Switzerland in search of its Wizard of Oz

COLUMN. Torn between retreat and openness, Switzerland is wrestling with its perpetual quest for identity. History teaches us that it is not so much political structures or the culture of consensus that paralyse the country, but the courage of those who hold power, writes Yves Petignat My Swiss week Every Sunday, our columnist takes the pulse of Swiss political news. Read his columns "If we walk far enough, I am sure we shall sometime come to some place…. If this road goes in, it must come out." Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, in this autumn of 2026 Switzerland once again finds itself confronting its relationship with the rest of the world. The Neutrality Initiative, relations with the EU through the Bilaterals III, the halt to the free-trade agreement with Mercosur, tariff negotiations with the United States, the need for food sovereignty in the face of the agricultural crisis — like Dorothy on the cusp of adulthood, the country is wrestling with its perpetual quest for identity. Torn between openness, the temptation to turn inward, fierce autonomy and the need for security. Alas, no wizard on the horizon. Beyond the children's tale, some critics have seen in the marvellous adventure of Dorothy and her friends, imagined by L. Frank Baum, an allegory of the economic and political crisis that the United States, in the grip of drought and facing the rise of populism (already), was going through at the end of the 19th century. A situation not unlike the start of this one. In the chaos that surrounds us, from Russia to the United States and the Middle East, ordinary citizens are urged to choose between retreating into strict neutrality and security through solidarity, between economic openness and protecting the agricultural sector, between taking risks and reassuring conservatism. How do we balance our dependencies? Le Temps publie des chroniques, rédigées par des membres de la rédaction ou des personnes extérieures, ainsi que des opinions et tribunes, proposées à des personnalités ou sollicitées par elles. Ces textes reflètent le point de vue de leurs autrices et auteurs. Elles ne représentent nullement la position du média.