“As a child, you don’t realize for a long time that you are not right there. You think you are like everyone else.” Përparim Avdili came to Switzerland with his parents from the former Yugoslavia. © Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch
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On International Democracy Day we present two people who are committed to political participation in Switzerland: the liberal FDP politician Përparim Avdili believes in individual fulfillment, and it is precisely for this reason that he is committed to facilitating naturalization and the right to vote for foreigners.
This content was published on September 15, 2022 – 6:00 am
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Thomas Kern
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Other guests talk about awareness and self-realization in their free time. Conversations adapt to the forecourt of this factory which has been turned into a café. Përparim Avdili, on the other hand, uses a vocabulary in this milieu that many politicians in Switzerland retain for the August 1 speeches.
“Switzerland is a nation of will. We do not define ourselves by ethnicity or language. We define ourselves by the will to fight together for freedom and democracy,” he says. In the city of Zurich, one third of the population does not have a Swiss passport. The Swiss average exceeds 25% – 2.24 million people. “Among them there are many who have never lived anywhere else but Switzerland,” says Avdili. He asks that their country of residence is suitable for them and they ask: “Do you want to become Swiss?”
Switzerland, a country of immigration
Avdili is in his thirties, member of the local parliament, banker and president of the FDP in Zurich. He believes in freedom, ownership and individual fulfillment. They are his party values, and these were given to him at home. This is exactly why he is so heavily involved in migration policy issues. A meritocracy, Avdili is convinced, can only exist if society creates equal opportunities.
Switzerland is a country of immigration. “Anyone who claims otherwise cannot face the facts.” It has an economic interest in immigration because it is chronically and increasingly short of skilled workers. But as a nation of will, it also has an intangible interest in involving people. Because this prevents the formation of parallel societies, this only allows identification with the state and shared values.
“Më voto”, choose me, in Albanian. With this slogan, Përparim Avdili addressed the Albanian-speaking Swiss: inside. © Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch
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“As a child you think you are like everyone else”
As a child, Avdili played in the then empty factory building, which is now the café we sit in front of. He grew up in this suburb of Zurich and has stayed there until today. Avdili’s parents immigrated from socialist Yugoslavia in the 1980s. “As a child, you don’t realize for a long time that you are not right there. You think you are like everyone else.” Avdili refers to the document certifying membership in Switzerland: the passport. When it came to looking for an apprenticeship, there was a story at school that Swiss citizenship made it easier to find an apprenticeship.
“It was fun for me at the time,” he says. But he was not discouraged: at 16 he underwent the naturalization process; soon after, he began his political commitment. “I’ve always been very interested in politics,” says Avdili. Now, as an adult, as a Swiss, he says: “Society should make an offer to those who grew up here.”
Election campaign in Albanian
The politician Përparim Avdili, still out of office, caused a stir. He first ran for election seven years ago. His flyer, his video, an event aimed at the Albanian-speaking community: “Më voto”, choose me. This has brought him attention and criticism: anyone who can vote has civil rights. Citizens can speak the national language.
Swissinfo.ch series on inclusion
Democracy is in the greatest crisis since World War II and the Cold War.
Long-term due to the tendency towards authoritarianism and autocratism that has persisted for about 15 years.
Short-term due to the crown pandemic and the Russian aggressive war against sovereign Ukraine.
Resilience is a key factor in the debate on how to deal with this multi-crisis: democracies should strengthen their resilience and solidity “from within” in order to better avert threats.
In our series, we focus on a principle of democracy that has barely appeared in the resilience debate to date: inclusion.
We feature people committed to the full inclusion of all key minorities. The other side, which knows that the country’s political majority has its support, also has a say.
swisinfo.ch held out Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy 2022External Linkwhich takes place from 21 to 25 September in Lucerne, an international panel on the theme of inclusion.
Incidentally, the Swiss abroad were also excluded for a long time: they were included in the political right only in 1992.
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Obviously, it was election advertising among Swiss citizens of Albanian origin. But she also wanted to show the community that she is politically involved. “I’ve already politicized some people,” says Avdili.
At present, political rights are also linked to civil rights at the local level in most of Switzerland. It is therefore organized according to the principle of exclusion: the obstacles to entry are high. If you want citizenship, you must have lived in the countryside for ten years, be in the same municipality for five years, incur expenses for thousands of francs, take exams, and in some cantons you must also present yourself at the municipal assembly – as for an evaluation. Who is already deciding. Yes or no.
Alien voting rights as a way to get people involved
Anyone who has gone through the process often thinks: why should others have it differently? This consideration is the reason many naturalized people are critical of lowering the thresholds or even the right to vote for foreigners, says Avdili. He, on the other hand, sees the right to vote for foreigners at the municipal level as a way to involve people in Switzerland.
“Anyone who wants to decide on the federal constitution must be Swiss. This is the common basic attitude in this country.” On the other hand, issues at the municipal level would be faced by everyone in everyday life, regardless of their passport: a new stadium, a new school or a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour.
He sees the right to vote for foreigners as an invitation from Switzerland to all fellow citizens to join democracy. They are already part of the company: “They have children who go to school, they are active in clubs. But they also contribute financially through taxes”. After staying for five years in the same place, where Avdili would have put the door to participation, many people end up with a real tax account.
“In my understanding of democracy, the political process is at its best when as many people as possible participate,” says Avdili. He speaks very fast, now he stops. “In fact, this could be the common position of all parties.”
No question of left or right?
He himself supports this “very liberal” position, especially in his own party. But even left-wing politicians have something to convince, he says. The PS and the Greens are in favor of the right to vote for foreigners, at least at the party level. But among the leftist voters, Avdili puts a question mark. When the canton of Zurich decided the municipal voting right for foreigners almost ten years ago, the city of Zurich was also against it. “And it’s usually red-green.”
Përparim Avidli grew up in a suburb of Zurich and has remained there to this day. © Thomas Kern / swissinfo.ch
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The canton of Neuchâtel has had the right to vote for foreigners at the municipal level since 1849. There, participation at the municipal level is as old and normal as the Swiss federal state. Avdili doesn’t dare forecasts for Zurich. He says, “I trust people to move forward when you talk to them about values.”
It is even more important to him that Switzerland welcomes his children. “I expect evidence of integration from adult immigrants. But not from the children growing up here.”
