175 years of the Federal Constitution

At the Parliament Building, a ceremony for the 175th anniversary of the Federal Constitution of 1848. Alain Berset speaks of a “masterstroke”: a risky, bold act, written in 51 days, while the great powers were crushing their revolutions.

He highlights Ulrich Ochsenbein, who chaired the drafting committee: he understood that the defeated of the Sonderbund had to be involved, championed bicameralism from 1845 and held his troops back before Lucerne. An imperfect masterstroke, he adds: women and Jews were excluded. He sets the optimism of 1848 against today’s pessimism. “Compromise is not the path of least resistance, but the only possible way to build a common future.”

Speeches on this site

• 175 ans de la Constitution fédérale (in French, French-language page)

Sources

• Federal Council, speech of 12.09.2023