the swiss political system is always described as one of the best when it comes to direct democracy. and it’s true that we do get to vote on many issues. but to be honest, the issues are often quite complex, a lot of paper would have to be read and tv shows watched to make a truely informed decision. i am not all that interested in switzerland, so i admit it: i often take the easy way out = i just look how the “left” is voting and think to myself, good enough, that’s how i’ll vote. or, i won’t vote at all. i mean, who cares about some of the ridiculous issues that make ballot here. mostly on the local level.
but this weekend the swiss are voting on one hell of a big motherfucker – whether or not to join the schengen/dublin accord – and i did look into this one a bit more. [no, not by reading schengen/for dummies, allthough i wish that book existed…]. i decided to vote no. but no worries, i won’t start a political debate now. we all agree, it’s actually too late for that.
why i write about it here, is that i have never wished so strongly for a better voting system; one where i not only get to vote yes or no, but also to say why i did so.
thing is, there are leftist as well as rightwing reasons to vote no. yet, if the outcome should be a no, the right will celebrate it as their victory in support for their anti-eu, isolationist, xenophobic politics. but cleary, that is not why i voted no. and many others who voted no would strongly disagree with that line of reasoning as well. so, do you see the predicament? the people voting no for leftist reasons will be adopted by the right. for that reason alone, to avoid that from happening, i almost voted yes – against my better judgment.
i am thinking about e-voting here. let’s imagine, if votes and elections would be done via a digital online voting system, it would be quite easy to introduce such a feature. people could not only click yes and no, but also, from a multiple choice menu, choose their reasons why. that would paint a much more interesting picture. the statistical possibilities will expand manyfold. votes and elections will actually have more complex and multifaceted outcomes.
just imagine if such a system had existed in britain where people grudgingly re-elected blair. their reasons why would have painted a much more interesting result.
so guys. get on with e-voting. that’ll open up some truely interesting possibilities for direct democracy.
edit: schengen/dublin got a yes. and eventhough i had voted no, i must admit that i felt almost relieved, that it went through, when i heard that stupid, stOOpid man (maurer) speak in the so called “elefantenrunde”. he found a way to even claim my vote in defeat.
bastard!
however i feel great (almost gay) pride that switzerland now is the first country that said yes to a form of gay marriage in a vote.
it’s not all bad, maybe?