SwitzerlandDémocratie et fédéralisme 13 · Democracy and federalism
What does the principle of collegiality in the Federal Council mean?
In the exam (French)
Que signifie le principe de collégialité au Conseil fédéral ?
- aThe Federal Council decides together, and all its members defend the decision in public.Le Conseil fédéral décide ensemble, et tous ses membres défendent la décision en public.Correct answer
- bThe President of the Confederation decides alone when the other members do not agree.Le président de la Confédération décide seul quand les autres membres ne sont pas d'accord.
- cEach member may campaign publicly against the decisions of the Federal Council.Chaque membre peut faire campagne publiquement contre les décisions du Conseil fédéral.
- dEach member decides alone for their department, without consulting their colleagues.Chaque membre décide seul pour son département, sans consulter ses collègues.
Why?
The Federal Council takes its decisions as a collegial body (Art. 177 of the Federal Constitution); in French this is the principe de collégialité. Even a member who had a different opinion during the discussion defends the joint decision in public.
Translated with AI. In the exam the question is in French, as shown above.
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Source
Our own practice questions, written in French on the facts of the Federal Constitution and official information from the Confederation and the cantons of Vaud and Geneva. They are not the questions of the cantonal tests, and no text from the official cantonal or communal lists is reused. Each question was written, answered blind and fact-checked in separate rounds. The English translation and the explanations are ours, made with AI help; in the test the questions are asked in French. We are not affiliated with the Confederation, the cantons or the communes.
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