Why William Tell Would Instinctively Defend Neutrality

William Tell is a legend, but that is precisely why Switzerland should take him seriously, argues Uli Windisch. A legend does not recount exactly what a people did. It condenses what that people is.

In a column published ahead of the September 27 vote on the initiative “Safeguarding Swiss Neutrality,” Windisch says the national story captures an enduring Swiss instinct. He presents neutrality not as a product of diplomatic chanceries, but as something shaped by the experience of a small people living among powerful neighbors.

He returns to the famous scene in Altdorf. Bailiff Gessler has a hat placed on a pole and orders everyone to salute it. The empty hat represents allegiance to a distant authority, demanding nothing but submission for its own sake.

Windisch uses that image to argue for accepting the neutrality initiative. In his reading, the story of Tell still speaks to the political choice facing Switzerland, because it expresses resistance to imposed authority and the determination to preserve independence.