Switzerland Today

Greetings from Bern,

It’s a tug-of-war Friday in Switzerland. In canton Lucerne quite literally because the town of Oberkirch will host the World Championship of the niche sport. And more figuratively, politicians and institutions are fighting over the evergreen issue of Swiss neutrality: from war materiel re-exports to the training of some Ukrainian soldiers in Switzerland.

This and more in Friday’s briefing. But first, let’s take a look at the news stories that are making the headlines today.

UZH / Leonard Bauersfeld

In the news: remains of a long-lost British climber, AI drone beating humans for the first time and an empty Swiss nuclear power plant.

• The remains of a British climber have been identified on Swiss glacier, in the southern canton of Valais more than 50 years after his disappearance. As a result of melting glaciers, bodies of people who have been missing for decades are increasingly being uncovered.
• An AI drone developed at the University of Zurich has outshone its human competitors in a physical drone race in Dübendorf for the first time. Co-developer Leonard Bauersfeld said this is a milestone.
• The Mühleberg nuclear power plant in central Switzerland no longer contains any fuel elements. The 418 spent fuel elements have been transferred to the interim storage facility in Würenlingen in northern Switzerland.
• Swiss city advertises a vacancy for cathedral night watchman. The customary post of head night watchman or watchwoman at the Lausanne cathedral is up for renewal. Renato Häusler, who has held the post since 2002, will retire in December.

© Keystone / Christian Beutler

Controversial Swiss neutrality: Ukrainian soldiers trained in Switzerland.

Arguably, Swiss neutrality has never been debated as much as in the past two years ever since Russia invaded Ukraine. And if the political and institutional talks about war materiel re-exports continue, today Swiss newspaper Tages-AnzeigerExternal link deals with another divisive issue: the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Switzerland.

Last year, three members of the Ukrainian armed forces completed a training course in military peacebuilding in canton Nidwalden, in central Switzerland. 

Although the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) has explained that the training mainly focused on medical care and that the participation of international guests “strengthens our armed forces”, the question of neutrality has arisen once again.

Neutral states should treat warring parties equally, therefore, Russian soldiers should be offered the opportunity to take part in these courses too. However, “at present, this is ruled out because representatives of sanctioned states are excluded from courses and events organised by the Swiss Armed Forces,” explained the DDPS.

And if the question around Swiss neutrality is evergreen and ever-changing, so is the political divide in the country. On the one hand members of the Social Democratic Party advocate for a further involvement of the Alpine country in support of Ukraine, on the other the Swiss People’s Party condemns Switzerland’s excessive interference in the matter.

The DDPS, for its part, leaves the question open and says that “it is possible that among future requests from international army personnel to take part in a training course there will be Ukrainians again.”

Corinne Glanzmann

Switzerland pulls the rope: for the first time in 11 years the Swiss host the tug-of-war World Cup.

On a lighter note, the tug-of-war World Championship will take place in Switzerland for the first time in 11 years. Despite being a rather niche sport, over 1,000 athletes will compete this weekend at the Sursee Campus in Oberkirch, in canton Lucerne, as reported by Swiss public television SRFExternal link today.

A total of 123 nations, including the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and Zimbabwe, have registered for the World Championship. But Switzerland is one of the big favourites. “At the international championships in the last ten years, Switzerland has won 50% of the gold medals,” says Marcel Amhof of the Swiss Tug-of-War Federation.

And if you think that’s an easy win, think again. There are different weight categories in rope-pulling: 500 and 540 kilograms for women, and 560, 640 and 680 kilograms for men, while in the mixed-gender competitions, 580 kilograms cannot be exceeded. And the Swiss, who will compete in all twelve categories, are feeling ambitious this year. “We want to be on the podium in every weight category. We are confident that we will achieve this,” says Amhof.