A history of colonization which resulted in a resistance to central authority, the Articles of Confederation and states rights, the list goes on.
And yet, here these things work all quite well. There must be something else. Maybe a continuity problem in government where a party switch leads to many public officials being replaced? Or are they just not paid enough, so you get the bottom of the barrel?
Public infrastructure has positive feedback loops, so if your neighbor canton has good train stations, you also want to have good train stations to connect to them.
You also don't want to depend on importing expensive oil, especially as a land-locked country.