Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency role, announced on Friday that he is stepping down. This decision marks the start of a new political chapter in Bern and is likely to trigger a race to find his successor.
The rest of today’s Swiss news is also largely dominated by economic issues. Twenty-five years after a shock that shook the country - the Swissair grounding - the debate over the importance of Switzerland’s biggest companies remains as relevant as ever, while certain players continue their rise to prominence.
Enjoy the read!
Although rumours had been circulating for a while, the announcement came this Friday. Economics Minister Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency, will leave the government on December 31, 2026. After almost 11 years in the federal government, Parmelin’s departure marks the start of the race to succeed him – a key political event for the end of the year.
Guy Parmelin made clear that his decision to step down was for health reasons. After over a decade in government, he feels he has reached the end of a political cycle. The minister explained that he no longer feels the same “passion” as when he first started and believes it is time to make way for someone new.
The Vaud native had been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003 and was elected to the Federal Council in December 2015. He initially headed the defence ministry before taking charge of the economics, education and research portfolios in 2019. He is the first Swiss People’s Party politician from French-speaking Switzerland to join the federal government and he has served twice as Swiss president.
When asked by Swissinfo about the most difficult moment of his time in government, Parmelin immediately cited the Covid-19 pandemic. He recalled the lockdowns imposed to protect public health, the fears of bankruptcy expressed by many business owners and the negotiations to swiftly set up Covid loans. He said he still remembers meeting people who had “tears in their eyes” during that extraordinary period.
Attention is now turning to his succession. As the seat belongs to the right-wing People’s Party, the country’s largest party is expected to retain its representation in government. The focus is now on who will stand as candidates and whether regional and linguistic balances will play a role in parliament’s choice. His succession is set to become one of the main political stories as the year draws to a close.
Twenty-five years after the grounding of Swissair, the event remains a major news story. This speaks volumes about the scale of the shock caused on October 2, 2001, when the national carrier grounded its entire fleet due to a lack of liquidity. Thousands of passengers were left stranded around the world, and Switzerland watched in disbelief as one of its most iconic companies collapsed.
For many Swiss, the grounding goes far beyond the world of aviation. At its peak, Swissair embodied the country’s quality, reliability and international standing. Operating on every continent, the airline served as a showcase for Switzerland and enjoyed an almost mythical status among both the general public and its staff.
The Swiss media have marked the 25th anniversary by gathering memories from former staff members. Flight attendants and pilots describe a mixture of bewilderment, shock and a sense of emptiness when aircraft were grounded. Several spoke of images they have never forgotten, such as aircraft lined up on the tarmac in Zurich or passengers stranded around the world. A quarter of a century later, some say they remember every detail of that day.
Beyond the collapse of an airline, the grounding still symbolises the end of an era. For many Swiss people, it marked the moment when a national flagship, renowned for its stability, proved vulnerable. Twenty-five years on, few economic events continue to hold such a prominent place in the country’s collective memory.
A major UBS shareholder now believes the bank should consider leaving Switzerland. In a letter to the board of directors, US asset manager Artisan Partners argues that tighter capital requirements risk penalising the country’s largest bank in the long term.
Artisan Partners, one of UBS’s major investors, believes that the new rules being considered following the collapse of Credit Suisse are excessive and “punitive”. In its view, they would force the bank to tie up billions more in capital and reduce its profitability.
Their position emerged after the Senate backed tighter capital requirements for UBS. The measure, part of reforms following the Credit Suisse debacle, has yet to be examined by the House of Representatives.
UBS, however, does not share this analysis. The bank says it intends to continue its global operations from Switzerland and continues to advocate for regulation that it considers more proportionate and better aligned with international standards.
Geneva-based Infomaniak has been successfully listed on the Swiss stock exchange, with a debut that significantly exceeded expectations. The share price of the Swiss hosting and cloud specialist rose sharply on its first day of trading on Thursday. At its opening price, the market capitalisation of the listed shares stood at around CHF262 million ($316 million), well above the valuation set out for Infomaniak in the listing documents.
Founded in 1994, Infomaniak has established itself as one of Switzerland’s leading digital players. The company, which develops and operates its own data centres in Switzerland, positions itself as a European alternative to the American giants of cloud computing and digital services. Its turnover reached more than CHF54 million in 2025 and its growth continued in the first half of 2026.
The successful first day of trading also sends a positive signal for the Swiss digital economy. In a market dominated by major international platforms, investors appear to believe in the potential of a local player that focuses on sovereign cloud computing, technological independence and data hosting in Switzerland.
Translated from French, sub-edited by Alexandra MV Andrist/sb
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