GENEVA Those arriving in Switzerland to work, and those who have lived here for years, know well how expensive it can be to rent a house or an apartment in the Lake Geneva region – and that’s if you are lucky enough to find something. Negotiating contracts and understanding tenants’ rights may prove equally daunting, […]
Quick guide to Switzerland’s unique form of democracy
This video from Swissinfo.ch is an engaging beginners guide to how Switzerland’s unusual bottom-up democracy works.
Geneva: how to turbo boost the region
GENEVA Following growing curbs on Swiss banking, the migration vote and last month’s xenophobic surge in the European elections, is the Lake Geneva region taking appropriate steps to ensure a competitive economic edge? While both the cantons of Geneva and Vaud are increasingly pooling their resources – and ideas – it remains unclear as to […]
European elections: The Swiss equation
GENEVA The right-wing surge in the 2014 European elections is unlikely to have an immediate impact on Switzerland, other than to reinforce immigration concerns among those who voted for curbs on foreigners in the 9 February Swiss referendum. Apart from wishing to disengage as much as possible from Brussels, a prime message from Europe’s disgruntled […]
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 […]
Your tenant or landlord rights
As anywhere, trying to negotiate tenancy laws in Switzerland can be tricky. Disputes can range from the level of maintenance work the landlord is required to undertake to tenants refusing to pay rent. Whether you are the owner or the renter, it is best to have an expert on your side before things get out […]
Beware: Voracious pest
Your garden, terrace or balcony with its elegantly shaped box shrubs may be looking its best, but beware. The smart look of your home may be in jeopardy. Your decorative box shrubs may become the unwitting host and victim of the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis), an unwelcome Asian invader with no natural predators. Originally […]
Plans to toughen drink laws in Vaud
A damper on a night on the town LAUSANNE Young people looking for a great nightlife are flocking in ever-greater numbers to Lausanne. Many come from Geneva where the bar scene is less lively and, above all, more expensive. Not everyone plans to get roaring drunk, but under peer pressure more are doing so. And […]
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 […]
Referenda: “No fighters, but cheaper buses”
No fighters, but cheaper buses Switzerland’s functioning democratic system produced on 18 May an array of local and national decisions which shocked some, irritated others and rationally satisfied many, depending, of course, on which way you kicked. The majority federal vote (53.4%) rejecting the Swiss army’s proposal to purchase 22 Swedish-built multipurpose Gripen jet fighters […]
