2021: the year in Swiss cartoons

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Zurich-based cartoonist Stephan Lütolf has a doctorate in history and a passion for stories. Stephan Lütolf

The debate about compulsory masks and vaccination created fissures in relationships and families. Marco Ratschiller draws and writes - mostly under the pseudonym "Karma" - for various publications. Marco Ratschiller

How does the government get more people vaccinated against Covid-19? Tom Künzli works as a freelance illustrator for various print media. Tom Künzli

Switzerland took the world's best national teams by the horns at the Euro 2020 football championship. Max Spring has been drawing since 1980 with "few scruples and even less respect", as he says himself. Max Spring

In March, the Swiss people narrowly voted in favour of a nationwide ban on face coverings in public. Alexandre Ballamann works for the newspaper La Liberté. Alex Ballaman

China's Xi Jinping plays with the world like Charlie Chaplin once did in "The Great Dictator". Jacques Vallotton, or "Valott" for short, produces a cartoon every Sunday in the French-language newspaper Le Matin Dimanche. Jaques Vallotton

The restaurant sector has been hard hit by the government's - represented here by Health Minister Alain Berset - measures against the spread of the pandemic. Bénédicte Sambo is a cartoonist for the paper 24 Heures. Benedicte Sambo

Former US President Donald Trump stuck at the top of the US Capitol building. A reference to the storming of the US Parliament by 800 of his supporters on January 6, 2021. UK-based Swiss Peter Schrank is an international award-winning political cartoonist. Peter Schrank

Defence Minister Viola Amherd reveals the winner of the contract for the Swiss Air Force's new fighter jet. Experts and amateurs questioned the choice of the American F-35, especially the cost of the package. Orlando Eisenmann is a cartoonist for the newspapers "Der Bund" and "Südostschweiz". Orlando Eisenmann

Who still thinks about the conflict in Syria? It is the vulnerable who suffer the most. Tony Marchand lives and works in Biel, where he runs a communications agency. Tony Marchand

Save the earth by putting it in a safe? Apparently it will take another 26 global climate conferences to save the planet from widespread destruction. Jasmin Polsini and Valentin Weilenmann make up the Swiss artistic tandem Mynt since 2007. Mynt

In September, Swiss voters cast their ballot in favour of marriage for homosexuals. Anna Regula Hartmann-Allgöwer (ANNA) works as an independent caricaturist and painter. Anna Hartmann

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For the second year in a row, the Covid-19 pandemic has dominated world affairs and private lives. As in 2020, Swiss cartoonists drew inspiration for their work from the public health crisis. Here is a look back at some of the best drawings of the year.

Swiss cartoonist Stefan Lütolf of Zurich is among the artists who used his pencil to encapsulate some of the main themes surrounding the pandemic – masks, the vaccine and, yes, death.

Surmounting subsequent waves of the virus wasn’t the only thing on people’s minds – or agendas – this year. Key nationwide votes on issues such as same-sex marriage and banning face coverings (thanks to the so-called “burka ban” initiative) attracted attention beyond the country’s borders.

From the storming of the United States Capitol building on January 6 to the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, this autumn, cartoonists also cast their critical eye on events that shook the world. Some also took aim at stories that have stopped dominating news headlines – Tony Marchand’s drawing of two boys at home, for example, challenged readers to remember the conflict in Syria, which began ten years ago.

Adapted from German by Geraldine Wong Sak Hoi/Billi Bierling