‘Everyone’s political ideas are considered’

Lis Zandberg is concerned that Switzerland’s political system is undermined if citizens stay away from the polls and show no interest in votes and elections. The 19-year old language student of politics from the Netherlands is a fresh voice of the Swiss Abroad community. swissinfo.ch gives the floor to leading members of the newly-founded online youth parliament. swissinfo.ch: What do you want to achieve as a member of the new youth parliament of the Swiss abroad – first of all in Switzerland, and second in your country of residence? Lis Zandberg: I believe that it is important to maintain the direct democracy system of Switzerland. The best way to do so is by involving our youths in politics at an early stage. This is happening within Switzerland, but not outside of it. Therefore, a very important group of Swiss youth is being ignored. We are not only omitted on a political level, but also on many others because we are so scattered around the world.