Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Should cows be allowed to wear bells on meadows at night? And what about local church bells? Can they be rung through the night? Read on for more on the latest Swiss night-time bell-ringing polemic.
And we have other news and stories from Switzerland below.
In the news: Gotthard Base Tunnel, Swiss inflation and Swiss army
- On August 10 a freight train derailed inside the Gotthard Base Tunnel in southern Switzerland after a fragment of a wheel disc broke. According to Swiss Federal RailwaysExternal link, the accident damage inside the tunnel is “much greater than expected”, estimated at CHF100 million-130 million. A normal rail service will not resume before September 2024.
- Swiss inflation stalled last monthExternal link, delaying an anticipated rebound and strengthening the case for Swiss National Bank officials to hold interest rates steady when they meet next month. After slowing over the summer, the central bank and most economists expect price pressures to amplify over the coming months.
- The Swiss government saysExternal link the current strength of Switzerland’s army must not decrease in view of the current geopolitical situation. It has instructed the Department of Defence to present a project to enable it to temporarily increase the maximum strength of the army – currently 140,000 – as prescribed in the law.
- A record 50% of workers in Switzerland are not afraid of losing their jobs. Nevertheless, burnout is at an all-time high, according to a new survey. Over 820,000 people are considering changingjobs because of stress and psychological strain at work, compared to 650,000 in 2022, says the barometer, published by Travail.Suisse, an independent umbrella organisation for employees, and the Bern University of Applied Sciences.
- The largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever put up for auction could sell for up to $50 millionExternal link at a Christie’s sale of rare jewels in Geneva on November 7, the auctioneer said on Thursday. Known as “Bleu Royal,” this vivid blue diamond – which is set in a ring – is among the rarest ever to be unearthed.
Swiss government proposes CHF90 million in aid to Middle East region
Owing to the “dire” humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict in the Middle East, the Swiss government has asked parliament to releaseCHF90 million ($99.5 million) in additional funds for aid to the region.
The funds will go mainly to the International Red Cross (ICRC), the UN and international humanitarian non-governmental organisations that offer aid to people in the region affected by the Israeli-Palestinian war.
The emergency humanitarian aid would be provided throughout the region. Parliament still has to give its approval.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis called on Israel to declare a humanitarian truce to guarantee access to aid for the population. A call for a ceasefire, however, would contradict Israel’s right to ensure its own security. Israel has the right to defend itself, he told reporters in Bern on Wednesday.
The Swiss foreign minister was questioned at length about the 11 Palestinian and Israeli NGOs whose Swiss aid has been suspended. There is no contradiction with today’s announcement, said Cassis. NGOs have complained about the consequences of the freeze.
There are suspicions of non-compliance with the code of conduct by these organisations that receive Swiss financial support. “We are in the process of looking into this closely”, and a decision will be taken this month, he noted. Switzerland recently created a Middle East task force to work on this, as well as on the possibility of banningHamas in Switzerland as a terrorist organisation. Here too, a decision is expected this month, according to Cassis.
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The Swiss love their meat
Swiss supermarkets sell a growing selection of vegan and vegetarian products. Despite this trend, the Swiss remain big meat-eaters, a recent survey published in Arcinfo External linkshows.
Researchers from the University of Bern, the University of St Gallen and the Inselspital in Bern found that eating habits are changing less than might be imagined. They studied the shopping and restaurant receipts of 371 households, which revealed that the vast majority prefer a diet rich in meat: 70.6% of participants regularly eat animal products.
Only 18.3% of those who took part in the study can be considered “flexitarians” – an increased intake of plant-based meals without completely eliminating meat. Another 7.8% said they followed a strict vegetarian diet, while only 0.5% were vegans.
These figures contrast with those of Swissveg, the association representing the interests of vegans and vegetarians in Switzerland, which says its survey of 30,000 people showed that a quarter of the Swiss population are flexitarians. Last January, Coop’s “Plant Based Report 2023” study also reported 63% of the population identifying themselves as flexitarians.
These differences come as no surprise to the authors of the latest university study. “When we ask people if they have a flexitarian lifestyle or if they give up meat several times a week, many answer in the affirmative and say they eat less meat than before. But as soon as we move on to quantifiable values, the results are very different,” Marc Linzmajer from the University of St Gallen explained to the 20 Minuten newspaper.
Complaints spark wave of support for cowbells in Bern village
Squabbles about the noise produced by cowbells and church bells regularly flare up in Switzerland. In the past the issue has even made it as far as the country’s highest court.
The most recent caseExternal link is in the village of Aarwangen, in canton Bern, where local residents have launched a campaign in favour of the clanging.
After two newly arrived couples in the area filed complaints against the noise to local authorities, a pro-cowbell movement has sprung up.
In reaction to the complaints, a group of locals launched an initiative aiming to preserve not only the sound of cowbells but also that of church bells.
As for the two newly arrived couples, one has since withdrawn the complaint, while the other has announced plans to move away, municipality president Niklaus Lundsgaard-Hansen told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
“For me, the conflict is an example of the urban-ruraldivide,” says Lundsgaard-Hansen. Many people have moved to the area, “most of them not necessarily from cities, but from urban outskirts, and are less familiar with the agricultural way of life”, said Lundsgaard-Hansen, who himself moved to Aarwangen just four years ago.
Aarwangen now has to officially rule on how the sound of the bells and the need for peace can co-exist under noise pollution regulations. In December, the initiative by citizens will come before the local council. By then, cantonal authorities in Bern hope to have reached some concluding guidelines, SRF writes.
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