Over the years some in the mainly French-speaking town of Moutier have tried to have the town removed from the canton of Bern and added to the canton of Jura, a movement dubbed “Mouxit”. In Switzerland, changing cantons is a big deal. Many things, such as tax rates, health systems, education systems and official languages […]
Around 8,000 protest against Covid-19 measures in Switzerland
On 20 March 2021, around 8,000 people assembled in Liestal in Switzerland to protest against government measures to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The protest, which was authorised by the authorities, drew people from across Switzerland. According to a report by RTS, around 8,000 people were present, a number lower than the 8,500 […]
Swiss upper house votes to raise pension age for women
As Switzerland’s population ages the number of people paid state pension is rising relative to the number of workers funding it. Since 2014, more has been paid out than has been paid in. The most effective way to fix this imbalance is to raise the pension age. If the average life expectancy of a retiree […]
Swiss burka ban passed with support of muslims and feminists
On 7 March 2021, a vote to ban face covering was accepted by 51.2% of Swiss voters. The proposal achieved majorities in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons. Only in the cantons of Graubunden, a canton with a large tourism sector, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Bern, and the urban cantons of Basel-City, Geneva, Zurich did a majority of voters reject the ban […]
Farming lobby hurting Swiss chocolate sector, says industry association
Swiss chocolate sales went into steep decline in 2020, according to ChocoSuisse, Switzerland’s chocolate industry association. The amount of chocolate produced in Switzerland in 2020 was 10% lower than in 2019 and sales revenue was down by 14.5%, a sharp drop. In 2020, Swiss chocolatiers produced around 180,000 tons, 20,000 tons less than the year […]
Swiss women granted right to vote 50 years ago this weekend
On 7 February 1971, Swiss women were granted the right to vote after a referendum on the subject. This weekend marks the 50-year anniversary. An early notable event in the fight for women’s suffrage in Switzerland was a demand to have the right included in a revision of Zurich’s cantonal constitution in 1863. However the […]
Swiss democracy hit by pandemic, according to ranking
In 2020, globally, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index fell from 5.44 in 2019 to 5.37 (on a 0-10 scale), driven by falls across all regions for the first time since 2010, in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis. The deterioration in average scores was driven largely by measures taken by governments […]
Most Swiss in favour of federal vote to ban public face covering
A recent poll run by Swiss media company Tamedia on voting intentions for the upcoming federal referendum to ban face covering in public found a majority were in favour. Overall, 63% of those polled were in favour of the ban, with 35% opposed and 2% undecided, according to the newspaper Le Matin. Political party support […]
European court rules against Swiss fine for begging
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against a Swiss fine issued to a Roma beggar. In January 2014, a woman begging on the streets of Geneva was fined CHF 500. Unable to pay the fine, the woman was placed in detention for 5 days. Begging is banned in many places in Switzerland. Laws […]
Swiss federal government rejects vote to ban burqas
On 7 March 2021, Swiss voters will vote on a federal ban on covering faces in public, a referendum focused on women wearing burqas and niqabs. The Egerkingen initiative aims to ban face coverings in public and to protect the free will of women to leave their faces uncovered. The proposal makes exceptions, such as […]
