For decades, Sweden and Finland, each in their own way, embodied a form of armed, prudent and strategic neutrality. In just a few months, under geopolitical pressure, this neutrality was abandoned. NATO expanded. The point of no return was crossed.
This shift is no accident. It is the result of long-term political work, of a gradual, discreet, almost administrative shift. And it is precisely this scenario that should now be giving Switzerland cause for alarm.
The Confederation faces the same spiral
Officially, Switzerland is neutral. Constitutionally, it still is. Politically, it is no longer totally neutral.
Since 2022, the Confederation :
- automatically takes over foreign sanctions,
- aligns itself with Western military positions,
- is increasingly involved in cooperation programmes with NATO,
- is stepping up the interoperability of its armed forces with Atlantic standards,
- and is openly discussing a «strengthened partnership» with the Alliance.
This is no longer neutrality. It's progressive alignment.
The worrying emergence of an assertive Euro-integrationism within the government
The appearance on the federal scene of Federal Councillor Martin Pfister (PLR) is a perfect illustration of this drift. Politically unknown to the general public, even in his own canton of Zug, he is already emerging as a major player in the political arena. ideological relay for Euro-integrationism and increased strategic ties to Euro-Atlantic structures.
His speech is revealing:
- trivialisation of the abandonment of neutrality,
- putting strategic independence into perspective,
- justification of military alignment by «collective security»,
- tacit acceptance of future legal subordination to external standards.
This is exactly the same narrative used in Sweden and Finland between 2014 and 2022:
«It's just an adjustment», «it's not a commitment», «there's no alternative in today's world».
The rest is history.
NATO today, EU tomorrow: the mechanics are the same
In the Nordic countries, NATO was presented not as an ideological choice, but as a technical inevitability. In Switzerland, integration into the European Union is sold in the same way:
not as a choice of civilisation, but as an economic obligation.
In both cases :
- the people are bypassed,
- we bypass democratic debate,
- sovereignty is dissolved into technocratic management,
- a free state is transformed into a mere cog in a block.
Switzerland is not under military attack. It is being politically disarmed from the inside.
Swiss neutrality is not a slogan - it's an architecture for survival
Unlike Sweden, Swiss neutrality has never been a simple moral position. It is :
- a pillar of domestic stability,
- a unique diplomatic tool,
- a bulwark against geopolitical absorption,
- a condition of direct democracy.
Abandoning neutrality is not modernisation.
This is a regime change.
Conclusion - What happened in Helsinki and Stockholm could happen in Berne
Sweden and Finland were neutral. They are no longer neutral.
Their changeover was rapid, legal and perfectly «clean» from an institutional point of view. And yet it is irreversible.
Today, Switzerland is at exactly the same crossroads.
If the Confederation continues :
- to align itself militarily,
- legal integration,
- to submit politically,
then Swiss neutrality will soon join the museums of history.
And tomorrow we'll be saying:
«Nobody really saw this coming.»