Direkte Demokratie in der Schweiz – Länderbericht 2009/2010

This paper reports the exceptional case where a new instrument of direct democracy was cancelled without ever being put to work. The General Public Initiative had been introduced in 2003 in the wake of constitutional revisions on the federal level. There was broad consensus about the need for some form of initiative below the level of constitutional amendments. Therefore, the General Public Initiative was to suggest a general idea to be implemented by the legislator either in the form of federal statute or in the form of constitutional amendment. To realize this new instrument in a way both attractive to activists and viable in terms of procedural implementation turned out to be a difficult task. After long debates, parliament eventually suggested abolishing the attempt and the people supported this with their vote (68% Yes). It is a rare example of direct democracy being reduced rather than extended. Furthermore, the report describes the attempt to introduce the death penalty. It also analyzes the different reasons for which cantonal initiatives can be declared invalid.