Switzerland’s embarrassment: FIFA, Qatar and Blatter. Now that the world can breathe again with Germany’s win at the 2014 World Cup, the Zurich-based Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) will need to start considering what soccer is supposed to be about. And what kind of message it should be sending to young people, who hold […]
Foreign taxes – the big lose lose
Last week’s piece in Le News on US double taxation and the growing number of Americans relinquishing their citizenship has produced different reactions. These range from “exaggeration” by those who say complaining Americans are simply those who wish to “hide” their assets to “sadness” that US nationals should be obliged to hand over their passports […]
Identity and the cost of living abroad
The Independence Day celebrations for Canadians (1 July) and Americans (4 July) are reminders about identity. This is not always easy, particularly if one’s family consists of different nationalities with kids born in places such as Nairobi or Singapore, or attending school in Switzerland or France. How does one explain what it means to be […]
Mountains, bees and books
As long as the Swiss and many expats have their teams (German, English, Spanish, Portuguese…) still in play, the World Cup is impossible to ignore. So it’s refreshing to have outdoor enthusiasts, such as the two Lausanne women, one who climbed Everest, the other who base-jumped off the Matterhorn, remind us about other things, notably […]
Swiss resorts: Primed for the summer – and beyond
LAUSANNE According to the World Tourism & Travel Council, the Swiss tourism industry should do well in 2014 with more visitors – and income – for the country. With the impact of climate change and growing competition from resorts elsewhere in the world, however, realising such improvement is not a given. Switzerland still needs to […]
The Lake Geneva region: The real heart of Europe?
Lyon – the largest city closest to Geneva – has long marketed itself as “the heart of Europe”. Whether this convinces investors is another matter. The Lake Geneva region has far more reason for assuming this role. For this to happen, it needs to become the pivotal hub of the “Lyons–Geneva–Milan triangle”, as one Swiss […]
EU elections: The Swiss right’s conundrum
Notwithstanding the long-term visions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson Thomas Paine and other exceptional individuals, the wonderfully patriotic propaganda one often finds in American schools about how united the 13 colonies were against King George III has little to do with reality. What largely characterized the colonies was that they were beset by rivalries, jealousies […]
Making sense of the referenda
Making sense of the referenda Just as Bern failed to explain the possible long-term impact of a positive vote to curb EU immigration, the Department of Defence also neglected to put across its case in support of the 18 May Gripen fighter vote. Given readers’ response, some for, others against, to a Le News story highlighting a critical Norwegian report on the Gripen, it […]
Swiss quality, yes. But what about good value?
Whenever visitors baulk at the high price of a coffee, a hotel room or a lamb cutlet, the Swiss are always quick to respond: we provide quality. This may be true to a point. It is certainly the argument of the Swiss taxi cartel to justify its incredibly high rates or Swiss airlines in its […]
Are referendums for the best?
With diverse constituencies (Britain, Scotland, Russia, Quebec…) dabbling in the need – or threat – to hold referendums as long as it suits their purposes, the Swiss model has proved the most successful, but also questionable. Exploring the Gripen affair on our front page, one is left wondering whether a popular vote is such a […]