In 2018, the percentage of the population in Switzerland living below the poverty line fell from 8.2% (2017) to 7.9%, returning to the same level as it was in 2010. Most affected by poverty were those aged under 18 (9.6%) and those aged over 64 (13.7%). Single parent families (19.3%), those without tertiary education (12.7%) […]
Swiss government wants to quickly change laws to allow gay marriage
Switzerland’s Federal Council announced that it would like to quickly give gay couples the right to marry, according to RTS. It also said that it did not think the change would require changing the constitution and could be achieved by changing laws. It would like to see legal changes that would make it easy for couples […]
Switzerland makes the short list of full democracies in 2019
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Democracy Index includes only 22 out of 167 countries in the category of fully functioning democracies. 15 were in Europe. Notable countries missing from the list were the US, Belgium and Italy, which were all classified as flawed democracies. This year the average global score fell from 5.48 to 5.44, […]
Landmark judgment in favour of climate activists in Switzerland
In 2018, 12 climate activists entered a branch of the bank Credit Suisse in Lausanne, Switzerland and started playing tennis. Their prank aimed to draw attention to the bank’s investments in companies involved in the fossil fuel industry. Tennis alluded to the marketing work Roger Federer has done for the bank. The bank called the […]
Davos at 50 – hate, intolerance, vengeance and the environment
Today, Simonetta Sommaruga, Switzerland’s president, opened this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) alongside the event’s founder, 81-year-old Klaus Schwab. This is the 50th WEF event in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos. Ms Sommaruga said she was concerned about the state of the planet and the need to find the right balance between international politics […]
Swiss franc added to US Treasury currency manipulation watchlist
The US Treasury recently added Switzerland to its “monitoring list”. Those on the list are trading partners whose currency practices merit close attention. The list includes: China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Vietnam. It is no secret that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has been actively trying to weaken the Swiss […]
Trump to attend World Economic Forum in Davos
US President Donald Trump plans to attend the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos this month, according to a White House press release. The press release said a Presidential Delegation will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from January 20 to January 24, 2020. The delegation will be led by Steven […]
Switzerland’s new president for 2020
In Switzerland, the position of president is ceremonial. Switzerland’s executive is led jointly by all seven members of the Federal Council, known as les sept sages (the seven wise ones) by French speakers. Every year, the government issues a photo of the Federal Council. This year the photo (below) presents the executive as a group […]
Swiss parliament approves new 6 billion franc fighter jet purchase
Before Christmas, Switzerland’s parliament approved the purchase of a new fleet of fighter jets costing CHF 6 billion, according to RTS. The plan, which aims to defend Swiss airspace beyond 2030, has now been approved by both Switzerland’s upper and lower houses. Any contract to supply the aircraft will require a foreign supplier to invest […]
New fines for single use plastic in Geneva
From 1 January 2020, single use plastic products will be banned in the city of Geneva. Offenders will risk fines of at least CHF 100. Offering free single-use plastic bags at retail checkouts will be banned across the canton from 1 January 2020. The law enacting the ban was passed earlier in 2019 by Geneva’s […]
