Swiss president kicks off National Day celebrations on Rütli meadow

Karin Keller-Sutter spoke at a National Day celebration on the Rütli meadow on Friday. She emphasised Switzerland's cohesion and cited mutual understanding, reliability and predictability as the country's strengths in uncertain times. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox "Harmony and diversity" was the motto of this year's National Day celebrations on the Rütli in central Switzerland. Keller-Sutter, who is also the country's finance minister, illustrated diversity with eleven different Swiss German words for cutting bread. "I am sure that if you were all to give your version, the answers would be almost as numerous as the number of people here on the Rütli," she told the more than 700 attendees. The dialects exemplify the incredible diversity of Switzerland in the smallest of places, she said. Federalism guarantees diversity According to Keller-Sutter, federalism also ensures diversity in politics. It ensures that municipalities and cantons can take into ...