Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern,

With supply chains struggling, the latest victim in Switzerland is – the press! Read on for more about paper shortages, electricity shortages, and no shortage of conspiracy theorists.

Keystone / Michael Buholzer

In the news: new vaccination campaign, but no Covid vouchers

• The government will run a “national vaccination week” from November 8-14. It’s the latest push to boost Covid-19 immunity in the country. The campaign will deploy vaccination buses and post information directly to citizens, but the quirky idea of offering CHF50 bonuses for persuading others to take the jab has been dropped. The vaccination rate for over-18s in Switzerland is currently around 71%.
• In the latest case of judges wrangling about civil disobedience, the Swiss federal court has ruled that a climate activist who daubed a bank façade in Geneva with paint has no right to justify his action by citing a climate emergency. The environmental threat is not imminent and cannot be eliminated through other means, the court said. The case will go back to the Geneva cantonal court which acquitted the defendant last October. 
• Switzerland could face electricity shortages this winter unless it comes to an arrangement with neighbours to secure supply, said a report discussed by government on Wednesday. An electricity agreement with the EU has been stalled by the end of negotiations on an institutional framework agreement in May. According to a “worst-case” scenario, in which no form of cooperation can be found, there would be shortages by March 2022 at the latest.

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Swiss newspapers go on a diet

When the pandemic broke out last year, toilet paper rapidly disappeared from supermarket shelves, thanks to a social phenomenon that still baffles many. Now, it’s newspapers that are dwindling, SRF reportsExternal link: various Swiss dailies are slimming down their print editions by 10% for the next month or so. Why? Mainly it’s due to a fire at a Lucerne paper factory last week. But it’s also due to supply chain problems affecting deliveries of raw materials – including wood – across Europe. On top of this, writes the NZZExternal link, the digitalisation of media and shifting consumer demands over the past decade means “times have changed” for the paper industry, with prices expected to rise. Let’s hope there’s not a repeat of the toilet-roll shortage; this time citizens will have less newspapers to turn to as ersatz wiping-material…

Keystone / Steffen Schmidt

Two decades later: former Swissair CEO revisits the trauma

“The biggest economic failure in Switzerland’s history” – this was the grounding of Swissair 20 years ago, according to the NZZ. On October 2, 2001, the airline’s fleet, “the symbol of Swiss quality, reliability and elegance”, was unable to take off due to financial ruin. The case tarnished Switzerland’s reputation, led to CHF17 billion in shareholder losses, and sparked wide-ranging court cases to find out who was responsible (the last of these wrapped up only in 2019).

Two decades later, the NZZ (in English) offers an insight from the man at the centre of the storm: Swissair CEO Mario Corti, who – from his exile in the US – gives what he says is “one last” interview. How does the crisis look in retrospect? As a “patriot”, he would take the job again, says Corti, who is convinced the grounding could have been avoided – if politicians had acted faster. Corti, who was showered both with criticism and praise at the time, also maintains he was “stabbed in the back” by the establishment, notably the UBS bank. “Everyone was out for themselves,” he says. “I trusted the Swiss system too much.”

The full interview is available in English hereExternal link; two decades ago, this is how SWI swissinfo.ch reported on the grounding.

Keystone / Str

Theorist theorises about nature of conspiracy theories

Since Covid arrived, conspiracy theories seem to be everywhere. But how can you tell a bona fide theorist from a mere upstart? In Wednesday’s Le TempsExternal link, Fribourg neuroscientist and conspiracy specialist Sebastian Dieguez says it’s not just about the tendency to believe in faked moon landings or reptile overlords; nor is it simply about having critical ideas about things like 5G or Covid. Rather, conspiracy theorists “actively and deliberately” see themselves as the vanguard of an enlightened movement, capable – unlike the rest of us – of seeing what’s really going on in the world: i.e. that vaguely-defined groups wield power by misleading us about the true nature of things. As such, they tend to avoid the daily grind of pragmatic debate, and reframe everything as a large but hazy antagonism between good and bad. Are you a conspiracy theorist? Don’t write us a mail!