In 2014 a Swiss bishop caused a stir when he demanded the resignation of a priest who had married two gay women. Wendelin Buchli, the Catholic priest in the village of Burglen in the canton of Uri, Switzerland was ordered to quit in February 2015 by Vitus Huonder, the highly conservative bishop of Chur, a […]
Nepal earthquake: don’t forget those in the countryside
The Nepal earthquake was devastating. Up to 80 percent of buildings are believed to have collapsed. Many dead and injured will be in remote areas of the countryside. Julien Bettler of the Lausanne based Himalayan NGO Norlha reminds the world not to forget the people in the countryside and talks of the crucial importance of […]
New Swiss driving rules that could have you locked up and deported
Some people are unaware of the severe new driving penalties in Switzerland. A new body of Swiss laws called Via sicura is being introduced in stages, the most recent lot at the beginning of 2015. Penalties for speeders and drink drivers are particularly severe. Even before these new laws, speeding was eye wateringly expensive in […]
7-step guide to getting a Swiss passport
Reform of Swiss naturalisation rules is in the works. Parliament has passed the law but it is not yet in force. Confusion abounds so here is a guide to what has happened and where things stood at 4 April 2016. On 20 June 2014 the Swiss parliament passed a new law which changed the number of […]
Elections: Geneva moves to the right
Over the weekend Geneva’s commune elections took place. These elections select municipal leaders and occur every five years. If a workable majority is not elected in the first round there is a second round vote, this time scheduled for 10 May 2015. According to the Tribune de Genève, 30 first round commune votes were definitive […]
How powerful is your passport?
Some passports are better than others. South Africans who travelled during the apartheid era will attest to this. To make comparisons easy, Arton Capital has created the Passport Index. The index ranks passports based on the number of countries the holder can travel to with ease. The index can be navigated via a world map, […]
Switzerland slips down 2015 social progress ranking
The Social Progress Index rankings are out again for another year. The ranking goes beyond GDP and includes measures of Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing and Opportunity. The 2015 report is co-authored by Harvard professor Michael E Porter who many business school graduates will remember for his 5 forces model of competition. This year […]
Why illegal telemarketing is getting worse in Switzerland
We have all received those annoying calls. You are about to sit down to dinner and are forced to rush to a ringing phone only to find some strange salesperson trying sell you a new health insurance policy or a phone package that you don’t want. Opting out introduced In 2012, after many complaints, the […]
It’s over for Uber in Geneva, or is it?
According to the canton of Geneva’s website all journeys arranged in the canton via the www.uber.ch platform are illegal. In addition, drivers could be hit with fines and administrative charges of up to CHF 20,000 and that professional drivers could lose their licences for as long as 6 months. In Geneva, the company with the […]
Costly Swiss drugs – why pain continues despite strong franc
Medicines are expensive in Switzerland and while a number of groups such as Santé Suisse are working hard to secure savings, the problem of relatively high prices continues. High drug prices persist in Switzerland for three key reasons. 1. Too many branded drugs There are two kinds of drugs: branded and generic drugs with expired-patents. […]
