Today in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
A storm of criticism swept over the weekend as the Swiss president relativised the US vice-president’s controversial speech in Munich.
A storm of a different kind hit the Swiss national Alpine skiing team, which won medals at the World Championships but which will probably be remembered for rather questionable style choices.
Green concerns over a mammoth CERN project and a verdict on discrimination complete our press review.
Happy reading!
US Vice-President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference created discontent among many European leaders, but Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, distanced herself, calling the speech “liberal, in a very Swiss sense”. That, in a nutshell, is the media storm of the weekend.
Vance criticised the “retreating” “freedom of expression” in Europe and the Old Continent’s migration policy. He also targeted German parties that reject any alliance with the far-right AfD party.
In an interview with Le Temps, Keller-Sutter relativised Vance’s comments. “He spoke of values that we must defend and that we share, such as freedom and the possibility for the people to express themselves. It was a call for direct democracy. It can be read as such,” she said.
Throughout the weekend, criticism rained down from the press against the federal president. “She’s isolating us from our main partner, the EU,” said Lisa Mazzone, president of the Green Party, who was very concerned about the Trump administration’s support for the European far right.
“Liberalism appreciates the value of institutions […] and does not brandish the threat of tariffs,” said former federal councillor Pascal Couchepin, of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party, to which Keller-Sutter also belongs.
Other Radical-Liberals, however, defended Keller-Sutter. Parliamentarian Cyril Aellen considered her statements to be “nuanced” and “comprehensive”. “She didn’t take a position either for the United States or for Europe in a complicated geopolitical context. Reaffirming Swiss neutrality […] offers space for dialogue,” he told Swiss public broadcaster, RTS.
- The interview with Keller-Sutter in Le Temps (paywall, French)
While the feasibility study on its construction is underway, the new particle accelerator at CERN in Geneva is meeting with concern from environmental associations.
Launched in 2014, the project involves the excavation of a 91.5-kilometre cross-border tunnel at a depth of 200 metres. Inside, the FCC (Future Circular Collider) will be used for the study of subatomic particles, replacing the current Large Hadron Collider (LHC) around 2045.
“The construction of the tunnel will require the excavation of the equivalent of three Cheops pyramids of rubble that we won’t know what to do with and will involve thousands of trucks on the road,” denounced Jean-Bernard Billeter, of the Noé21 organisation, during a public debate in canton Geneva organised by CO-CERNés Suisse, a group of environmental associations.
The latter criticise the FCC’s expected electricity consumption, equal to that of a city of 700,000 inhabitants, and the impact on the territory, including the risk to groundwater.
- The article on RTSExternal link (French)
- The article on RSIExternal link (Italian)
- Our in-depth look at the FCC: What CERN’s next-generation particle collider could look like
The Brasserie Lorraine in Bern has been found not guilty of racial discrimination for interrupting a concert by the reggae band Lauwarm, made up of white musicians, after receiving complaints from some of the audience, accusing the group of cultural appropriation. The Bern Regional Court acquitted the bar management today.
The case had generated heated debate and questioned the definition of discrimination.
The left-leaning collective that runs the bar and restaurant had opposed the prosecutor’s fine of CHF3,000.
This had been issued after a complaint lodged by the youth section of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party against the interruption of the concert, which they saw as a violation of the anti-discrimination criminal law.
- The article on SRFExternal link (German)
The Alpine Ski World Championships ended yesterday in Saalbach, Austria, with the Swiss celebrating a considerable triumph. The success, however, had rather bizarre consequences for the hair styles of many involved.
Switzerland hadn’t been so successful at this important sporting event since the 1987 World Championships in Crans-Montana, canton Valais, when the Swiss team won 14 medals. This year there were 13, five of them gold.
The podiums, however, are likely to be remembered more for how the men’s team – staff and athletes – decided to celebrate, shaving off some of their hair and appearing at the awards ceremony with a look that certainly made quite a few people cringe. That’s team spirit for you!
Now, while waiting for their hair to grow back, eyes are already on 2027, when the Championships will return to Crans-Montana.
- The article on RSIExternal link (Italian)
Picture of the day
It seems that in Switzerland, every piece of land is good for giving birth to the ski champions of tomorrow. Pictured is the art project “Grauer Himmel” (Grey Sky): “the smallest ski resort in the world”.
Translated from Italian by DeepL/ts
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