Swiss lawmakers save funding for Red Cross museum in Geneva

The House of Representatives has therefore followed the Senate, which decided in December to allocate around CHF200,000 ($256,000) a year to the museum. Keystone-SDA

Swiss government funding for Geneva's International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum was narrowly saved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

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Swiss lawmakers in Bern supported a proposal by Laurence Fehlmann Rielle of the left-wing Social Democratic Party: 93 votes to 92, with 8 abstentions. This second vote was organised at the request of left-wing groups, after the chamber first voted narrowly against the proposal, a few minutes earlier.

The House of Representatives has therefore followed the Senate, which decided in December to allocate around CHF200,000 ($256,000) a year to the museum; the Federal Council had wanted to make a drastic cut.

Another victory for the left

Lawmakers also decided, by 100 votes to 88, to allocate more money to training staff working with victims of violence. The arguments put forward by Tamara Funiciello from the Social Democratic Party convinced parliamentarians from the centre-right.

The House of Representatives is more generous than the Senate on this point. The funding of measures to combat violence against women provoked a strong public reaction during the debate on the 2026 budget last winter.

An attempt by left-wing politicians to save funding for the European Space Agency and other international organisations from cuts narrowly failed, with 96 votes in favour, 95 against and 1 abstention. The debates continue.

Adapted from Italian by AI/sb

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