Swiss perspectives in 10 languages
Login

How a meaty Swiss political speech went viral

Hans-Rudolf Merz, a former Swiss finance minister and president who turned 75 on Friday, was largely unknown outside Switzerland – until he became an internet sensation in 2010. 

This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch, swissinfo.ch

Millions of people around the world watched as Merz got the giggles during a bureaucratic speech about imports of Bündnerfleisch, a sort of cured meat from canton Graubünden. Subtitles are not necessary to enjoy Merz struggling to keep it together as other parliamentarians also crack up…

External Content

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

Read more

More

Ex-finance minister blames heart attack on UBS bailout

This content was published on Hans-Rudolf Merz, 73, was finance minister from 2003 to 2010. He suffered the heart attack at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 as Switzerland embarked on the bailout of UBS, which was hit by massive subprime mortgage losses in the United States. Merz told Wednesday’s edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung that…

Read more: Ex-finance minister blames heart attack on UBS bailout

More

Cabinet under fire over handling of Libya crisis

This content was published on The flow of information between the different ministries was insufficient and individual ministers exceeded their authority, according to a report by a 13-member Senate committee in charge of overseeing the activities of the government and the federal administration. “The parliamentary control committee believes that cabinet ministers must not only abide by the laws of the…

Read more: Cabinet under fire over handling of Libya crisis

More

Merz calls for fairness in Swiss politics

This content was published on Merz, who has been head of the finance ministry since the beginning of 2004, tells swissinfo why action had to be taken to inject money into the country’s largest bank, UBS, and the Swiss economy. The 66-year-old, who has made a speedy recovery from a quintuple heart bypass operation in September, added that the continuing…

Read more: Merz calls for fairness in Swiss politics

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR