Chablais in Bern: the story of an absence... (Swiss Press Text 2011, by Lucien Christe) - Swiss Press Award

Le Vendredi (bimensuel chablaisien), Monthey

Lucien Christe

This is a report published in the small bimonthly "Le Vendredi" (Chablais Valais). With the federal elections just a year away, I wanted to take stock of a somewhat regrettable reality: the Chablais Valais - a peripheral, industrial, and populated region - has no elected representatives in Bern. Voter turnout is particularly poor. Through research, calculations, and explanations, the aim was to demonstrate to the people of Chablais the potential of their region. My article, which was intended to be politically neutral, received a good response from readers: a political group invited me to present the issue, others contacted our newspaper, and - more broadly - residents were concerned by the issue (which I will try to address regularly next year, until the elections). This is why I am taking the liberty of sending it to you, because - it seems to me - this article illustrates one of the central potentialities of local journalism: offering people interesting and constructive topics about their region.