Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Semi-automatic weapons like the one used by the perpetrator in Aarau on August 30 are officially banned in Switzerland. Yet they can still be purchased legally with a special permit, and thousands of such licences are issued each year. In today’s briefing we explain how this works.
Best regards from Bern,
Semi-automatic rifles with large-capacity magazines are classified as prohibited weapons in Switzerland. Yet tens of thousands have been acquired legally through special permits.
The perpetrator of last week’s attack at a rave in Aarau, which left one person dead and six injured, used a semi-automatic rifle among other weapons. The AKS-74, a variant of the Russian Kalashnikov, has been classified as a prohibited weapon in Switzerland since 2019. The attacker had acquired the rifle before the law changed.
But research by the NZZ am Sonntag shows that hundreds of such weapons are still legally purchased every year under exemption permits. These are granted to sports shooters and collectors who meet certain requirements. According to the newspaper, the conditions for sport shooters are relatively lenient: five or ten years after receiving the permit they need only prove club membership or show they have participated in shooting activities five times over a five-year period. A single permit can cover the purchase of multiple weapons.
Despite the ban, tens of thousands of prohibited weapons have reportedly been sold in Switzerland since 2019. In canton Valais, authorities have already issued 386 permits this year, while rejecting just two applications. Some cantons could not provide exact figures as they do not keep statistics. As there is no national firearms register in Switzerland, nobody knows exactly how many prohibited weapons have been legally sold nationwide, according to the NZZ.
The AfD (Alternative for Germany), a party that has repeatedly been classified as far right, won 44% of the vote in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, its best result to date. However, it fell just short of the absolute majority needed to form a government.
As a result, there is now a threat of political uncertainty over “who can actually govern Saxony-Anhalt”, writes the Aargauer Zeitung. The established parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD. In a podcast, the NZZ asks whether the outcome could mark the beginning of the end for Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Blick, meanwhile, considers what Switzerland can learn from this victory, arguing that attempts to demonise the party have been counterproductive. Drawing on analysis by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Tages-Anzeiger highlights how broad the AfD’s support base has become. The party now leads among almost all voter groups, including young and old, women and men, and across various occupational and educational groups.
For Watson, the result marks a turning point. The AfD not only enjoys broad public support but has become powerful enough that stable governing majorities without it are increasingly difficult to achieve. This is likely to intensify the debate about maintaining a political “firewall” against the party.
French-speaking Swiss media are also examining the implications of the AfD victory. Le Temps warns of the consequences of the AfD’s rise for an open and multicultural Germany. It points to the party’s criticism of Bauhaus – a defining German art and design movement of the 20th century – and its call to put “our country first”. The French-language edition of Blick argues that the electoral result could also make some of the party’s more radical proposals more socially acceptable, including “remigration” policies and changes to school curricula that place greater focus on the German Empire and less on National Socialism.
“The Swiss are rich” is a stereotype many Swiss abroad encounter. If you compare average figures for income and wealth, it may well be true, but on an individual level, the picture is often very different.
Nina, a Swiss citizen living in France, told RTS how this stereotype worked against her after she lost her job and found herself raising a child alone. She found it hard to shake off the stereotype of the wealthy Swiss woman. “Even at the Paris social services, I had to explain again and again how I had ended up in this situation,” she says.
The Swiss Charitable Society (SHB) helped her get back on her feet and find employment. “Without them, I would have been homeless,” Nina says. She is one of many Swiss citizens abroad who have received support from the organisation since its founding in 1821.
According to RTS, the charity increasingly assists women, particularly single mothers and pensioners. The group also helps people unable to afford essential medical treatment. But now the organisation, which is over 200 years old, is facing challenges of its own: membership has fallen by 90% over the past four decades.
People move abroad for many reasons. For 15-year-old Tiara Lingenhag, it is an opportunity unavailable in Switzerland. The teenager wants to become a jockey and is moving to France, where she has been accepted at the renowned Afasec school near Chantilly, north of Paris.
“I’m fascinated by speed,” she told the Tages-Anzeiger. “You can hear the horse breathing, feel its muscles, its heartbeat and how the ground vibrates.” On the home straight, she reaches speeds of up to 65 km/h.
Her passion for racing began at the White Turf horse races in St Moritz, which she attended as a child with her family. In February 2024, she competed on the frozen lake herself for the first time.
Unlike Switzerland, France has an extensive racing industry with specialised training centres. Lingenhag will live at a boarding school with other riders, continue her studies and train both on the racecourse and on simulators. After completing the two-year programme, she will qualify as a “cavalier d’entraînement” (training rider). To earn the title of jockey, however, she must first win 50 races.
Translated from German, sub-edited by Simon Bradley
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
