Switzerland Today

This content was published on July 24, 2024 - 18:00

3 minutes

Swissinfo.ch's India specialist covers a wide range of issues from bilateral relations to Bollywood. He also knows a thing or two about Swiss watchmaking and is partial to the French-speaking part of Switzerland. 

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Little Switzerland has always tried to raise its profile abroad by offering its “good offices” to factions that don’t see eye-to-eye. Russia may no longer believe in Swiss neutrality, but the Ukraine peace conference at Bürgenstock in June was well attended.

Now, the Alpine nation has added another feather to its cap by playing host to Sudan peace talks in mid-August at the behest of the United States.

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In the news: Sudan mediation, PhD nation, Zermatt’s isolation and Maggia Valley’s reconnection.

Negotiations for peace in Sudan will be taking place in SwitzerlandExternal link in mid-August. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had invited the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to the talks.

The number of PhD students in Switzerland has doubled over the past 30 years, largely due to the influx of international students. The proportion of foreign PhD students varies widely across different fields with mechanical engineering (around 80%) and natural sciences (over 70%) among the most international.

Bad news for those looking to catch a glimpse of Switzerland’s most famous peak. The railway line between Visp and Zermatt will not be fully operational until August 26 at the earliest. The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn originally expected to have repaired the line, which was interrupted by storms, by mid-August.

Better news in the Maggia Valley in Ticino though. A replacement bridge has been completed for the Visletto Bridge in Cevio, which was destroyed in a storm at the end of June. The upper and lower Maggia Valleys are now connected again, the army announced yesterday.

Religion in parliament: Non-believers significantly underrepresented.

Should political representatives be a reflection of broader society? It is not always possible to have the same mix of people in power as in the general populace. However, the gap between real life and political life cannot be too large or there is bound to be criticism.

Take religion. The Tages-Anzeiger has published a breakdown of religious affiliation in parliament External linkbased on a study by the University of Bern’s institute of political science.

The largest group in parliament are Roman Catholics, who make up around 40%, followed by the Protestant Reformed, who account for about 32%.

While people with no religious affiliation make up the largest group in the Swiss population at around 34%, they rank only third in parliament with just 23%. Muslims are also significantly underrepresented. While nearly 6% of the population identify with this faith, only around 1% of parliamentarians do.