Politique
Après avoir envisagé une mise en œuvre rigoureuse de l’article constitutionnel « contre l’immigration de masse » (quotas annuels d’immigration par branches ou région) puis une version beaucoup plus souple (plafonnement unilatéral uniquement en cas de forte immigration), le Conseil fédéral a passé la main au parlement qui, en décembre 2016, a pris la liberté de ne pas appliquer la Constitution. ...
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Last week, Ignazio Cassis became one of the Swiss federal councilors – after having surrendered his Italian passport in the weeks before the election. Simultaneously, in Australia several parliamentarians had to relinquish their seat, because it turned out that they had dual citizenship. Thinking about dual citizenship of elected politicians, four points are to be considered: “awareness” and the “possibility to renounce” where a prohibition for dual citizens to run for office is in force, as well as “loyalty” and “representation”, the basic arguments used when creating such prohibitions.
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Ignazio Cassis’ renunciation of his Italian citizenship has re-launched the debate on the meaning of political rights – and, in particular, the right to run for political office – in Switzerland. According to Cassis, his decision was necessary – politically, although not legally – in order to be elected to the Federal Council. At the same time, Cassis did not see dual citizenship as an obstacle to vote or to run as a candidate to the Federal Parliament. This episode shows that the right to vote and the right to run for political office are not necessarily aligned.
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20 September 2017: Ignazio Cassis was elected Switzerland's new federal councilor. He could have been the first member of the Federal Council with dual citizenship – if he hadn’t decided to renounce his Italian citizenship even though no legal obligation exists.
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On Wednesday, 1 November, Ignazio Cassis formally replaces outgoing federal councilor Didier Burkhalter as the seventh member of the Federal Council of Switzerland. Born to Italian parents in the Swiss canton of Ticino, Cassis gave up his Italian citizenship just weeks before being elected. His decision sparked a heated debate on whether elected politicians should surrender their foreign passports and renounce their dual citizenship, once elected to a post. In Switzerland, there is no legal obligation to do so.
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