Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate! While red roses are being given to women in the West and chocolates to men in Japan, the criminal proceedings on the Covid leaks are coming to an end in Switzerland with a decision by the Federal Court.

In today's briefing, we also look back 30 years to when the Letten area in Zurich, Switzerland’s open drug scene area from the 1990s, was cleared. Witnesses of that time remember what it was like, and Swiss cities are once again confronted with a growing open drug scene.

Petra Tschudin, member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), also explains the importance of negative interest rates for Switzerland's "small, open economy", and we travel to Lauterbrunnen, where almost one in four flats can be found on Airbnb – with both positive and negative effects on the community.

Enjoy the read!

Keystone / Walter Bieri

It’s 30 years since Zurich’s Lettenareal drug scene was cleared, but open drug scenes are on the rise again in Swiss cities.

In the 1990s, Zurich’s “Needle Park” gained worldwide notoriety. At that time, hundreds of people injected heroin at the Platzspitz. After it was cleared, the scene re-formed at the Lettenareal, where conditions worsened, becoming more violent and deadlier.

Today, Swiss media reflect on this dark chapter. “I’ve been on the needle since my first day at Platzspitz,” Stefan, now 57, told Blick. He was 18 when he first went to Platzspitz and later moved on to Lettenareal. The haunting images of addicts from that time triggered a modern drug policy: the world’s first state-controlled heroin distribution programme for addicts.

However, open drug scenes are once again emerging in Swiss cities such as in Chur and Geneva. Frank Zobel, Head of Research and Deputy Director of Addiction Switzerland, told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that Swiss drug policy is facing a “system shock” for the first time since the 1990s.

Crack cocaine is now the dominant drug, although synthetic opioids such as fentanyl – which has caused countless deaths in the US – have also appeared in isolated cases in Switzerland.

• Read more about the current rise in open drug scenes in the Tages-AnzeigerExternal link (German)
• Four former heroin addicts share their experiences in BlickExternal link (German)

Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

Judgement on the Covid leaks: the Federal Court upholds gagging order despite an appeal from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

It was by coincidence that a federal investigator found suspicious emails between Ringier CEO Marc Walder and Peter Lauener, then head of communications at the interior ministry. It was suspected that Lauener (pictured left) deliberately informed Walder about Swiss Covid policy so that the department of Interior Minister Alain Berset (pictured right) could influence the entire Federal Council through the media. The OAG investigated the matter for a potential breach of official secrecy.

With today’s decision, the correspondence between the Federal Council and the head of the publishing house may not be unsealed. For the court, it is clear that the protection of sources is not guaranteed in the case of murder or danger to life. The Federal Court argued that the criminal code guarantees the protection of media professionals’ sources. This protection can be lifted only to clarify serious offences or to assist a person in immediate danger. These conditions have not been met in the present case, it said.

Urs Saxer, professor of media law, stated that the judgement reinforces source protection, which “ensures that important information reaches the public”.

What happens next? The OAG has announced that it will analyse the ruling and decide on further steps accordingly. However, it is uncertain whether it has enough evidence to support its claims without access to the emails.

• Read the Keystone news agency report on SWI swissinfo.ch
• Read the full article by the Tages-AnzeigerExternal link (German)

Keystone / Peter Schneider

A dreaded term has resurfaced. Petra Tschudin, member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), has defended negative interest rates as a key tool for controlling the Swiss franc in a “small, open economy”.

In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper, Tschudin (pictured right) says that even in a low interest rate environment, negative interest rates can be used to control the interest rate differential. This ensures the Swiss franc does not appreciate excessively against other currencies.

“We pursue a monetary policy in the interests of the country as a whole,” she replied to the question of whether the SNB was pursuing an export promotion policy with its focus on the exchange rate. It is not about supporting one economic sector in particular, said Tschudin. The exchange rate in Switzerland has a major influence on price stability. Ensuring this and keeping inflation between zero and 2% is the SNB’s goal, Tschudin said. “If inflation regularly falls below zero, wages would have to be cut on a regular basis.”

SNB chair Martin Schlegel (pictured centre) did not rule out negative interest rates at the end of January. “The SNB doesn’t like negative interest rates either,” Schlegel told Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos. But if the step becomes necessary, the SNB will take it.

• The interview with SNB currency guardian Petra Tschudin in the Neue Zürcher ZeitungExternal link (NZZ)  (Paywall, German)

Keystone / Anthony Anex

Almost one in four flats in Lauterbrunnen, in the Bernese Oberland, is listed on Airbnb, making it a leader in short-term holiday rentals.

This high share of Airbnb properties is no accident. About ten years ago, the municipality, where 60% of homes are second residences, encouraged second-home owners to rent them out. “Now we have fewer cold beds,” explained Karl Näpflin, municipal president.

However, there are downsides. “Non-residents are outbidding locals and, in some cases, driving them out of their homes,” Näpflin noted. Although these incidents are rare, the community is taking proactive measures to ensure they remain so, including the development of new, affordable primary residences for locals.

Airbnb is also popular in canton Ticino, particularly in Prato Leventina, where 7% of flats were listed on the platform for short-term rentals in 2024. Here too, the benefit is seen in reducing the number of cold beds, according to the mayor, Davide Gendotti, who spoke to Swiss public radio, RSI.

• Further coverage by Swiss public broadcasters, SRFExternal link (German) and RSIExternal link (Italian)

Keystone / Ti-Press / Pablo Gianinazzi

Picture of the day

Construction of the second tube of the Gotthard road tunnel is now in full swing. Two large tunnel boring machines began drilling today in Airolo and Göschenen. “A milestone for Switzerland’s most important north-south link,” said Swiss Transport Minister Albert Rösti at the opening ceremony in Airolo.

The machines are each 150 metres long, with drill heads measuring 12 metres in diameter. The 17-kilometre-long tunnel tube is expected to be fully excavated by 2027. It is due to be completed by 2030 and will initially operate with two-way traffic while the first tube, opened in 1980, undergoes renovation.

Translated from German using DeepL/amva/ts