Switzerland to choose new anthem?

Switzerland’s national anthem could be binned in favour of a new version if campaigners get their way.

Too heavy on God and Alpine vistas, the anthem fails to reflect today’s values and has never been etched into the national psyche, critics say.

“Nobody knows the words! Anyone who tells you they do is a liar. Or else we manage the first few and afterwards we go ‘la, la, la’,” said Pierre Kohler, president of the jury holding an unofficial competition to choose a new anthem.

 

The contest to find a new anthem is open to all and with a first prize of 10,000 Swiss francs ($11,000, 8,000 euros).

The goal is to submit a text to the government by 2016, potentially paving the way for a referendum in this nation of eight million people, renowned for its direct democracy.

The story of the anthem

The current anthem, officially called the “Swiss Psalm”, was penned in 1841, setting a poem on piety and Alpine climes to music composed by a priest.

 

It was written in Switzerland’s majority German, with versions reflecting cultural difference later crafted in the three other official languages, French, Italian, and Rumantsch — a Romance language spoken by several thousand Swiss including Knapp.

Entries must be submitted by June 30, in at least one of the four languages, with the organisers handling subsequent translation. The competition rules say the current tune should be respected, albeit with room for artistic licence.

Entries must also draw on the preamble to Switzerland’s updated constitution, approved by the public in a 1999 referendum.AFP

 

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