A historic vote and a hotel town
Here are the stories we’ll be following the week of December 4:
Tuesday
Credit Suisse is expected to release its Worry BarometerExternal link for 2017. Aimed at “providing information about the mood of the Swiss population”, the survey is compiled by the GfS Bern research institute on behalf of the Swiss bank and published annually. Last year’s report revealed that three out of four Swiss supported bilateral accords between Switzerland and the European Union — a 20% increase over 2015.
Wednesday
On December 6, 1992, Swiss voters said no to Europe (the European Economic Area) – a decision that sent shockwaves through the continent. We talk to the two main protagonists – anti-Europe politician Christoph Blocher and former Social Democratic president Peter Bodenmann – and hear about the winner’s sleepless nights, and the loser’s still-held conviction that Switzerland’s decision was a mistake.
Thursday
The entire small mountain community of Corippo in Ticino is being turned into a hotel to try to stop the village dying out. One Swiss architect who documented the town decades ago recalls what’s special about it, and what he believes its future should look like.
Thursday
A military court verdict will be announced in the high-profile case of a Swiss border guard, who has been accused of being responsible for the death of a Syrian woman’s unborn child, after she went into early labour on a train full of migrants passing through Switzerland in 2014.
Friday
Did you ever think of your shopping cart as a symbol of political participation and values? In this video, the latest report in our series in which researchers take us ‘Inside the Democracy Labs’, we explore the motivations behind purchases of organic and fair-trade products…and what that can tell us about citizens’ engagement in politics.
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