Switzerland today

Greetings from Bern,

Swiss direct democracy is hogging the news today. The results of yesterday's vote are being dissected but will we ever know what’s in the hearts and minds of the Swiss people?

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

In the news: Vote analysis, Ukraine and Covid bill

• Swiss citizens disregarded the government’s advice in three out of four issues that were up for a nationwide vote yesterday. They wanted stricter regulation on tobacco advertising targeting minors and did not want to stump up cash for funding of private media. They were also unwilling to forego revenue from a reform of stamp duty on corporate equity. The only vote issue that citizens saw eye-to-eye with their elected representatives was the one calling for a ban on animal testing. Are politicians out of touch with their electorate? Maybe but the pandemic is also affecting voting behaviour. What about Swiss expats? As usual they have a slightly different take on issues affecting Switzerland.
• Speaking of the pandemic, the first hint of the cost of imposing restrictionsExternal link on business is here. Unemployment benefits, including compensation for reduced working hours and for loss of earnings due to coronavirus, came to a little over CHF14 billion in 2020. 
• While Switzerland seems to be slowly heading out of the crisis, the same cannot be said of Ukraine where tensions with Russia are at a high. So much so that the government is evacuating relativesExternal link of Swiss embassy staff. There are 257 Swiss citizens living in Ukraine. 

Keystone / Martin Ruetschi

Love is the air: Valentine’s day fun

• Are the Swiss romantic? It depends where. If a random analysisExternal link of Valentine’s day searches on Google is to be believed then people in cantons Valais and Jura are the most romantic. Residents of Zurich and Basel Country are the most jaded. 
• Swiss International Airlines is trying to get us in the mood for love. A picture External linkof two of its employees kissing in front of a jumbo jet engine is making the rounds on social media.
• Think your loved one is going to propose today? The Swiss Statistical Office took the opportunity to share some numbers on nuptialsExternal link. The number of marriages are dropping but the average age at the time of marriage has been fairly steady: around 32 for men and 30 for women.