Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
If you're retired, how would you react if you didn't receive the promised 13th pension payment in December after all? Or if your pension were adjusted to reflect the cost of living in your country of residence?
These are just some of the Swiss People's Party's proposals for cutting costs in the social security system. Faced with outrage from many Swiss citizens living abroad, the party leadership is now softening its stance somewhat. Its main aim, it stresses, is to prevent people from paying contributions for only a short period before going on to claim an old-age pension abroad.
Enjoy the read!
With a year to go until the federal elections, the right-wing Swiss People’s Party is putting forward a series of proposals aimed at limiting pension payments abroad. Switzerland’s largest party thus risks alienating part of its electorate.
Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance (OASI) pensions paid abroad should be adjusted to reflect the purchasing power of the country of residence, the People’s Party argues in its position paper on the OASI 2030 reform. A party parliamentarian also recently proposed withholding the 13th OASI pension payment from recipients living abroad. These proposals have sparked anger, bewilderment and concern among the Swiss Abroad.
For the first time, the party leadership has responded to the controversy. Party president Marcel Dettling acknowledges the risk of upsetting some Swiss voters abroad: “We are in politics for the sake of Switzerland. And many Swiss living abroad also appreciate our policies.”
The Swiss People’s Party’s campaign director, Manuel Strupler, however, plays down the significance of the proposed cuts. “It was just one proposal among a whole range of possibilities. It is not the one we wish to prioritise,” he says. Inge Schütz, president of the International Swiss People’s Party, believes the proposals could be adapted to ensure that Swiss citizens living abroad who have paid contributions for many years are not penalised.
With the November referendums approaching, the government has already set the agenda for the votes on February 28, 2027. And it’s a particularly packed one: five proposals will be put to voters.
Could nuclear power make a major comeback in Switzerland? This is the question likely to spark the fiercest debate ahead of the first federal votes of 2027. Voters will decide whether to lift the ban on building new nuclear power plants. A broad coalition has launched a referendum against the government’s indirect counter-proposal to the ‘Stop the Blackout’ popular initiative.
The Swiss electorate will also vote on two popular initiatives. One seeks to ban imports of foie gras, while the other, the Democracy Initiative, aims to standardise the naturalisation process.
Also on the ballot is the free trade agreement between EFTA and Malaysia. Here, too, an alliance of civil society organisations has successfully launched a referendum against the treaty, arguing that its sustainability requirements are insufficient. Finally, voters will decide on the government’s proposal to give collective labour agreements (CLAs) precedence over cantonal minimum wages, even when the wages stipulated in the agreements are lower.
Allegations made by a former Miss Switzerland finalist are at the centre of a new damning report targeting US President Donald Trump. The document was published by Democrats less than a week before the US midterm elections.
Until now, Béatrice Keul had accused Donald Trump of attempted rape. For the first time, the former Swiss model alleges that Trump raped her in a hotel suite in 1993, while she was taking part in a beauty pageant. Afterwards, he allegedly told her: “The show must go on,” while promising to help her obtain a visa and secure admission to university.
Her testimony features in a report compiled by Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee. The authors gathered accounts from 11 women accusing Trump of sexual assault. Published ahead of the midterm elections, the report seeks to draw attention to alleged links between the US president and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019.
“I am inundated with requests from the media,” Keul said following the report’s publication. In an interview with Swiss public broadcaster SRF, she also explained that she wanted to fight for transparency and justice and was preparing class-action lawsuits against Donald Trump alongside other women. The US president denies all the allegations made against him, including those by Béatrice Keul and the other women named in the report.
The second-greatest player in the history of Swiss men’s tennis, behind Roger Federer, brought his career to a close on Tuesday evening. At the age of 41, Stan Wawrinka played his final official match at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, losing to Czech player Jiří Lehečka.
Stan Wawrinka has retired. A winner of three grand slam titles and former world number three, the Vaud native has officially bowed out after more than two decades at the highest level of the sport. He leaves the professional circuit with 16 ATP titles to his name.
Having turned professional in 2002, Wawrinka stands out in particular for the remarkable longevity of his career. According to ATP statistics, he is the fourth-oldest player to have won a match on the tour, at the age of 41 years and six months. With three grand slam titles to his name, he is widely regarded as the second-greatest player in the history of Swiss men’s tennis, behind Roger Federer.
What makes his career particularly remarkable is that he achieved his greatest successes during the era of the ‘Big Four’ – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – one of the most competitive periods in tennis history. “I’m sad, but I’m smiling,” said Wawrinka after his final match.
Translated from French, sub-edited by Alexandra MV Andrist/ts
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