ZURICH Despite Swiss voters refusing to back the purchase of 22 Gripen fighter planes from Sweden in a national referendum on 18 May, a new study finds that the army has more support than it has had in 20 years. The concept of neutrality was also favoured by a record 96% of respondents, rising to […]
Drivers beware of hefty fines when crossing Swiss borders
BERN A bizarre case has Swiss and foreigners alike scratching their heads. A hapless German pensioner recently visiting his daughter in Switzerland drove his son-in-law’s Swiss-registered car across the border to go to his daughter’s holiday home in Austria. Stopped at customs, and unable to provide appropriate documentation, Dieter Johann von der Heide was hit […]
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.
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 […]
English threatening Swiss cohesion?
MARTIGNY Once again the can of worms has been reopened regarding whether English or a Swiss national language should be the first foreign tongue taught at primary-school level. Several German-speaking cantons continue to object to a federal requirement that two mandatory foreign languages must be taught at primary level. Many schools in Canton Zurich already […]
Blocher resigns from parliament
Billionaire politician Christoph Blocher, the driving force behind the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC), has resigned from the House of Representatives, with effect from the end of May. Blocher has long been an outspoken critic of parliament and, indeed, of most Swiss political institutions. He is leaving to pursue other political goals. The 73-year-old former […]
Are referendums for the best?
With diverse constituencies (Britain, Scotland, Russia, Quebec…) dabbling in the need – or threat – to hold referendums as long as it suits their purposes, the Swiss model has proved the most successful, but also questionable. Exploring the Gripen affair on our front page, one is left wondering whether a popular vote is such a […]
Gripen: Whose truth?
BERN With the planned 18 May referendum to decide whether Switzerland should purchase 22 Swedish Gripen fighter aircraft, how transparent is Bern with regard to cost and feasibility? Both the Swiss Federal Council and the Department of Defence are pushing a plane that the Norwegian government rejected five years ago based on two studies because […]
Bern will fund research
BERN Switzerland’s scientific community heaved a collective sigh of relief following measures from Bern to temporarily fund some projects. The panic has not completely died down however, since the measures proposed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) are transitional, pending resolution of the problem posed by the cutoff of EU funding. After the 9 […]
Banning paedophiles
After the referendum on immigration, the results of which are still raising questions and doubts, Switzerland is getting ready for an important new vote on 18 May – to ban convicted paedophiles from working with children for life. The so-called Marche Blanche (White March) initiative would prohibit paedo-criminals and those guilty of sexually abusing a […]
