"Operation Libero" celebrates ten years of existence
Young academics once founded Operation Libero with the aim of fending off attacks on liberal democracy. Initially ridiculed as a "flash in the pan", the internet movement is celebrating its tenth anniversary on Wednesday.
"Many people thought it wouldn't work, that it was a flash in the pan and would disappear after the initial hype," said Silvan Gisler, board and founding member, at a media conference in Bern. Since then, the campaign organization, which is financed by small donations, has made a name for itself in referendum campaigns and even elections.
The non-partisan movement most recently had 1175 members. It has had over 30,000 donors since it was founded in 2014, as an Operation Libero spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency on request.
The movement was founded after the SVP's immigration initiative was rejected, when around fifty like-minded people, many of them academics and members of the think tank Foraus, came together. In its self-portrayal, the organization aims to support progressive forces for an open and liberal Switzerland.
Commitment to "marriage for all"
For example, it successfully fought against the SVP enforcement initiative and a reduction in public services through the failed "No Billag" initiative. She helped to bring about the breakthrough of "marriage for all" and easier naturalization.
The Liberas and Liberos are more convinced than ever of the necessity of their existence. "If Operation Libero didn't exist, it would have to be invented today," co-president Stefan Manser-Egli was quoted as saying. It has been a long time since so many strong forces in Switzerland and Europe have shaken up liberal democracy.
"Sometimes we want to annoy"
The movement cited examples of this, such as the SVP's isolationist initiatives, the initiative to halve broadcasting fees and the repeated criticism of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) from the right.
Operation Libero is currently seeking to counteract this with two popular initiatives: the Europe Initiative for a strong Switzerland in Europe and the further development of Swiss-EU relations, and the Democracy Initiative for a looser naturalization law.
"We want to remain unpleasant, step on the toes of established political forces and sometimes even annoy them," the movement announced. "Wherever liberal achievements are being put at risk and wherever right-wing populists are being drunk." On Saturday, there will be a celebration at Ballenberg BE "so that Switzerland does not become an open-air museum."
To mark the anniversary, the political movement presented a large birthday cake on the Bundesplatz and ten theses on Switzerland, including "Neutrality is a myth", "Switzerland of 11 million will be fine" and "Switzerland still has its best days ahead of it". "In 10 years' time, we'll see if we were right," it said. (SDA/swi)
