Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Netflix should be taking notes: Monday's briefing has all the makings of a gripping drama, from courtroom controversy and political infighting to a major shake-up at one of Switzerland's most iconic companies.
But behind the headlines are serious questions about judicial independence, economic uncertainty and disturbing allegations of sexual exploitation involving a humanitarian organisation.
Switzerland’s Federal Court is grappling with questions of independence, judicial impartiality and accountability following revelations of a relationship between judges Yves Donzallaz and Beatrice van de Graaf. New revelations have now come to light showing that Switzerland’s highest court is in the midst of a deep crisis. “The messy soap opera continues,” writes Le Temps.
Earlier this month, Donzallaz reportedly visited the office of fellow judge Grégory Bovey to discuss ongoing proceedings. Following an exchange of internal memos about the visit, Donzallaz requested Bovey’s recusal, accusing him of reacting inappropriately and questioning his ability to handle the applications for review impartially. The Federal Court rejected the request.
In the latest twist, Federal Court President François Chaix was rejected by his peers in his bid for re-election as president of the institution. Instead, the judges unexpectedly backed Thomas Müller in a secret ballot – despite Müller not having publicly declared his candidacy.
Behind the courtroom drama lies far reaching consequences, possibly undermining confidence in Switzerland’s highest court. First, cases decided by panels involving either Donzallaz or van de Graaf could be reviewed over concerns that the court may not have been properly constituted. Second, on a larger scale, the Swiss parliament will elect federal judges at the end of this year for the next six-year term, from 2027 to 2032. Both Donzallaz and van de Graaf are seeking re-election.
Another election to watch closely is that of the new Swiss People’s Party representative on the Federal Council. Switzerland’s largest party initially struggled to find people willing to put themselves forward, but by Friday eight names had been thrown into the ring. Now comes the scrutiny – and perhaps some political infighting?
The party that prides itself on representing the middle class, farmers and blue-collar workers has put forward candidates with strong academic backgrounds. Five of the eight candidates vying to succeed Economics Minister Guy Parmelin have studied law, writes Blick in its analysis of the contenders.
Over the weekend, Céline Amaudruz attracted particular attention. Several media outlets, particularly in German-speaking Switzerland, criticised her numerous professional commitments. On Sunday, the German-language press highlighted her four paid positions and three board seats, questioning whether she holds too many non-political mandates. Amaudruz responded by saying that the criticism “strengthens my resolve”. Speaking to Swiss public broadcaster RTS, parliamentarian Jean-Luc Addor came to her defence: “There is, we mustn’t deny it, a certain condescension from our German-speaking colleagues towards the French- and Italian-speaking Swiss”.
Meanwhile, while the officially nominated candidates are going through the normal vetting process, waiting in the wings, should no single candidate emerge as strong enough, is Thomas Aeschi, a parliamentarian from canton Zug. According to political scientist Adrian Vatter speaking to Nau.ch, Aeschi is the People’s Party’s favourite. But the Tages-Anzeiger reports that, as a hardliner, he is aware that his chances of being elected by the Federal Assembly are relatively slim.
The humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is accused of failing to adequately inform the Swiss authorities about the scale of reports of sexual misconduct by its staff in Chad. The allegations have prompted the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to suspend funding to the organisation.
According to the NZZ am Sonntag, an internal MSF investigation revealed 59 reports of sexual violence and exploitation, particularly involving women and young girls who had fled neighbouring Sudan. Eighteen staff members have been dismissed, including six employees from the NGO’s Swiss branch. The newspaper describes the allegations as “widespread sexual exploitation”, adding: “Money, jobs or humanitarian aid in exchange for sex: staff members are alleged to have taken advantage of the distress of refugee women and girls.”
The Swiss government and foreign ministry are also facing criticism for failing to respond swiftly to allegations first raised in November 2024. It was not until February 2026 that representatives of the SDC and MSF met to discuss protection against sexual exploitation.
According to the foreign ministry, MSF breached its contractual reporting obligations. Mistrust of the NGO is “now immense within the Confederation”, the NZZ am Sonntag writes. MSF has since acknowledged its mistakes. The Confederation is considering further sanctions and an external investigation.
An early-morning invitation from supermarket giant Migros summoned journalists to a press conference just a few hours later. At the press conference, Migros announced a major restructuring and the resignations of Migros Group CEO Mario Irminger and supermarket CEO Peter Diethelm.
Both executives plan to step down in mid-2027, around the time cooperative members are scheduled to vote on a merger that would consolidate the ten regional cooperatives into a single group cooperative. The new group cooperative would serve as an umbrella organisation for the seven business units, which would continue to operate independently. In mid-2027, the group’s 2.3 million cooperative members will make the final decision.
All governing bodies have expressed unanimous support for the restructuring plan. “Today is a historic day,” said Migros President Ursula Nold. “Migros is taking the step to become the Migros Group Cooperative. Ten cooperatives are becoming one.”
While the media had previously speculated that the restructuring could lead to around 3,000 job cuts, Migros rejected these reports. At the press conference, CEO Mario Irminger stated that no layoffs were planned before mid-2028, when the new structure is expected to be in place.
Swissinfo has been ranked Switzerland’s best online news platform in the latest media quality ranking by the University of Zurich’s Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society (fög).
With a score of 7.7 out of 10 – up 0.2 points from last year – Swissinfo topped the ranking of Swiss online news platforms. The assessment was based on random samples of news coverage in Switzerland’s national languages and English. Swissinfo performed particularly well in two key areas: professionalism and contextualisation.
The recognition comes as concerns about disinformation continue to grow in Switzerland. According to fög’s 2026 Quality of the Media Yearbook, 56.5% of the Swiss population now considers fake news a major social problem. Meanwhile, 42% are classified as “news-deprived”, meaning they rarely follow current affairs or rely on fragmented information from social media.
The researchers emphasise that consuming quality journalism remains the most effective protection against disinformation, while relying exclusively on social media offers no such protection.
The study also found strong support for public broadcasting, with 57.7% of respondents considering the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s services important or very important.
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