"Switzerland is a success, Switzerland is unique and of use to the world. Of that we can be proud."
Bern, 01.08.2014 - Neuchâtel, 01.08.2014 - Radio and TV address by Mr. Didier Burkhalter, President of the Swiss Confederation, to mark Swiss National Day - Check against delivery
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear inhabitants of our country,
What passion and talent Alexia, Aurélien, Léonard and the other young musicians have shown in expressing their attachment to their country. The music performed by these young people has resonated in the echo of the centuries, on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, where the waves seem to scorn the passing of time, where the traces of lakeside villages remind us that five thousand years ago men and women already sought to shelter their families here, and so safeguard the future of their children.
The Switzerland we know is more recent. Nevertheless, it can be proud of its long history of success; over the course of time – something we so enjoy measuring – it has been able to safeguard its future.
Today, Switzerland is flourishing. It is one of the most innovative and competitive countries in the world. It is able to provide its inhabitants with a high quality of life and employment, particularly to its young people. This is the best way to ensure their part in society.
Switzerland owes this success to the values it cherishes, such as producing work of quality, as represented by the “Swiss made” label, and to our economic openness. The Federal Council wishes to pursue this policy of opening up to the world by continuing with and renewing the bilateral path which gives us access to our main market, the European Union. This will safeguard Swiss jobs.
Switzerland is a country of integration. It provides employment in a vast range of fields. It is a place of active solidarity and balance between the regions, cultures, languages and confessions. It has an exemplary system of direct democracy and a federal culture that takes account of the countries minorities. We know that there are different ways in which people live in Switzerland, but they are all equally valid. The secret of our country lies in bringing together and uniting them, rather than opposing them.
Switzerland is a success story on many levels: in terms of its democracy, its respect for minorities, and the peaceful society that this engenders.
This 1st August, the importance of these values resonates particularly loudly – and is reflected in the skies we have experienced this summer, sometimes blue and clear, sometimes heavy with menacing clouds, reminding us that we are never safe from human or natural disasters.
One hundred years ago today the First World War broke out; this was a disaster for humanity which also threatened our very own social and national cohesion.
A hundred years on, explosions in the skies, wars on the ground, and cries of hatred and intolerance are causing untold suffering to children and families, and cries of distress in the hearts of each and every one of us. These dramatic events, which seem so distant and yet so near, underscore the need for dialogue and remind us that our world, even our own continent, is an unstable and dangerous place. Instability poses a risk to our country and to those we hold dear. It is our duty to respond to this by harnessing Switzerland’s passion and talent.
Providing aid is in Switzerland’s interests and is indeed its responsibility. This is one of our deep-lying and fundamental values, as expressed in our Constitution. Our overriding interest is peace.
Our independence, our impartiality, our neutrality, our ability to strengthen dialogue and build bridges between cultures – in an unpredictable and unstable world, Switzerland's strengths are useful and much sought-after; like a patch of blue sky breaking through the clouds…
Switzerland is of use to the world.
And so this year we have sought peace in Geneva for Syria and Ukraine, and have addressed the great challenge which is Iran. As Chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Switzerland is seeking to prevent an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, and it is striving for stability in the Balkans and the Caucasus. Our country is working to save children and to give hope to men and women in Africa and the Middle East, indeed everywhere Switzerland is engaged in development projects, in providing humanitarian aid, and in promoting peace.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Even if the skies we share with the rest of the work are not always blue, Switzerland is a success story; Switzerland is unique. We have something to be proud of.
For it is a good place for those who come after us. For Alexia, Aurélien, Léonard and all the others.
For it is of use to the world…
Let us work together, with our shared passion and talents, to ensure this same success in the future, and to ensure that we know not only how to measure time, but how to transform it into progress.
I wish you all a very enjoyable National Day!
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