Comment by greyw
Comment by greyw a day ago
In Switzerland you can change the constitution with popular votes. That only requires for 50% of the voters to agree and half of the cantons.
Comment by greyw a day ago
In Switzerland you can change the constitution with popular votes. That only requires for 50% of the voters to agree and half of the cantons.
You’re arguing for massive changes to a very unique country with the oldest democracy in Europe. Unless you’re Swiss, or have credentials related to Swiss law, I don’t think you’re arguing anything realistic.
Countries can be as unique as they want to be, but they still need a system for preventing authoritarianism. The existing system is fine if it's effective and not fine if it isn't.
Switzerland has been preventing authoritarianism since before it was cool. Like, for 700 years. (With a brief interruption when they were invaded and overthrown by Napoleon.) So their system for the first 600 of those 700 years was the best system for preventing authoritarianism; a lot of it survives today.
Requiring 50% in a referendum is different from and safer than requiring 50% in a parliament vote. A parliament can go against the people that elected them.
It's an additional check. That's good, but it isn't always sufficient, because sometimes you can convince 51% of people to do something wrong.
If you can convince 51% of the population to do something wrong than you're already screwed and have much bigger issues to worry about.
Then get half the voters to agree to make it two thirds. After you put the other protections in, naturally.