Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern, where some media today are wondering whether the sublime views over Lake Lucerne can help world leaders solve the Ukraine conflict when they convene there in June. More on the location chosen for the Ukraine peace conference after Thursday’s news of the day.
In the news: neutrality push, organic boom, Alpine highs.
- Campaigners in Bern today handed in 133,000 signatures for a “neutrality initiative”, aiming to inscribe the principle of “perpetual armed neutrality” in the constitution. The campaign was launched after the Swiss reaction to the Ukraine war raised fears of a faltering commitment to neutrality.
- Organic produce continued to make inroads in the Swiss market last year, with sales rising to CHF4.08 billion ($4.46 billion), despite dampened consumer confidence and rising prices. Food and other products certified as organic enjoyed a market share of 11.6%, up from 11.2% in 2022.
- The railway and ski lift operator Jungfraubahn posted record profits last year, the company said today. An influx of visitors was notably seen on the 3,454-metre Jungfraujoch – marketed as the “top of Europe” – which cracked the one-million visitor mark for the first time since 2019.
Ukraine peace talks: successful or not, at least a nice location.
Reading today’s Swiss press, you’d almost think that the real star of this week’s announcement of a June Ukraine peace conference was neither Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, nor President Viola Amherd, nor even Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky – rather it was the Bürgenstock. After months of speculation about a location for the talks, the luxury resort in central Switzerland, whose name Microsoft Word persistently tries to correct to “Birkenstock”, made it into most headlines today after being unveiled as the illustrious host yesterday.
Why the Bürgenstock? Topography is a key factor, the Tages-Anzeiger writes: it’s not so far from Zürich, it boasts a former military air field nearby, and it’s easy to seal off: just one road winds up to the resort sitting 450 metres above Lake Lucerne, which is easily patrolled. A funicular also leads up from a ferry port at the lake itself. In urban Geneva meanwhile (previously tipped as a location) it would have been “harder to safely accommodate so many internationally-protected people”, said the foreign ministry’s Gabriel Lüchinger. Switzerland is hoping for representatives from 80-100 countries.
The Bürgenstock also has historical form when it comes to glitz, glamour, and diplomacy, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes. Former German chancellor Konrad Adenauer holidayed at the resort (and convened the German cabinet there on occasion); Sophia Lauren and Audrey Hepburn were regulars (Hepburn got married there in 1954); the secretive Bilderberg group met there three times; and in the early 2000s, Switzerland used the Bürgenstock as a location for diplomatic talks on the Sudanese civil war (a success) and Cypriot divisions (a failure).
The two decades since then have been largely marked by a Qatari purchase of the resort in 2008 – an ownership situation which Cassis maintained had nothing to do with yesterday’s decision. As for the scenic and quintessentially Swiss nature of the place, this also can’t hurt the atmosphere: it might even allow global leaders to clear their heads and reach compromises, the St Galler Tagblatt waxes. If not, it’ll at least provide for some good photos and diplomatic networking, or, in the more cynical-sounding view of People’s Party parliamentarian André Page, “a nice weekend for all those leaders on the Bürgenstock”.
Dialogue: is nuclear power coming back?
In 2017, some 58% of Swiss voters agreed with a plan to phase-out nuclear power. Post-Fukushima, such a decision fit the mood of the time. But seven years later, faced by a cocktail of potential energy shortages and ongoing climate change, many countries – and not just Switzerland – are examining the possibility of extending or upping their reliance on nuclear. In Switzerland, a people’s initiative has even been launched to this effect.
What do you think? Should all options, including nuclear, be on the table to ensure energy security in the coming years? Read more about the arguments and have your say in this week’s edition of our “dialogue” format.
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