Last night, Swiss broadcaster RTS presented the six Swiss news items garnering the greatest international attention in 2016.
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The first news peak occurred in January with eyes focused on the World Economic Forum in Davos. This was the second most reported Swiss event in world media. Then in February, the Swiss story gaining the year’s greatest international attention, was the election of Gianni Infantino as the new head of FIFA.
Less happened in March, while April brought the fifth highest peak when the Panama papers were released, implicating several Swiss banks and legal and accounting professionals.
The next peak came in June when the world’s longest train tunnel, the Gotthard, was opened. This positive story came in as the fourth highest international media peak relating to Switzerland. Also in June came the third highest international media interest when Switzerland voted on a plan to introduce a universal basic income. The vote, rejected by the people of Switzerland, was seen by many as a litmus test for an idea that has been discussed around the world. Over 80% of voters in most cantons rejected it and the nationwide result was 76.9% against it, with all cantons rejecting it.
The last peak for the year came in September when Swiss tennis star Stan Wawrinka won the US Open.
Other internationally high profile media themes featuring Switzerland in 2016 included: Brexit, refugees, Islam, and the vote to automatically expel foreign criminals, which was rejected by 58.2% of Swiss voters.
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