Christmastime is the time of solidarity, giving and taking, and good resolutions for the new year. This was also the case in the Grand Council: The debate on the revision of the financial equalization was about a lot of money. Some should exist — others may take it. The term “solidarity” was often used in discussions.
In the approved revision, the recipient municipalities now include numerous towns in the Rhine Valley, which is considered the richest economic area in our canton. “Wrong world,” I think with the Upper Engadines, who are supposed to act as the biggest donors and are now thinking loudly about a referendum. After all, following the second home initiative, the economic situation in the Upper Engadine no longer looks as rosy as it once did.
However, most peripheral regions are among the winners of the audit. The Poschiavo region can also be satisfied: My valley should receive around 1.5 million francs more per year. All's well that ends well?
Unfortunately no, as a Council colleague from another peripheral region emblematically summarized: “What good is more financial equalization for peripheral regions if no one wants to live there anymore?”
In fact, the situation within the canton has changed significantly in recent decades. The migration flow towards lowlands is causing depopulation in mountainous regions and is associated with growing problems and horrendously rising costs in the centers.
Deficits are increasing in both places: The mountain valleys lack the tax substrate and social costs are growing in the centers. The depopulation of the mountains does not stop at the supposedly rich valleys, such as the Engadin. There are no quick and easy solutions to stop them. Structural changes require time and, above all, entrepreneurial courage. And this is where I see an even bigger deficit than in the cantonal and municipal coffers: in the courage to pursue ideas that may be utopian at first glance.
With the willingness to try out new things, to also trust the younger generation and thus give them a real opportunity. The fact that more and more young people from Graubünden are turning their backs on their valleys or even the canton may be primarily due to the lack of jobs in the mountains. When talking to those affected, however, you also feel the frustration of not being able to make a difference in established structures. Because the current crisis is no longer just a financial or euro crisis, it has also long since become an innovation crisis.
In difficult times, Grisons persists in familiar patterns and hardly dares to do anything new. That brings me to my good resolutions for the new year: Especially in difficult economic times, it is important to act countercyclically and try new things. New ideas and new, young people need a fair chance. A mountain canton such as Grisons in particular must rely on its own offspring and give its young generation attractive reasons to stay at home.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of young people from Graubünden have to decide for or against their valley or their home canton every year. Young professionals, graduates of Graubünden universities of applied sciences and universities outside the canton would love to work in and for Grisons. They are right to demand real opportunities to make a difference.
My resolution for 2014 is: Give young Grisons a chance!
Alessandro della Vedova (43) is Podestà of the municipality of Poschiavo, CVP Grand Councillor and Vice President of CVP Grisons.
This guest commentary was published in Engadiner Post/Posta Ladina on December 10, 2013.