It’s often said that the Swiss have an excellent form of government. You can point to the fact that local and national referenda mean that different Cantons offer different tax rates, the citizens are armed and they are currently not putting up with this minaret building nonsense.

That doesn’t stop them coming up with some batshit-crazy ideas though. Consider this:

Quotas for women, disabled people and French speakers are to be introduced into Swiss public service, the government decided on Wednesday.

The decision means that a number of quotas are to be set and implemented in the next legislative period, running from 2012 to 2015. By the end of that time, between 44 and 48 percent of Swiss government employees are to be women.

There will be lower female quotas for the military and border police, areas where far fewer women work at the moment. Not including these areas, Swiss public service was made up of 42.1 percent women in 2010 – including the military and border control, the figure was only 31.7 percent.

The government is now aiming to introduce a female quota of 11 to 12 percent in the military and 8.5 to 10.5 in the border police.

To make the transition easier, the quotas will also be distinguished by salary bracket in proportion to the current male – female ratio. For instance, the female quota will be 29 to 34 percent in the salary bracket from 143,000 to 182,000 francs a year (€118,000 – €150,000). But in the top civil service bracket of 195,000 to 366,000 francs, the quota will only be 16 to 20 percent women.

The government is also aiming to incrementally reduce the number of Swiss German speakers in public service, and raise the number of Swiss French and Italian speakers. By 2015, there will be a maximum of 70 percent Swiss Germans in public service (in 2010 it was 72.1 percent), and at least 22 percent Swiss French and 7 percent Swiss Italians.

Just imagine if the BBC, for example, were obligated to recruit a certain percentage of people based not on talent or ability but just the colour of their skin. Okay, okay, you’d not notice any difference.

But next time you visit Switzerland just remember…that woman behind the customs counter is probably a bit more retarded than usual.