In 2025, we on the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) took stock for the first time in the 10 years since the Swiss Abroad Act came into force. Not in words but in deeds – with direct elections in 13 countries to choose our delegates. Forty percent of CSA delegates now have a direct mandate. Ideally, we want to be hitting the 90 percent mark in 2029.
This small step for the CSA is a giant leap for the “Fifth Switzerland” as a whole. Proof that our online direct elections work will help us to argue the case for introducing e-voting for all Swiss Abroad – and that this should happen in all cantons by the 2031 national elections at the latest.
But it is not just about whether online voting works. Switzerland’s expatriate community and its stalwart associations must also participate in the new system. National and supranational umbrella associations must operate effectively to organise elections and oversee orderly election campaigns. In turn, we need election candidates who acknowledge the OSA for what it is – with its rules, its strengths and, occasionally, its weaknesses. It is in all our interests that we work together constructively to do the best for our compatriots abroad. The working atmosphere within the CSA needs to improve, not deteriorate.
Besides the CSA’s complete refresh, much has also happened within our organisation, with the transition at the helm of the OSA – from Ariane Rustichelli to Lukas Weber, and then to Daniel Hunziker – as well as a new editor-in-chief of “Swiss Review” and a new head of the Youth Service. We are entering a new era, and I hope that everyone can join in and benefit in their own way.
FILIPPO LOMBARDI, OSA PRESIDENT
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