Cantonal government

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A cantonal government is the government or executive branch of a canton of the Swiss Confederation . In the German-speaking Switzerland the name there for cantonal governments Government before, in the French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino they are called mostly Conseil d'État or Consiglio di Stato , which in the bilingual cantons of Friborg and Valais German with State plays. It is a collegial body with five members in 14 cantons and seven in 12 cantons.

Constitutional law

Election and recall

Election mode

The cantonal government is usually elected by the people every four years. Exceptions are the cantons of Friborg , Vaud , Jura (since 2011) and Geneva with five years and the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden with one year. The election of the cantonal government usually takes place at the same time as the election to the cantonal parliament . The term of office therefore usually corresponds to the legislative period. Most cantons elect their government according to the majority voting system , i. That is, personalities and not party lists are elected. In the canton of Ticino , however, the proportional voting system applies ; the same was the case in the canton of Zug until 2013 .

The office of the District President, which is not just a representative office depending on the canton , has terms of office between one and five years. They are also elected differently: in five cantons they are directly elected by the people, in others by parliament, while in some cantons the government is self-constituting.

Right of recall

Since the 19th century, according to the principles of the democratic movement, the cantonal government in several cantons can be called off prematurely by means of a popular initiative . In fact, this right is of little importance, as the ordinary legislative periods of four years are usually not excessively long. Corresponding initiatives were taken only very rarely and each time failed in the referendum.

The required signature numbers are:

On the occasion of recent complete revisions of the cantonal constitutions, the right of recall was abolished in various cantons, namely in the canton of Aargau in 1980, in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in 1984 and in the canton of Lucerne in 2007.

In the cantons of Nidwalden and - since 2014 - Neuchâtel , the cantonal parliament can remove a government council early. In the canton of Neuchâtel, three quarters of the parliamentarians must approve the resolution.

Composition, chair

Today, the number of members in all cantons is either five or seven, until the last quarter of the 20th century some cantonal governments (Bern, Nidwalden, Appenzell Innerrhoden) had nine members.

The chairman of the cantonal government ( District President , Landammann , President of the Council of State) generally has no significantly more extensive powers than the other members of the government, but is merely a primus inter pares , who is usually elected for one year of office . Like the Federal Council , the government at national level, the cantonal governments follow the principle of collegiality .

In the course of some recent and recent constitutional revisions in the cantons of Basel-Stadt , Vaud and Geneva, the term of office of the district president has been extended to the entire term of office of the government council, i.e. to four or five years. Uri , Schwyz , Glarus , Zug , Appenzell Innerrhoden have a two-year solution. Also Appenzell Outer Rhodes has reduced its 2015 introduced in 1998, four-year term of Landamman again in two years.

Individual cantons have regulations on the representation of minorities. In the canton of Bern, the French-speaking part of the Jura canton is entitled to a seat; the geometric mean of the votes cast by the candidates in the entire canton and in the Bernese Jura is decisive for its appointment. In the canton of Valais, the population of the three cantonal parts (one of which is German-speaking) each elect a council of state; the other two are elected at the cantonal level, with no more than one councilor from the same district. In the canton of Uri, “the different parts of the country must be given reasonable consideration”, and a maximum of three government councilors may come from one municipality.

Jurisdiction

The cantonal government plans and coordinates the activities of the canton and the goals and means for fulfilling the canton's tasks.

As a rule, it prepares the cantonal laws and puts them into effect after they have been passed by the cantonal parliament or the cantonal electorate. The supervises the enforcement of federal and cantonal laws and issues the provisions necessary for enforcement. In the event of serious and imminent danger to public order, it can issue ordinances and orders without a legal basis. It is then responsible for reporting on popular initiatives and requests from the ranks of the cantonal parliamentarians, and it expresses itself within the framework of the consultation process on federal bills.

The cantonal government represents the canton externally and negotiates intercantonal and international agreements (see Intercantonal Concordat ).

It prepares the budget, the state accounts and the financial plan for the attention of the cantonal parliament. Within the framework of the budget and the cantonal constitution, it can decide on new one-off and new recurring expenses up to a certain amount.

It directs and supervises the cantonal administration and is therefore the highest administrative authority. As such, it generally appoints all subordinate authorities and cantonal staff. In addition, it supervises the other public bodies and oversees the administration of the districts, municipalities and corporations.

Designations

The names of the cantonal governments and their members vary from canton to canton. In German-speaking Switzerland , the term government council prevails today , with the exception of the government in the cantons of St. Gallen ( government council until 2001 ) and Graubünden ( small council until 1971 ) and the ethics committee in the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden . In Romandie applies spread Conseil d'État or in Ticino Consiglio di Stato, which in the bilingual cantons of Friborg and Valais German with State Council is reproduced; in the canton of Jura the executive is called the Gouvernement (government), and in the French canton of Bern, the government council is translated as Conseil-exécutif .

In rural German-speaking cantons, the designation Landammann prevails for the chairperson , and in urban district president . As a rule, there is no feminine form for Landammann ; the term Frau Landammann is used. The female molds for Government, the Councilor, as well as district president, the district president, however, are common. The canton of Lucerne knew with the terms Schultheiss and governors until 2007 even old historical names for the head of the government council or his deputy. In the Helvetic Republic , the usual administration consisted of a governor with the administrative chamber, subordinates in the districts and agents in the communities.

The ministries are called departments or directorates depending on the canton , the government councilors as their heads directors, for example director of education or director of justice and police, in the canton of Jura Minister (the word “ministère”, ministry ”is not used, but instead“ département ” ).

The government of the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden , known as the professional ethics committee , is an exception in terms of terminology and voting rights . Its members bear department-dependent, historically derived titles, some of which are not used anywhere else in Switzerland. The government is headed by the ruling Landammann . His deputy is the dormant Landammann, who will replace him after two years. Another governing councilor is the governor . The departments (ministries) “Economics”, “Education” and “Health and Social Affairs” are divided among these three by the professional ethics committee. The head of the finance department is called Säckelmeister . The governor is in charge of the agriculture and forestry department, the builder is in charge of the building and environmental department and the ensign is in charge of the judiciary, police and military departments. The latter are directly elected into their function by the Landsgemeinde .

Overview

Canton government member number Electoral authority Chair J. Electoral authority Deputy Former
Canton ZurichCanton Zurich Zurich Government Council Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
District President 1 government Vice President of the Government list
Canton BernCanton Bern Bern Councilor
Conseil exécutif
Councilor
Conseiller exécutif
7th People
( majority election )
District
President President du Conseil executif
1 houses of Parliament Government
Vice-President Vice-President du Conseil executif
list
Canton lucerneCanton lucerne Lucerne Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
District President
(until 2007: Schultheiss ) → List
1 houses of Parliament Vice President
(until 2007: Governor)
list
Canton of UriCanton of Uri Uri Government Council Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
Landammann 2 People
(election)
Provincial governor list
Canton of SchwyzCanton of Schwyz Schwyz Government Council Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
Landammann 2 houses of Parliament Provincial governor list
Canton of ObwaldenCanton of Obwalden Obwalden Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
Landammann 1 houses of Parliament Governor list
Canton of NidwaldenCanton of Nidwalden Nidwalden Government Council Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
Landammann 1 houses of Parliament Provincial governor list
Canton of GlarusCanton of Glarus Glarus Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
Landammann 2 People
( Landsgemeinde )
Provincial governor list
Canton of ZugCanton of Zug train Government Council Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
Landammann 2 houses of Parliament Governor list
Canton of FriborgCanton of Friborg Freiburg Conseil d'État
Council of State
Conseiller d'État
Council of State
7th People
( majority election )
Président du Conseil d'État
President of the Council of State
1 houses of Parliament Vice-président du Conseil d'État Vice-President of the
Council of State
list
Canton of SolothurnCanton of Solothurn Solothurn Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
Landammann 1 government Vice-Landammann list
Canton of Basel-StadtCanton of Basel-Stadt Basel city Government Council Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
District President 4th people Government Vice President list
Canton of Basel-CountryCanton of Basel-Country Basel-Country Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
District President 1 houses of Parliament Vice President list
Canton of SchaffhausenCanton of Schaffhausen Schaffhausen Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
District President 1 houses of Parliament Government Vice President list
Canton of Appenzell AusserrhodenCanton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden Government Council Government Council 5 people Landammann 2 People
( majority election )
Deputy Landammann list
Canton of Appenzell InnerrhodenCanton of Appenzell Innerrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden Professional ethics committee Government Council 7th People
( Landsgemeinde )
Governing Landammann 2 People
( Landsgemeinde )
Landammann standing still list
Canton of St. GallenCanton of St. Gallen St. Gallen government Government Council 7th People
( majority election )
District President 1 houses of Parliament list
canton of Grisonscanton of Grisons Grisons
Regenza
Governo Government
Government
Councilor Cusseglier Guvernativ
Consigliere di Stato
5 People
( majority election )
District
President President da la Regenza
Presidente del Governo
1 houses of Parliament Government
Vice President Vice President da la Regenza
Vice President del Governo
list
Kanton AargauKanton Aargau Aargau Government Council Government Council  5 People
( majority election )
Landammann 1 government Governor list
Canton of ThurgauCanton of Thurgau Thurgau Government Council Government Council 5 People
( majority election )
President of the Government Council 1 houses of Parliament Vice President of the Government Council list
Canton of TicinoCanton of Ticino Ticino Consiglio di Stato
(Council of State)
Consigliere di Stato
(Council of State)
5 People
( proportional representation )
Presidente del Consiglio di Stato 1 houses of Parliament Vicepresidente del Consiglio di Stato list
Canton of VaudCanton of Vaud Vaud Conseil d'État
(Council of State)
Conseiller d'État
(Council of State)
7th People
( majority election )
President of the Conseil d'État 5 government Vice-président du Conseil d'État list
Canton of ValaisCanton of Valais Valais Conseil d'État
Council of State
Conseiller d'État
Council of State
5 People
( majority election )
Président du Conseil d'État
President of the Council of State
1 government Vice-président du Conseil d'État Vice-President of the
Council of State
list
Canton of NeuchâtelCanton of Neuchâtel Neuchâtel Conseil d'État
(Council of State)
Conseiller d'État
(Council of State)
5 People
( majority election )
President of the Conseil d'État 1 government Vice-président du Conseil d'État list
Canton of GenevaCanton of Geneva Geneva Conseil d'État
(Council of State)
Conseiller d'État
(Council of State)
7th People
( majority election )
President of the Conseil d'État 5 government Vice-président du Conseil d'État list
Canton of JuraCanton of Jura law Governorate
(government)
Ministre
(minister)
5 People
( majority election )
President of the Government 1 houses of Parliament Vice-President of the Government list

The cantons are named in the official order (according to Art. 1 of the Federal Constitution and canton number). The list can be sorted with activated JavaScript.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Primus inter pares or bell-hammer? October 27, 2017
  2. ^ Andreas Auer: Constitutional law of the Swiss cantons. Stämpfli, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7272-3217-6 , p. 79 f.
  3. Peter Jankovsky: The attempt to stop an executive, in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of March 22, 2011, p. 13.
  4. Constitution of the Canton of Bern, Art. 57 ( Memento of the original dated August 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sta.be.ch
  5. ^ Andreas Auer: Constitutional law of the Swiss cantons. Stämpfli, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7272-3217-6 , p. 80.
  6. ^ Constitution de la République et Canton de Neuchâtel, Art. 50a
  7. ^ Loi d'organization du Grand Conseil, Art. 326a - 326g
  8. ^ Andreas Auer: Constitutional law of the Swiss cantons. Stämpfli, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7272-3217-6 , p. 79.
  9. ^ Andreas Auer: Constitutional law of the Swiss cantons. Stämpfli, Bern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7272-3217-6 , pp. 80–85.

See also