In our 2020 annual report we noted that Switzerland was increasingly confronted with challenges that call for global solutions. While we were primarily referring to the pandemic and climate change, we also mentioned security policy and international tensions. The pandemic now seems to have lost the worst of its sting, at least for the time being. The problem of climate change has also been recognized and is being addressed, albeit by way of state interventions that are all too often expensive and ineffectual.

But it was hard to imagine in 2021 that a war of aggression in Europe would shake us to such an extent. We now have to come to terms with the fact that even the worst scenarios could come to pass from one day to the next. For too long, Western Europe has lived with the idea of peace, freedom, and economic growth; the events of recent months have taught us to think the unthinkable.

Whatever comes our way in the future, we must not fall into blind action for the sake of action, symbolic politics, and sham solutions. Our aim at Avenir Suisse is to pinpoint developments that pose a risk to this country and propose and propagate free-market solutions.

We back up our analysis with economic facts and work for effective and efficient reforms that as far as possible benefit everyone – both employees and employers, both the climate and society in general.

Only a prospering economy can tackle the most burning challenges successfully. The fact that Switzerland hasn’t yet seen the kind of division of society that has occurred in so many Western countries has a lot to do with this prosperity. It’s based on a consensus-oriented and integrative – in other words a liberal – set of values. Avenir Suisse helps defend democratic values.

Switzerland’s prosperity depends to a very significant extent on the global exchange of goods and services. We have to consolidate this country’s role in the international community. We can’t achieve anything – not even our own wellbeing – in splendid isolation. The reputation we enjoy in the world is based on our education system, our labor market, our system of decentralized federalism, and our comparatively moderate fiscal burden. At Avenir Suisse we want to help ensure we continue to earn this respect. If we manage this our voice will be heard, no matter how small our country.