FHS Networking Day 2018: The Good King - Democracy on Trial

Plato was convinced that a state would only be well governed if its rulers were close to philosophy. "But how many politicians are there as philosophers? What are the requirements for politics today? Is the waning interest in democracy opening doors for other currents?" With these and other questions, Sebastian Wörwag, rector of the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen, opened the 14th Networking Day on Friday, September 7, at Olma Messen St.Gallen. The Networking Day, organized by the alumni organization FHS Alumni, was held under the motto "The Good King. Democracy on the test bench".

Wörwag invited the approximately 650 participants to reflect on democracy and the values that are needed for a functioning coexistence. "Sure, it could have been called 'the good queen,'" said Sigmar Willi, head of the FHS Alumni. But the quote, he said, came from Plato - and gender-equal spelling was not an issue 2500 years ago. The event was moderated by comedian and political blogger Michael Elsener, who repeatedly provided laughs in the audience and on stage with a sharp tongue and a good dose of humor.

"Democracy becomes more alive"

One of the highlights was the political panel, which featured top-class speakers such as FDP Council of States member Andrea Caroni, SP Council of States member Paul Rechsteiner, SVP National Council member Diana Gutjahr, political activist Flavia Kleiner and musician Endo Anaconda. Caroni and Gutjahr had stood in for Petra Gössi (President of the FDP Switzerland) and Roland Rino Büchel (SVP National Councilor), who had to cancel their participation at short notice. The discussion focused, among other things, on how to regain citizens' trust in politics and increase their participation in democracy.

"There is a need for civic education, where critical thinking is encouraged and an attitude is developed," said Flavia Kleiner. Diana Gutjahr is also in favor of civic education, only the discussions should not take place in school, but "at home at the kitchen table." It is the job of politicians to motivate people to vote - "and to do so in conversations and not by means of Facebook posts," says the National Councilor from Thurgau.

The panelists did not see democracy in the black at all. On the contrary. "Democracy is becoming more alive," said Andrea Caroni. Thanks to e-collecting and e-voting, people will participate more in political discourse again in the future. Endo Anaconda believes that "civil society will give the parties quite a run for their money," and that is a good thing. Paul Rechsteiner hopes that in the future, everyone, no matter where they come from, will have a chance at political education. Political activist and co-president of Operation Libero, Flavia Kleiner, wishes for the democracy of the future: "Cold times for naked despots."

Democracy yesterday, today and tomorrow

Historian Daniele Ganser spoke about the history of Swiss democracy and how political power was "fragmented" by the introduction of the magic formula. He praised dialogue, "even with controversial views, one should engage in discourse," and criticized Switzerland's cooperation with Partnership for Peace (PfP), NATO's "kindergarten," as Ganser called the alliance. PfP is an international structure imposed by the U.S. to bring hesitant countries into line with NATO, Ganser said. Anyone who cooperates with them can no longer be called neutral.

Nicola Forster, founder and president of the think tank "foraus," ventured a look into the future. In his presentation, he showed how democracy can function in the age of total digitalization. In doing so, the young visionary pleaded for a participatory democracy instead of a voting democracy. "With artificial intelligence, for example, government services can be tailored even more closely to each individual," Forster said. "But Switzerland is not there yet." It is important, however, that "we have these competencies ourselves and do not leave them to others."

The crisis of the media

The media play an important role in a functioning democracy. They are often referred to as the "fourth estate. But the media are in the midst of a deep transformation process, and the media landscape is shrinking. "It's going in a direction we don't like," says Daniel Binswanger, co-head of features at the online magazine Republik, who took over the role of "champion of independent media" from Christof Moser. "Funds are being diverted from the media and put into other areas. That's bad for society and bad for democracy." Marc Walder, CEO and co-owner of Ringier AG, took a somewhat different view: "Media have to diversify to have a future." He is sure that "those media that today depend on journalism for more than 70 percent will have a hard time in ten years."

More information: www.networkingtag.ch