Well prepared for the first session
A working group headed by Michael Ambühl, Professor of Negotiation at ETH Zurich, held an introductory event this week for 14 of the newly elected members of the federal parliament from the different parties and cantons.
In March of this year, Swiss parliamentarians approached ETH Zurich with the idea of organising an introductory meeting for newly elected members of parliament. Experts from different fields gave lectures at the two-day event, while former MPs also shared their knowledge and experience. In an interview, Michael Ambühl offers an initial assessment.
Mr. Ambühl, you just spent two days with the newly elected members of parliament. What are your impressions?
It was an interesting and pleasant get-together. The interest of the new members of parliament was clearly felt and the atmosphere was stimulating and collegial.
What sort of feedback have you received from the participants?
The initial feedback has been very positive. Both the academic part with the lectures and the meetings with the former members of parliament were well received. We also conducted a small survey that we still need to evaluate in more detail.
Out of about 50 newly elected members of parliament, 14 registered for your event. Were you surprised that relatively few people registered?
No. Our event was always meant as an invitation only and we were aware that it was short notice in terms of organisation: the elections were held on 18 October and the new session begins next week. Some were clearly interested in the event, but they simple could not fit it into their schedules – something I fully understand.
The programme dealt with complex issues, such as macroeconomic fundamentals and Swiss social security law. Was anything learned about these in such a short period of time?
Of course it is not possible to acquire extensive knowledge in two days. But newly elected members of parliament must be able to grasp a subject quickly and know where they can find more reliable information on it. This is where our experts were definitely able to provide assistance.
What conclusions did you draw from the two days?
We had three objectives: to give background knowledge on the workings of parliament, to provide the opportunity to benefit from the experiences of former parliamentarians, and to give participants the opportunity to form cross-party contacts with other newly elected members of parliament. In my opinion, we succeeded in doing this.
Will there be a similar event in four years’ time?
Let’s allow the new parliament to work in peace and quiet before we think about the next elections – after all, the politicians have important tasks ahead of them. We first have to evaluate the feedback and then we will decide if we will hold another seminar. There is still plenty of time for this.
About Michael Ambühl
Michael Ambühl studied Operations Research and Management Science at ETH Zurich and wrote his thesis on mathematical optimisation. In 1982, he joined the diplomatic service and rose through the ranks to become a negotiator for some of Switzerland’s most important foreign policy portfolios. He has held the Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management at ETH Zurich since September 2013.