Switzerland - how it is run

Did you know that Switzerland has a lot of tunnels for cars? A lot of the smaller European countries make use of the underground space for parking. One of Switzerland's longest tunnels can be sealed off in the event of war and used as a bomb shelter for 10,000 people. There are hospitals and other facilities in the walls for this purpose as well. Although Switzerland is a neutral country they have conscription. The men in Switzerland go into the army for 6 months straight after school and for another 3 weeks every year until they are 50. The country - as one of our hitch hiking lifts told us - is run by the people. Every major law is voted on in a general referendum. Then the law gets passes by a government of representatives from each of the 23 cantons. Then the law gets passed by a smaller group of representatives, and then by the President. It is a long slow process and the banks influence the law making as they can back campaigns financially.