Foreigners in Lucerne Might be Allowed to Take a Part in Making Political Decisions

If the new request forwarded by the city council to the Parliament goes through, foreigners living in the city of Lucerne holding a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungsbewilligung (C-Bewilligung)) will be allowed to play a role in some of the political decisions made in that council.

The new request wishes to allow the foreigners to take part in a Volksmotion. The Volksmotion is a petition made by the civilians who collect votes in order to create laws or overturn the laws made by the politicians. The idea that was developed in the 80s has only allowed Swiss citizens to take part. With the new law foreigners with the permanent residence permit will be allowed to both initiate and take part.

Many have argued that the foreigners with the permanent residence permits should be allowed to take part as they pay taxes and should be involved in making decisions that affect them directly. 23.3% of the Lucerne population is made up of foreigners and making many agree that that is a huge population to lock out of the decision making process.

Some politicians though are adamant that only Swiss passport holders should be allowed this privilege.

What do you think? Should Foreigners be allowed to make political decisions in their “host countries” even if they have been there all their life? Would you allow the same in your own home country? (Sometimes we are quick to demand for things as foreigners without giving much thought about whether we would allow foreigners the same in our home countries).