Switzerland today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

How do you know winter is coming where you are? Here in Bern there are a few clues: a chill in the air, shop windows adorned with Christmas themes, the start of the winter session of parliament and of course the annual Zibelemärit onion market in the Old Town.

Make yourself a cup of cocoa and have a look at what’s making news in Switzerland. 
 

Christmas lighting is festive but can towns afford the energy bill? Keystone / Urs Flueeler

In the news: Health insurance shopping, Xmas lights, backup power and winter session.

• With two days to go to change health insurance providers, Swiss residents are not hesitating to jump ship. Premiums are expected to rise by an average of 6.6% and some insurers have noted a record exodus of clientsExternal link. 
• Electricity shortage fears and rising energy prices have not put off Swiss cities and towns from putting up traditional Christmas lights. Instead, they have adopted for energy-saving measures like using LEDs or reducing illumination duration. Some have gone a bit furtherExternal link, like Geneva, which has opted for biogas-powered stalls in its Christmas market, or Lucerne, which has installed pedal-powered Christmas tree lights.
• Perhaps the imminent arrival of backup power is giving Switzerland some confidence to keep the lights on. At a press conference today, it was announced that the eight backup gas turbines External linkwill be deployed as soon as February 15 to address any energy shortages. Installed at the GE site in Birr in the northern Swiss canton of Aargau, the extra 250MW capacity will be available to the Swiss grid until the end of 2026 for a cost of CHF470 million.
• Parliamentarians return to Bern today for the start of the winter session. On the agenda are big ticket topicsExternal link like pensions, healthcare and corporate taxes. There is also the task of electing the new heads of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well two new members of the Federal Council to replace Ueli Maurer and Simonetta Sommaruga, who will be exiting at the end of the year. 

Loved by some but feared by others. © Keystone / Anthony Anex

Rewilding the Jura: Return of the native

Another creature making its return is the European bison. Since November, five of these giant beasts have been living in semi-wild conditions in the Jura region of canton Solothurn. They are part of an experiment to reintroduce the bovines to Switzerland where they were wiped out a hundred years ago. 

The rewilding attempt was not welcomed by local farmers who complained that they were already suffering from the return of native wildlife like wild boar, deer, lynx and wolves. They went to court to challenge the European bison reintroduction, but their case was dismissed this summer.