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 […]
Paedophile ban vote
BERN The Swiss National Council recently supported an initiative seeking to ban convicted paedophiles from ever working with children again. The so-called Marche Blanche proposal, which passed by 82 votes to79, aims to prevent repeat offences by prohibiting access to potential victims through professional pathways. The referendum is set for18May. The Federal Council, however, deems […]
Phone tapping fears
BERN The Federal Council is seeking the same surveillance tools used by those who spy on Switzerland. If approved as expected by parliament later this year, Switzerland will have a new surveillance law giving intelligence services greater powers to tap the internet and private phone lines in the name of countering military and industrial espionage […]
