{"product_id":"9782832106877","title":"Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners - 2nd edition: How things work in this strange country where you can happily survive without knowing the name of the president, but where you vote on everything","description":"\u003cb\u003eIf you need to learn quickly and efficiently about Switzerland, this essay is made for you\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDo you want to understand why the Swiss seem to spend their time voting on every imaginable issue?\u003cbr\u003eWhy the housing shortage is so acute?\u003cbr\u003eWhy Switzerland may be the only democratic country that has no majority and opposition? \u003cbr\u003eWhy shops close so early?\u003cbr\u003eAnd you don’t want it explained in a scholarly way, as you are more interested in the spirit than in the letter?\u003cbr\u003eThis is your book.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA straight-to-the-point essay that will provide you with key elements to understand this small but complex country that is Switzerland\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eABOUT THE AUTHOR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePierre Cormon is a journalist and writer from Geneva, as well as an active member of the expats network glocals.com. He has written three books of fiction, in French.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEXTRAIT\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Who in the room knows the name of the Swiss president?”\u003cbr\u003eThat’s the question I asked a group of three hundred expatriates living in Geneva area at the beginning of a “Swiss Politics for Dummies” seminar in June, 2009. Around 10 to 15% of them raised their hands. About what I’d expected. And certainly not a bad score: these were people curious about Swiss politics. Enough, at least, to sacrifice an entire evening to listen to a lecture about it. With another group, things could have been much worse. \u003cbr\u003eI don’t blame them. All the puzzled looks following my seemingly simple question reminded me of a ride on the Cairo underground a few years earlier. It was the final years of Hosni Mubarak era.","brand":"Éditions Slatkine","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47153558159600,"sku":"9782832106877","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9782832106877_p0.jpg?v=1772807625","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9782832106877","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}