adopted by at least one of Switzerland's neighbours. Nothing would impart
so much stability to government in France as bestowing on the people, with all needful safeguards, the right of directly expressing their opinion on the doings of their representatives.
If, for instance, the French Constitution forbade the Government to engage in any foreign military expedition whatever without the approval of the people, the Republic would have been spared all its present troubles ; for out of Paris, there are probably not 10,000 voters who could be persuaded to approve either of the expedition to Madagascar or the war in Anam.
Previous page
