Expatriate group opposes Swiss Review cuts

swissinfo.ch

A foreign ministry decision to cut the annual budget of Swiss Review, the bi-monthly magazine for expatriate Swiss, has met with a mixed response.

The Organisation of Swiss Abroad (OSA), which represents over 750 expatriate associations, is opposing the reduction – from SFr1.8 million ($1.71 million) to SFr1.3 million – scheduled to come into effect at the beginning of 2009.

The trimming of the five-language publication was primarily driven by the need to save money, foreign ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel told Swiss radio. He said the foreign ministry was forced to cut its expenses.

“A reduction of half a million means that we will be less up-to-date,” said Heinz Eckert, the Swiss Review’s editor-in-chief. He said the magazine could only be published quarterly rather than six times per year.

Knuchel said it was important for expatriate Swiss, known as the “Fifth Switzerland”, to continue receiving information and suggested expanding the magazine’s existing website. He said that option would be discussed with the OSA.

The organisation’s director, Rudolf Wyder, believes that an online product cannot replace a printed publication. “Not all compatriots have access to the internet,” he said.

The magazine also has its detractors. In comments to Zurich’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper, some readers savaged the publication.

“Hard to believe that such a lean, poorly-written booklet, which carries nothing relevant uses so high a budget,” wrote Gunner Gilgen. “The Swiss Review is trash, useful only for laughs and to cement antiquated Swiss clichés.”

A reader with a more positive impression, Simon Peter Kaul, told the NZZ that it would be “a great pity” to drop the magazine, and that it served a “very important function for us Swiss abroad worldwide.”

Issue of access

Wyder shares that view, and says it is the responsibility of the federal government to inform Swiss abroad so that they can participate in the political processes. “The Review fills this mission and further, is an important channel for foreign consulates and Swiss clubs in the different regions,” he told swissinfo.

Another NZZ commentator argued that the Swiss Review was a relic from the pre-internet time and no longer necessary today. “The few Swiss abroad who do not have internet access can find another way to get their information without supporting the journalists and the immense cost pressures,” wrote Armin Doetzkies.

The idea to deliver the magazine only on subscription to the Swiss abroad is not ideal, argued Wyder. “We must reach all citizens abroad, so that would no longer be possible,” he said.

Rudy Kirner from Canada responded to an earlier story published by swissinfo suggesting the organisation of Swiss expatriates should find money elsewhere.

“The OSA should try to get some revenue from increased advertising,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, not all Swiss abroad have access to the internet.”

The OSA says it will not accept the foreign ministry’s decision and that it will work to preserve the Swiss Review. The next step is discussions with parliamentarians, and particularly with the parliamentary group of Swiss nationals abroad.

The organisation will also bring up the issue at the next Swiss Abroad Council meeting on August 22 in the city of Fribourg.

In the spring, Swiss nationals in France, Germany and Italy approved a resolution asking Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey to preserve the Swiss Review in its present form and function.

swissinfo, based on an article in German by Gaby Ochsenbein

The Swiss Abroad

668,107 Swiss lived abroad in 2007 (+3.6% on 2006), compared with 7.5 million residents in Switzerland.

119,429 expatriates aged over 18 have registered to vote.

Since 1992 Swiss abroad have the right to take part in federal votes/elections via mail from abroad.

More than 40 Swiss abroad candidates stood for the October 21 parliamentary elections. In 2003, just 17 people living abroad stood for election.

There is currently no Swiss expatriate in parliament.