Switzerland Today

Sunny regards from Bern!

It’s officially fondue season! Tonight, some regions in the country are expecting their first heavy snowfall. So as we warm up with tea or hot chocolate, let’s look at some wild news stories from Switzerland you may have missed this year!

But first a look at the news:

• Swiss companies cover egg-freezing costs for work-life balance: since October, multiple companies, including the pharmaceutical giant Merck, have started covering the expenses associated with egg freezing for female employees opting for this precautionary measure.
• Budget balancing act: agriculture gains, cuts to asylum assistance: after weeks of deliberation in the House of Representative’s Finance Committee, the upshot is additional funds for agriculture,offset by reductions in asylum and regional policy.
• Municipality Moutier: Bern and Jura sign deal on cantonal switch: today, government representatives from cantons Bern and Jura signed an agreement for the municipality of Moutier’s change of canton.
• Women are significantly worse off when it comes to occupational pensions: in 2022, women received an average of CHF1,217 ($1,376) per month from the 2nd pillar, compared with CHF2,077 for men. The median amount of lump-sum benefits paid out by pension funds and vested benefits institutions was just under CHF153,564 for men and CHF65,622 for women, according to pension statistics published today by the Federal Statistical Office.
• Urban-rural healthcare divide: fewer doctors in Swiss countryside. There is one per 1,000 inhabitants in towns and cities, compared with 0.4 in the countryside. Doctors in rural areas also work more hours, 8% more per week.
• Chanel owner remains Switzerland’s richest person: Reflecting the buoyant state of the luxury goods industry, Gérard Wertheimer remains at the top of the list of the 300 wealthiest people in Switzerland. Together with his brother Alain, the Frenchman owns Chanel.
• Swiss ecclesiastical criminal court to be established in 2024: the future criminal court of the Swiss Catholic Church will be set up next year to try cases of sexual abuse.

 Wild stories from Switzerland you may have missed!

Stories from the Swiss Railways

Gold bars worth around CHF200,000 ($225,000) were found on a train and in true Swiss fashion were handed over to the authorities. The gold bars were then given to the organisation to which the package was labelled. Why was the place the gold bars were given to noteworthy?

3.7 kilos of gold were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by the Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office. Why? That’s where the package containing the gold bars was labelled to.

The donation could not have come at a better time for the ICRC: at the time of this news story the international organisation based in Geneva was planning cost-cutting measures of several hundred million Swiss francs, including numerous staff cuts and site closures.

While some people have been lucky on the train, the Swiss Federal Railways was not as lucky this year. A train derailed in the important Gotthard Base Tunnel. The damage is greater than first suspected, causing further inconvenience to commuters, especially as the holiday season approaches.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a relatively new tunnel. After 17 years, construction on the tunnel was completed in 2016. As the longest rail tunnel in the world, it is now seen as a “national symbol” of Switzerland, “the crossroads of Swiss culture and a symbol of independence, cohesion and national identity”.

Switzerland and its place as a peace mediator 

Switzerland has historically been known for its stance on neutrality and as a mediator for peace around the world. However, with several crises flaring up around the world, will Switzerland lose its place at the negotiating table?

One issue is the sanctions on goods to Russia and the freezing of assets from Russia. Where does official Switzerland stand? What influence does it have?

In February, Alexei Venediktov, the former editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow radio station, said “Switzerland has lost its opportunity to mediate for peace. In the past, Swiss presidents could take on this role. But where is the current mediator between Russia and the West?”

More recently, negotiations for the four-day truce in the Israeli-Palestinian war were steered by Qatar. Where does that leave Switzerland’s role on the international stage?

Swiss Cheese: a growing hole in the market

Another hit to Switzerland’s cultural image: For the first time, Switzerland is set to import more cheese than it exports. This is a blow to the country’s traditional dairy culture.

In July, Boris Beuret, the president of the association of Swiss milk producers (Swissmilk), said he had “received reactions to this news from all over the world. Swiss expatriates in Las Vegas wrote to say they were dismayed”.

The slumping dairy exports and lowering price of milk have also led to fewer dairy farmers taking on the craft in the Alpine nation. Swiss producers face significantly higher costs than their foreign competitors.

Let’s hope for a chilly winter season with lots of fondue and raclette for all.