Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

There are only just over five days to go before the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual gathering kicks off in the chic mountain resort of Davos, attracting top politicians and entrepreneurs, heads of international organisations, the rich and famous – and anyone else who can get on the guest list. Why go to Davos? Good question. According to the author of this Financial Times article, there are only five reasons, the top two being looking for a new job or new business, definitely not the hope of ten minutes with Al Gore or Alain Berset.

Here are some other stories from Switzerland on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

© Ti-press

In the news: care homes and Covid, heritage award and jihadist prison sentence.

• An expert report commissioned by the government’s Covid-19 scientific taskforce criticises Swiss elderlypeople’shomes during the pandemic, and says some of the problems are structural. The pandemic posed and still poses particular difficulties for long-term care institutions, says the report released on Monday. Residents of elderly care homes were infected with a severe form of Covid-19 or died at a higher-than-average rate, it notes.
• Lichtensteig, a small town in northeast Switzerland, has been awarded the prestigious 2023Wakkerprize for its efforts to revitalise its historic old town and disused industrial buildings.
• The Federal Criminal Court has handed down a 20-year prisonsentence to a Turkish-Swiss man (image above) who stabbed a Portuguese man to death in the western Swiss town of Morges in September 2020 in a “jihadist-motivated” attack. The 29-year-old supporter of Islamic State (IS) group was found guilty of murder, causing bodily injury, attempted arson, issuing threats, pro-IS propaganda and breach of the anti-drug laws.
• A record 52 heads of state or government are expected to attend the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the organisers said on Tuesday. They include Swiss President Alain Berset, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish President Andrzej Duda and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

Rents rise by almost 3% in Switzerland.Montreux Jazz founder Claude Nobs passed away ten years ago.

Rents in Switzerland rose by an average of 2.8% last year, the largest annualincrease in 14 years.

“This sharp rise is the result of a growing shortage in the rental housing market coupled with rising heating and service charges,” the authors of the Homegate rent index, produced in collaboration with Zurich Cantonal Bank, reported today.

Annual increases were observed across the country. Canton Graubünden registered the biggest rise (6.7%). Interest in teleworking following the Covid-19 pandemic has driven up prices in mountain regions, the report said.

Many cities are unable to meet the demand for housing. Zurich (6.2%), Lugano (5.3%), Basel and Lucerne (both 3.7%) all recorded big increases. 

Around 60% of the Swiss population live in rentedflats, although the proportion of homeowners has been rising steadily since the 1970s. In 2019 the average net monthly rent was CHF1,362 ($1,391).

It is ten years ago today that Claude Nobs, founder of Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival, died suddenly aged 76 following a cross-country skiing accident in the village of Caux close to his home overlooking Lake Geneva.

“You loved to tell these words: ‘Nothing is impossible’,” the festival wrote in a dedicationExternal link to “Funky Claude” on its website. “Ten years after your passing, this dreamer’s determination continues to inspire the artists, the public and the MJF teams every summer.”

“You achieved the impossible countless times in Montreux.”

Nobs, who trained as a chef, launched the summer festival in 1967 while working at Montreux’s tourism office. He went on to attract some of the world’s greatest stars, including Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, B.B. King, Nina Simone, Deep Purple and Prince, to perform there.

Various events in Nobs’ honour are plannedExternal link throughout the year.