Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern,

Where as carnival kicked off in Basel (photo), parliamentarians got back to plenary work in Bern, meeting for the first day of their spring session. Among other issues, Iran was on the agenda (see “in the news” below). The session lasts three weeks; we’ll bring the biggest decisions and talking points in this briefing and on our news page.

Keystone / Stephanie Lecocq

In the news: Iran declaration, busy watchdog, and rubbing out hate speech.

• A left-wing-led majority in the House of Representatives in Bern approved a declaration calling for “an immediate end to state brutality against demonstrators” in Iran. The declaration also demanded the release of all political prisoners, the abolition of the death penalty, and the holding of democratic elections. Some 107 deputies backed the motion, 71 were against.
• Switzerland’s official price watchdog handled 60% more consumer complaints last year compared with 2021, most of them due to prices in the energy sector. Some 30% of the 2,368 queries received last year were related to energy, Stefan Meierhans said today. Healthcare costs were second most queried (13%), followed by telecommunications (5.5%).
• A non-profit foundation has been set up in Switzerland to help tackle hate speech. The Public Discourse Foundation, unveiled today, is a joint collaboration between the Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich, the women’s organization Alliance F, and the Mercator Foundation, which promotes understanding between cultures. It will use “science-based strategies and scalable solutions” to tackle toxic comments online.

© Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

Lobbying part 1: just don’t call it lobbying.

Swiss people aren’t big fans of lobbyists, the NZZ reported today. A survey cited by the newspaper (on the day that parliament came together for its spring session in Bern) found that just under half of the 1,000 citizens surveyed would be in favour of banning them completely. Only a third agreed with the statement “lobbying is an important part of the democratic process”. However, do we know what we’re actually critical of? When the word “lobbying” was taken out of the picture, the actual work that lobbyists do, as well as the groups that fall under that heading (including media, and environmental activists etc.), were less negatively viewed by survey respondents. Maybe the solution is not ban the lobbyists but to ban the word “lobbyists”.

Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

Lobbying part 2: boozing and schmoozing (and losing).

One of the clichéd images of high-level lobbying is that it’s done over a nice glass of white in a secluded bar. On this score, at least, you’d think the Swiss wine industry would be the best in the business. Le Courrier writes today however that vintners are currently having a hard time pushing their cause, and that their federal funding, allocated for the promotion of home-grown vintages, is set to be discontinued next year. After battling to secure funding of CHF9 million ($9.6 million) for 2023, it was decided last week that state coffers can’t afford to splash out again in 2024.

Swiss wine-makers, whose share of the market has dwindled from 40% towards 35% in recent years, are aghast, and say they can’t compete with the big-budget marketing campaigns of e.g. Italian wines. But in Bern, Le Courrier writes, their calls for support are falling on deaf ears: one reason, apparently, is that politicians are more receptive to the (largely German-speaking) dairy industry, rather than the (largely French-speaking) wine sector. “In Switzerland, grapes speak French and cows speak German,” complains the (French-speaking) president of the Swiss Wine Promotion group. Maybe they could include some cheese in their next lobbying campaign.

© Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

Photo op: Basel carnival back with a bang.

At 4am this morning, the street lights in Basel city centre all went out, and were replaced by hundreds of moving multicoloured illuminations. The country’s largest carnival, which had been on pause since 2019 due to Covid, has been running full-steam again since this morning. After the traditional early-morning “Morgenstraich” opening event, the main parade happened this afternoon, with themes for the outfits dominated this year by climate change and cultural appropriation debates (which took Switzerland surprisingly by storm last summer). The festivities will continue until Wednesday.