No, it is not mountaineering or sporting performance in question, but Alain Berset, this federal federal advertising became the first Swiss to be elected secretary general of the Council of Europe. Reported for the first time, the evening was successful with an crowd of 400 people who came to listen to the European remarks of Alain Berset at the Maison du Peuple which has a more spacious room than that of the club 44. One year after its election in June 2024, the Friborgergeois came to meet his many Neuchâtel friends to speak of an institution founded in 1949 and of which Switzerland has been a member since 1963. was in the room!
A Europe at 46 States
Alain Berset recalled that Winston Churchill came to Zürich to announce in 1946 the creation of the Council of Europe. In the post-war context, the British Prime Minister had not chosen Switzerland by chance. “I find that with its democratic values and its diversity, our country reflects what the European spirit is in the big Europe family which we have always been a part,” said the one who started his 5 -year term in September 2024.
More autocracies than democracies in the world
Alain Berset quotes a Swedish study that, for the first time in 20 years, the world has more autocracies than democracies. In this world in a mess, which sees the wars linked without rapid exit, the Friborgest interacted at the head of the Council of Europe to make the voice of peace heard and try to appease conflicts. “To reign the rule of law, we have the European Convention and the European Court of Human Rights, whose decisions -sometimes disputed (Editor’s note: because of its climate inaction Switzerland loses in front of retirees) – apply to the faulty country. We also have means to set up tailor -made tools sealed in an agreement that I have just signed with President Zelensky ”. The Fribourgeois recalls that the Council of Europe without reserve the war in Gaza without reservation even if the place of the conflict does not belong to the European continent. “The Council of Europe is also the courage to make decisions like the one taken before the start of my mandate, to exclude 47e Member – Russia – in March 2022 “.
The risk of the rise of nationalism
“In 1995, I was 20 years old and I told myself that everything was for the best,” said Alain Berset admitting that this perception of yesterday has changed. “The uncertainties, economic difficulties, disinformation with its external manipulative interference, lead people to fall back on themselves”. In this context, support for identity movements is a reflex exploited to feed fear but from there to place a dictator in power is risky, warns our ex-minister of health.
The advice of “Mr. Cavid”
“If I had to provide a single advice to the young generation, it is to engage in some ways that it is” there is not only politics but many causes which deserve a civic commitment which promotes living together. Sports, social or cultural movements, everything is good for interacting. “I prefer a dozen young people who chat in the evening in the street while listening to music, rather than withdrawal.” “Any form of commitment is the basis of a company which leads individuals to communicate without the intermediary of the networks; I admit it sounds a little stupid, but that is what makes sense of what we do. ”
