Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider is one of the two new faces in the seven-member Swiss cabinet this year, alongside Environment Minister Albert Rösti. Today she got the chance to set out her political stall at a press conference in Zurich. Read more about her plans, and other news and stories from Switzerland below.

© Keystone / Melanie Duchene

In the news: German strikes, Belarus-Russia nuclear weapons, crime statistics and rising nicotine consumption among teens.

• Due to ongoing strikes in Germany, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) on Monday cancelled 42 flights from Zurich and Geneva to and from that country. Other airlines have also cut flights. Rail traffic in Switzerland is not affected.
• Russia has announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, escalating a standoff with the West. Switzerland says urgent measures must be taken to reduce any risks linked to the weapons.
• The number of burglaries in Switzerland rose by 14% in 2022 – the first increase in ten years, national crime figures show. 
• The NGO Addiction Switzerland said a survey conducted last year showed one in three 15-year-olds used tobacco or other nicotine products within the previous month. The strongest increase was recorded for e-cigarettes, especially among girls.
• The proportion of people holding a positive image of Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the EU has risen from 53% to 59% compared with last year, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported, citing a survey by the gfs.bern polling institute. The poll found that 60% were also in favour of Switzerland joining the European Economic Area.
• The Geneva-based International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights is going through a major crisis. Three foundation board members and the two co-directors have resignedExternal link following internal tensions and a reported staff revolt over the management of the annual event.

Ammar Al-Khudairy, former chairman of Saudi National Bank Twitter

Saudi National Bank chair resigns after Credit Suisse comment.

The fallout over the collapse of CreditSuisse continues. The shockwaves have now hit Saudi Arabia, where it was reported today that the chair of the central bank, Ammar Al–Khudairy (photo above), had resigned.

If you have been following the unfolding Credit Suisse banking dramaExternal link, you will remember that Al-Khudairy was the chair of the Saudi National Bank – Credit’s Suisse’s biggest shareholder – and his comments to Bloomberg helped spark a slump in the Swiss bank’s shares which ultimately led to its takeover by rival UBS.

Shares of Credit Suisse fell by over 30% after the top official announced on March 15 that the Saudi central bank would “absolutely not” provide more funds to the ailing Swiss bank.

We know the rest of the story. Hours later, the Swiss National Bank was forced to agree to lend Credit Suisse up to CHF50 billion ($54 billion) to shore up its finances. But the emergency funding failed to restore market confidence and the start of a run on Credit Suisse could not be averted.

Just over a week ago the Swiss government pushed through a last-minute deal for UBS to acquire ailing Credit Suisse at a marked-down price. UBS will pay CHF3 billion (€3.2 billion) in an all-share deal that includes extensive government guarantees and liquidity provisions.

© Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Swiss justice minister sets out her political priorities.Should Swiss cities have more 30km/h roads?

Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (photo above) got her chance today to explain to reporters – and the public – her political agenda. The Social Democrat, who began office in January, has a long working list: strengthening political rights and protecting victims of abuse, tackling violence against women and children, improving the status of LGBTQ+ parented families and non-binary people, and combatting new forms of human trafficking.

She told reporters in Zurich she also wants to further develop the integration of Ukrainian refugees into Swiss society and the labour market. Their accommodation is a major priority. Baume-Schneider called for close cooperation between her ministry, cantonal and local authorities to house an increasing number of refugees.

Hopefully, her agenda will help improve her image among the public, with whom she is less well known. The first ever minister from the western canton of Jura came last in a March survey that ranks the popularity of Swiss government ministers.

Several Swiss cities and towns have been imposing 30km per hour zones in a bid to improve road safety and reduce noise. Elsewhere a 50km/h speed limit is usually enforced. But the 30km/h limit is proving to be controversial.

A Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) survey publishedExternal link in Le Matin Dimanche newspaper on Sunday showed that the lower speed limit is not popular with residents. The study showed that 66% of the population of ten large cities, including Geneva, Lausanne, and Fribourg, do not want it to be more widespread.

People replying to the survey said 30 km/h zones tend to congest traffic in the city. TCS is calling on the authorities to maintain fast through-roads in cities and towns. “It is not by slowing down public transport and fast electric bicycles that there will be fewer cars in the city, quite the contrary,” says TCS President Peter Goetschi. Meanwhile, Stéphanie Penher of the Transport and Environment Association argues that “all factual studies show the opposite” and that lower vehicle fluidity is a “subjective perception” of those who completed the survey. The debate over more 30km/h zones rumbles on.