Tribune de Genève. For several weeks Germany’s police have been using a method developed in Switzerland to identify possible terrorists. Developed by Jérôme Endrass, deputy head of the psychiatric psychological service at the office of justice of the canton of Zurich, the system involves police answering a series of questions on an individual based on […]
Didier Burkhalter’s replacement to be agreed by 20 September
20 Minutes. Late last week, Didier Burkhalter’s Liberal Party (PLR/FDP) announced its calendar for choosing someone to replace him after he announced his resignation on 14 June 2017. Switzerland will be kept guessing about the new leader through the summer, finding out only on 20 September 2017, one month and 10 days before Mr. Burkhalter finishes on […]
New initiative to keep foreign workers out of Switzerland
Le Matin. On 15 June 2017, one day after kicking off the job of collecting the signatures required to call a referendum, the text for a new plan to limit access to Switzerland’s job market was presented to the Swiss government. Before a Swiss popular vote or referendum can be launched 100,000 valid signatures must be collected […]
Swiss Federal Councillor and foreign minister Didier Burkhalter resigns
Today, Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter announced his resignation. One of seven in Switzerland’s executive, he became known around the world, during his stint as the nation’s president, when a photo of him of him standing alone on a public train platform waiting for his train was Tweeted. The photo was taken by Le Temps journalist […]
Forty new Swiss papal guards sworn in
Over the weekend, 40 new Swiss guards were sworn in at the Vatican in Rome. They swore to sacrifice their own lives to protect the life of the Pope if required. Pontifical Swiss Guards have served since 1506. The new guards swore to “…faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff Francis and his legitimate successors, […]
Swiss leaders react to French presidential election result, some with pessimism
20 Minutes. The French presidential election has delivered a clear win to Emmanuel Macron. With an estimated 65.8% of the votes going to Macron, compared to 34.2% to Marine Le Pen, he is France’s new president. At the same time the election brought the highest rate of protest votes since 1969. 26% of voters abstained and 9% handed […]
No charges to be pressed against 86 year old graffiti culprit
20 Minutes. No charges will be made against the 86 year old woman who sprayed graffiti on a fence outside the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in Bern. Balthasars Grüne Links wurde soeben publiziert! https://t.co/HSWZCD8vSS Beiträge u.a. von @smiddy2812 @bmarmier @EliasR94 #presidentielles — Balthasar Glättli (@bglaettli) April 12, 2017 Last week, Louise Schneider, spray painted the […]
Report shows risks of “low cost” terrorism in Switzerland
Tribune de Genève. The Swiss government recently published its third report on how to combat attacks by jihadists. The report, named TETRA, opens with a description of the terrorist attack in Berlin where a truck was driven into a crowded Christmas market killing 12 people. It then set outs the concerns experts have about the emergence […]
Proposal to remove Swiss home-owner tax rejected
In Switzerland, those who own the home they live in must add imputed rent to their income when calculating their income tax. This means owner-occupiers are taxed for living in their own homes, an odd concept for some who are new to Switzerland. In addition to paying tax on imputed rent, home owner-occupiers can deduct […]
Swiss government drops plan to restrict lobbyists’ access to parliament
One year after Switzerland’s Council of States (upper house) voted in favour of controlling lobbyists’ access to parliament, the draft proposed implementation plan has been rejected by the commission in charge of it. Back in March 2016, the Council of States voted in favour of a parliamentary initiative put forward by state councillor Didier Berberat calling for those accessing parliament to […]
