Swiss foreign minister calls on media to defend democracy

Speaking at the Swiss Media Forum, foreign minister Ignazio Cassis said the media has a vital role to play in the preservation of democracy. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Cassis expressed his deep concern about the declining support for democracy around the world, including in well-established systems. "The institutions of the rule of law are being weakened in the name of democracy, and democratic rights are being restricted in the name of the dominant ideology", Cassis said. He pointed out that the democracy index had fallen again last year. Only 6.6% of humanity lives in a fully functional democracy. In 2024, more than 4 billion people were called to the polls in 73 states, with a "demoralising" result: none of the parties in power recorded any progress. Cassis said that democracy is based on constructive dialogue between different opinions. In this context, he pointed to the responsibility of the tech giants. They "rely on algorithms that ...