ONE FOR ALL, ALL FOR ONE

The contrast couldn't be more dramatic. In the world's richest and most powerful country, a president has taken office who is determined to use every inch of executive power to push through his agenda, with the world watching on in bemusement.

Meanwhile, in the rich - but somewhat less powerful - Switzerland (more"chocolate and watches" than "global dominance"), it's not always clear what the president and her government colleagues personally want.

Take the new Defense Minister, for example. Is he planning any bold steps in the course of Europe's rearmament? Difficult to say. Even if he wanted to dramatically cut ties with NATO or join it completely, he couldn't make that call alone. In Switzerland, solo acts are strictly off the table. The government operates under the principle of "collegiality", which is a fancy way of saying, "We're all in this together, whether we like it or not."

And don't let the term "president" fool you. If you're picturing a Swiss version of Trump or Macron, think again. The Swiss president is more like the captain of a very polite rowing team - elected for just one year, tasked with presiding over meeting, and occasionally casting a tie-breaking vote. Oh, and they share the ceremonial head-of-state duties with six other Federal Council members. Imagine King Charles sharing the throne with six cousins, all trying to agree on who gets to hold the scepter.

Decisions are made in secret meetings by a seven-member executive that operates like a well-oiled machine, making decisions as a collective body. No prime minister pulling the strings, no shadow cabinet challenging the calls. The magic word? Collegiality, enshrined in the Federal Constitution. The goal? Consensus. The result? No one gets too much power, and everyone has to publicly defend decisions, even if they privately think they're as appealing as a burnt rösti.

Take 2023, for instance. The government advocated a new law to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The right-wing conservative Swiss People's Party was against it, and its representative on the Federal Council even had connections to the oil industry before taking office - as the Minister of the Environment, of all things!

What he really thought about it? We'll never know. After the government had set its course, he publicly backed the law, and he's now implementing it.

To ensure that this sense of unity is not undermined, government meetings are secret, and the minutes are not published until 30 years later - unless they mysteriously find their way to the media...

It is certainly not easy to promote a policy that you reject privately. Of course, the members of the government in other liberal democracies must also subordinate themselves to government policy. Sometimes it is not clear whether they are doing so out of conviction, pragmatism or pure loyalty to a powerful boss.

But unlike other democracies, where ministers can be fired, resign in protest, or be voted out by citizens, Swiss ministers enjoy job security that would make most workers weep with envy. They’re theoretically up for renewal every four years, but getting booted out is about as likely as finding a Swiss train running late.

That said, even in Switzerland, things aren’t always smooth sailing. Political polarisation has strained the collegiality principle in recent years, with whispers of an "anything but collegial atmosphere" in the Federal Council.

Still, the system has been chugging along for 177 years, and the Swiss seem to agree: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

And so, the seven musketeers - sorry, ministers - continue their collective governance, embodying the motto, “One for all, all for one.” Or, in true Swiss fashion, “One for all, all for consensus.”