Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern

It's the end of the week, and the end of an amazing tennis career. Tonight Roger Federer steps onto the tennis court for his last professional tournament at the Laver Cup in London. We know who the Swiss are cheering for.

This content was published on September 23, 2022 - 18:00

4 minutes

Jessica covers the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to big global companies and their impact in Switzerland and abroad. She’s always looking for a Swiss connection with her native San Francisco and will happily discuss why her hometown has produced some of the greatest innovations but can’t seem to solve its housing crisis.

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In the News: migration funds, Swiss youth views on EU membership, and war crimes in Ukraine.

The Swiss government approved migration cooperation agreements with Greece and Cyprus as part of its financial contribution to European Union member states strongly affected by migration. The funds amount to CHF200 million ($203 million) in total, of which CHF40 million will go to Greece and CHF10 million to Cyprus.
Young voters in Switzerland are more critical of the value of EU membership than they were 30 years ago, according to a voter analysis by Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The analysis of post-election surveys revealed that in 1995, more than half (59.2%) of voters aged 18-34 wanted to join the EU while in 2019, this dropped to 6.5%. Political scientists have a few theories as to why. One is that young Swiss today benefit from the ability to travel and work freely throughout Europe; they don’t know otherwise, and therefore don’t see what they would gain from EU membership.
Switzerland joined other western nations in welcoming an interim report by the UN’s independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which pointed to Russian war crimes. The commission that prepared the report denounced the Russian use of “explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas” and indiscriminate attacks that had caused “immense damage and suffering to civilians”.

Qatar goes on a PR offensive ahead of the World Cup

The World Cup in Qatar begins in less than two months after ten years of planning and plenty of controversies, from reports of migrant worker abuse to accusations of corruption. But with no going back now, Qatari officials seem to be in full public relations mode to convince people that the country is ready to welcome the world.

In a rare, lengthy interviewExternal link in the Tages-Anzeiger, Qatar’s ambassador to Switzerland Mohammed Jaham Abdulaziz Al Kuwari responded to an onslaught of questions about drinking beer in public, homosexuality, and migrant rights.

The ambassador’s exasperation was clear about halfway through the interview when he said: “I don’t know why these questions keep coming up. After all, we keep announcing that there will be alcohol and that we have nothing against homosexuals. How many times do we have to say it: a million times?”

The big question is how much impact football and FIFA have had on the country. A survey by Amnesty International a few weeks ago found that 80% of Swiss want FIFA and Qatar to compensate guest workers who faced human rights violations preparing for the World Cup. To this, the ambassador said: “Do people know how much we’ve adjusted our laws? Do you know how much workers’ situation has improved? Even international labor organizations recognise this.”

The Qatari official isn’t just taking his message to the newspapers though. According to Swiss public television RTS, the Doha organisers and FIFA officials have invited Swiss parliamentarians to an upcoming reception in BernExternal link. Some politicians tore up the invitation in protest, while others said it’s time to give the country a chance. We’ll see who shows up at the event next Tuesday.

B is for Bern, but not for bears

Despite bear insignia all over the Swiss capital, the city’s name wasn’t actually inspired by the furry creature. That’s according to a storyExternal link in the Tages-Anzeiger today that debunks many of the myths swirling about how Swiss towns got their names.

In the case of Bern, the legend has it that the founder of the city, Berthold V – the Duke of Zähringen, named the city after the first animal he hunted in the area – a bear – and that’s why the canton and city flag bears the bear. But that’s not true, say the article’s author. Berthold V apparently borrowed the name Bern from the northern Italian city of Verona, which was called “Welsch Bern” in German. In fact, the Latin name of Bern is Verona.

The article dives into the backstory for many Swiss cities but for those who are interested in doing their own search, you can check out this website https://ortsnamen.ch/de/External link. Want to know how many places have the name “liebe” (love)? Or maybe all the places named after a saint in Switzerland? This site is for you.