Switzerland Global Enterprise: When Timing Matters (en)
Bern, 09.11.2026 — Discours du conseiller fédéral Ignazio Cassis, chef du Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE), à l'occasion de l'International Business Day 2026 organisé par Switzerland Global Enterprise - Seul le texte prononcé fait foi.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A warm welcome to you all here in Bern.
My thanks to Switzerland Global Enterprise for bringing together so many representatives of our internationally active business community.
You have already discussed the major challenges facing Switzerland: geopolitical tensions, protectionism, and our relations with the EU and the United States.
Rather than revisiting these issues, let me share a thought with you.
There is an old joke that even the end of the world would arrive in Switzerland ten years late.
Perhaps there is more wisdom in that joke than we think!
Switzerland has never been particularly fast at making political decisions. Our democracy takes time. Consensus takes time. Compromise takes time.
And yet, look at what this country has achieved.
One of the most prosperous, innovative and stable societies in the world.
Not despite our institutions, but in no small part because of them.
But today, this strength is being tested.
Geopolitics is creating new barriers. Trade rules change. Markets close.
New technologies are connecting our world faster than ever, transforming entire industries and the way we work together.
These forces are rapidly reshaping our world, often beyond our borders and control. Yet we must find ways to respond.
So, must Switzerland simply become faster?
I don't think so.
Speed is not a strategy. And urgency is not a substitute for judgment.
Our greatest strength is not the speed at which we change, but our ability to change without losing what makes us strong.
But neither can we assume that yesterday's success guarantees tomorrow's prosperity.
Some decisions become better with time. Others become irrelevant if they come too late.
Knowing the difference is a question of political judgment. And ultimately, of sovereignty.
Because sovereignty is not only about our right to make decisions. It is also about our ability to make decisions while they still matter.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our challenge is to preserve what makes Switzerland strong, while having the courage to change what no longer works.
And you, as business leaders, face similar choices every day.
So let me put a question to you:
Where should Switzerland remain patient? And where must we find the courage to act before it is too late?
I look very much forward to our discussion.
Thank you.