Switzerland and Europe as seen by cartoonist Chappatte
May 16, 1992. Membership of the European Union becomes a government priority. Since then a majority of the Swiss population has repeatedly rejected joining the EU. "One giant leap for me!!!" says the cartoon
Chappatte
February 16, 2014. A week earlier, Switzerland narrowly voted in favour of restricting immigration. The result of the vote revealed gaps between the French-speaking and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland as well as the cities and the rural regions. "There are too many of us!" "Foreigners out!"
Chappatte
March 8, 2014. As a consequence of the immigration vote in February, the EU suspended Switzerland's participation in the European student exchange programme Erasmus. "He was a foreigner!" "And what's worse, an intellectual!"
Chappatte
September 2012. After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, the Swiss government decided to phase out nuclear power
Chappatte
August 16, 2009. Swiss bank UBS agreed to hand over to the American authorities lists of clients suspected of having evaded US taxes. "Wouldn't you rather have the names of my clients?"
Chappatte
September 2011. The Swiss economy struggles due to the strong Swiss franc.
Chappatte
February 2011. The prospects of Switzerland joining the European Union seem to be increasingly remote.
Chappatte
May 2012. Switzerland feels sheltered from the various crises affecting Europe. "Crisis"
Chappatte
May 2012. The crisis in southern Europe viewed from Switzerland. Newspaper headline: "Spanish banking crisis". "First Greece, and now Spain!" "Our next holidays are a real worry," says the woman
Chappatte
September 29, 2013. Canton Ticino, where SwissMiniatur model park is located, bans burkas.
Chappatte
November 29, 2010. In a popular ballot 52.9% of Swiss voters accepted an initiative calling for the deportation of criminal foreigners. "Are you a Swiss national or a foreigner?"
Chappatte
August 2001. Switzerland starts to become more aware of the issue of undocumented migrants. "Illegal immigrants:"
Chappatte
Swiss cartoonist Patrick Chappatte is the first non-American to receive the Thomas Nast Award, the most prestigious press prize in the United States after the Pulitzer. For 20 years he has been making readers laugh and think on both sides of the Atlantic.
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After some years in the regional print and broadcast media in French Switzerland, in 2000 I joined Radio Swiss International, which then became swissinfo.ch. Since then I have been writing (and producing short videos) on a variety of subjects, from politics to business, and including culture and science.
“We’re surrounded by Europe. The cross-border workers are among us! The foreigners are coming and crowding our trains!” These are some of the statements you can read in his new collection of over 120 cartoons published between 1992 and 2014.
The book focuses on Switzerland, its foreigners and its relations with Europe, as well as on the omnipresent populist strongman Christoph Blocher and his rightwing Swiss People’s Party. The collection is testimony to Chappatte’s keen eye, artistry and his sense of irony and mockery, which is hard-hitting but never hostile.
Chappatte has published 16 books (including three cartoon stories). His cartoons appear in the Geneva-based daily newspaper Le Temps and he also works for the Swiss Sunday paper NZZ am Sonntag and the International New York Times. You may also find his cartoons on Yahoo! Actualités.
“Coupez! La suisse, l’europe et les étrangers” (Cut!, Switzerland, Europe and foreigners), is published by Globe Cartoon and Le Temps, 2014, 132 pages.
(Text: Marc-André Miserez, swissinfo.ch)
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Cartoonist garners American praise
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The award in one of 27 categories is recognition for his work for the International Herald Tribune (IHT), for which he has been a regular contributor for the past 11 years. Chappatte says the prize, considered the most prestigious after the Pulitzers, also highlights the American roots of the IHT and cements its place among the…
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Even in his most acerbic caricatures, Chappatte displays sensitivity: he pointedly brings out people’s characteristics without ever ridiculing them. Born in Pakistan to a Swiss father and Lebanese mother, his trademarks are situations, conflicts or contradictions – he never takes direct aim at people. A book has been published with 100 selected cartoons.
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Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte is well known in Switzerland and the United States. His critical, humorous cartoons are published in Swiss papers Le Temps and the NZZ am Sonntag, as well as in the International Herald Tribune. Globalized: Cartoons from The International Herald Tribune 2005-2007 is a collection of his best work published in the paper…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.