Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
It will take another 10 days to find out who is officially in the running to replace Guy Parmelin in the government.
Today, however, the media is more interested in the possible reassignment of ministerial portfolios within the governing Federal Council. Justice Minister Beat Jans of the Social Democratic Party, has expressed interest to become economics minister. Contrary to what one might think, however, the idea does not seem to please the trade unions.
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The succession of the outgoing Economics Minister Guy Parmelin continues to hold sway in the Swiss media, with withdrawals, new names and potential redistribution of portfolios among government ministers.
Initially considered one of the favourites to succeed Parmelin, Esther Friedli has declared that she does not want to run for a seat in government. However, the Swiss People’s Party Senator from St. Gallen has indicated that she would welcome Valais cantonal government member Franz Ruppen in the Federal Council. A member of the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021, he had drawn attention to his radical position on the presence of the wolf in Switzerland, calling for its extinction on at least one occasion.
For the time being, however, the most prominent names remain the head of canton Zurich’s government and former parliamentarian Natalie Rickli and parliamentarian from Geneva and party vice-president Céline Amaudruz.
Perhaps even more than the identity of the new government minister, the future redistribution of the ministerial portfolios is generating debate. According to the media, Defence Minister Martin Pfister (Centre) and Justice Minister Beat Jans (Social Democratic Party) are aspiring to change.
The latter has already expressed his interest in taking over the reins of the economics ministry, but trade unions are skeptical. Interviewed by the NZZ am Sonntag, the president of Travail.Suisse, Adrian Wüthrich, points out that a Social Democrat economics minister would be under permanent suspicion of conducting a left-wing policy. And this could complicate compromises within a government with a right-wing and centre-right majority.
Drug traffickers without their knowledge? Two young Vaudois aged 18 and 19 were arrested in July at Phuket airport, Thailand. One of them remains in police custody in the country, RTS writes today.
The two young men ended up in the clutches of a criminal network that recruited them through an ad on Snapchat. The promise: a fully paid trip to Thailand and a reward of CHF8,000 to bring a suitcase containing iPhones back to Switzerland.
While waiting for their flight back to Switzerland, the two were arrested. In their luggage, the police did not find smartphones, but 16 kilos of marijuana. One of the young men managed to leave the country quickly after paying a fine of CHF6,300 at customs and a total of CHF18,000 in order to return home with a clean criminal record, RTS reveals.
The mother of the other young man, however, was unable to find CHF4,000 in time for the release of her son, who is still detained in Thailand awaiting trial.
The two young men fell into a trap in a well-established criminal system, claims the lawyer of the two Vaudois, Thatsanavanh Banchong. The authorities of the Asian country are aware of this, but recently the policy has become stricter. Many of those lured into becoming alleged unwitting drug mules are sentenced to prison terms that can reach up to 10 years.
Switzerland’s largest helicopter company, Swiss Helicopter, has come under fire from the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA). It allegedly carried out far more flights from the Gsteigwiler heliport than allowed and the head of the facility reported false figures to the federal authorities.
The Bernese Oberland is a region known for helicopters. They supply alpine huts, transport construction materials to construction sites and even carry cows down to the valley. In addition, they transport tourists from all over the world. Parachute jumps over Interlaken are particularly popular.
However, the continuous noise is not appreciated by the inhabitants of Gsteigwiler, near Interlaken. According to the Tamedia newspapers, in 2025 they counted around 8,100 aircraft movements, i.e. 5,000 more than the 3,000 per year allowed. The FOCA came to similar conclusions and initiated administrative criminal proceedings against the person in charge of the facility, who allegedly reported significantly lower movements to the authorities.
Swiss Helicopter apologised, but also called for an increase in the flight quota. The Gsteigwiler heliport cannot be operated economically sustainably “with the restrictions currently in place” and its operation is allegedly at risk in the short- to medium- term.
More university students and fewer pupils in primary schools. This is the picture that the Federal Statistical Office paints today for the future of the education sector in Switzerland.
The FSO estimates that there will be 305,000 students at bachelor’s and master’s level by 2035 at Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences. This corresponds to an increase of 21% compared to 2026. The main reasons for this are population growth and the increase in the number of people coming from abroad to study in Switzerland.
However, this influx to universities coincides with a period in which young graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find a job. According to a survey conducted by the FSO in August, unemployment among recent graduates increased significantly between 2023 and 2025. The only exceptions are universities of education.
At primary school level, however, the opposite trend will be observed. The number of pupils has increased significantly in recent years. However, the number of births has been declining since 2022. For this reason, according to FSO forecasts, the number of primary school pupils is expected to peak between 2027 and 2028 and then decline by 8% by 2035. At secondary school level, a decline is expected from 2033.
Translated from Italian, sub-edited by Anand Chandrasekhar
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