Bern With last month’s unemployment figures at 3% – the lowest in 25 years according to Bern’s Secretary of State for Economy (SECO) – Switzerland’s good economic prospects are proving increasingly attractive to foreign companies despite the gloom of the 9 February anti-mass immigration vote. Based on an Ernst & Young (which now calls itself […]
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.
Plans to toughen drink laws in Vaud
A damper on a night on the town LAUSANNE Young people looking for a great nightlife are flocking in ever-greater numbers to Lausanne. Many come from Geneva where the bar scene is less lively and, above all, more expensive. Not everyone plans to get roaring drunk, but under peer pressure more are doing so. And […]
Referenda: “No fighters, but cheaper buses”
No fighters, but cheaper buses Switzerland’s functioning democratic system produced on 18 May an array of local and national decisions which shocked some, irritated others and rationally satisfied many, depending, of course, on which way you kicked. The majority federal vote (53.4%) rejecting the Swiss army’s proposal to purchase 22 Swedish-built multipurpose Gripen jet fighters […]
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 […]
Cyber disarmament talks
GENEVA An idea is circulating in Geneva to create a round of disarmament talks for a new type of arms control: waging war in cyberspace. This time, however, the talks would encompass more than UN member countries and include what’s known in UN-speak as multi-stakeholders such as private companies and civil society. Geneva is under […]
Suisse romande recovering fastest
According to the Crea Institute of the University of Lausanne, the six cantons of the largely French-speaking Suisse romande did far better economically in 2013 than expected. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region, which represents one quarter of the Swiss economy, or almost CHF 150 billion, grew by 2.1% rather than the 1.3% […]
Fighting STDs through remorse
BERN Last year saw 575 new HIV infections in Switzerland, an 8% decrease compared to 2012. Though encouraging, the numbers are still too high for Swiss authorities, whose aim is to reduce the figure to 350 annually by 2017. A new campaign tackling sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), seeks to curb detrimental sexual behaviour through remorse: […]
Geneva observers to monitor Egyptian elections
Falling in with a more assertive “Geneva International” approach as a hub for planetary concerns, a 50-strong team from the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) leaves for Egypt this week as part of a broader observer mission to monitor the country’s presidential elections on 26–27 May. The GNRD, one of six invited international […]
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 […]
