The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has said that parliamentarians should no longer be permitted to hold dual citizenship as this could lead to conflicts of interest.
SVP said that in order for the country to prevent any conflict of interest from occurring, those taking part in the National Council as well as those on the Council of States, should be stripped of dual nationality, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
While the Swiss authorities have not made an official statement on the matter, the approval of such a proposal would mean that several parliamentarians would have to let go of their other citizenship and hold Swiss citizenship only instead.
As Blick explains, Mike Egger from SVP who is a member of the National Council of Switzerland, said that dual citizenship is a “thorn”.
According to Egger, all Swiss Council members should only hold Swiss citizenship. To push this idea ahead, Egger said that a proposal regarding the matter would be submitted to the parliament soon.
Egger said that it can never be ruled out that some members who are also nationals of another country will not find themselves in conflicts of interest situations. For this reason, Egger stresses that stricter citizenship rules should apply.
It cannot be ruled out that members of the Federal Assembly who are also foreign nationals could find themselves in conflicts of interest to the detriment of Switzerland.
In addition, according to Blick, Egger further justified his demand with an increased international network, saying that it should be guaranteed that voters can count on the National Council and the Council of States members for their loyalty to the Swiss state.
Commenting on the proposal made by Egger, Andri Silberschmidt, who is a member of the National Council of Switzerland and who holds German citizenship in addition to the Swiss one, said that there are other ways to judge politicians and their work.
Silberschmidt stressed that politicians should not be judged by their ancestors but rather by their actions. He further said that even if he gave up German citizenship he would still have German relatives.
I have never had a conflict of interest because of this.
SVP National Councilor Alfred Heer, who in addition to Swiss citizenship, also holds Italian citizenship, said that he does not have any “problems with his loyalty”.
Moreover, he said that he should be judged by the voters on the job he does and not on his dual citizenship.
The proposal on the matter is expected to be submitted soon, and then the Swiss authorities will come out with an official statement, deciding whether dual citizenship should continue to be allowed for parliamentarians.