Switzerland Today
Greetings from Lausanne!
The bad weather this year has had a big impact on Swiss agriculture, we learn today. The effects of the climate crisis are already being felt on Swiss farms. But perhaps there’s a silver lining for some who are willing to experiment. Warmer weather means that figs, millet, soy, even almonds, may be grown domestically, and wine grapes would also grow better. Cheers!
In the news: SNB health concerns, Thailand murder case and farming output.
- A second Swiss National Bank top official is to undergo heart surgery in the space of three months. Vice-chairman Fritz Zurbrügg (in photo above) is to have planned heart surgery this week. This follows a cardiac procedure performed on chairman Thomas Jordan in August.
- A 63-year-old Swiss national has been arrested for homicide in Thailand. Last Sunday he reportedlyExternal link killed a 53-year-old Thai man who had broken into his house in the Udon Thani region. The Swiss foreign ministry has confirmed that it is providing consular support to the man who has pleaded self-defence.
- Left-wing political parties and trade unions have gathered enough public support to forge ahead with a challenge to the proposed partial abolition of tax on financial transactions. A referendum with 70,000 votes was handed in to the authorities today.
- The cold and frosty spring, followed by hail and a wet summer, has had a severe impact on Swiss agricultural outputExternal link, the Federal Statistical Office reported today. Total output is down by almost 7% due to the bad weather, while production costs have increased, costing farmers billions of Swiss francs.
Why does Switzerland have a lower vaccination rate than other countries?
Switzerland’s Covid vaccination drive started in December 2020. After a slow start, it picked up before summer but the campaign has been sluggish. So far, 63% of the population have received at least one Covid vaccine dose. The government recently launched a vaccination campaign targeting young people, and special initiatives are being proposed like CHF50 vouchers to boost uptake among reluctant residents.
When compared with 15 other Western countries such as Portugal (88% have received one dose), Spain (81%), France (74%) and Germany (68%), Switzerland comes bottom of the class, a new report in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) showsExternal link. The article suggests four factors why Switzerland is lagging behind.
Initially, this comparison may appear surprising as trust in the Swiss government is the highest among OECD states. But the NZZ says that in terms of the pandemic “Switzerland has so far suffered less than other countries”. Another possible reason for the low rate is that Covid-19 has been highly politicised by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.
Also, governance “from above” in Switzerland “takes more getting used to than in centrally organised states”. A final possible factor to add to the mix is the high level of scepticism about vaccines in Switzerland, even before the pandemic. Such scepticism is generally higher in wealthier countries, says the NZZ.
Growing almonds in the Swiss Alps.
The effects of the climate crisis can already be seen on Swiss farms. Farmers are increasingly being affected by frost, hail, storms, long stretches of rain – or no rain, and summer drought. But the warmer conditions are not necessarily all negative for growers. Swiss public television SRF reportsExternal link from canton Valais, the driest region in Switzerland, on a trend for local almonds, which normally come from the Middle East.
SRF talks to organic farmer Stefan Germann, who has around 50 almond trees that he has been cultivating for the past 20 years. His annual harvest is around 10-12 kg.
For now, almonds remain a niche product for personal use, admits agronomist Sonja Kay. But that could change and in the future we could start selling Swiss almonds to meet regional demand, she says. Meanwhile, demand for young almond trees to plant is certainly increasing, growers confirm.
Could the Pandora Papers speed up Swiss money-laundering reforms?
The global investigation into how the rich and powerful have being hiding their investments abroad, dubbed the Pandora Papers, continues to reverberate. Will the leak make a difference? It’s hard to say in Switzerland, where the enablers, financial advisers, are back in the spotlight.
An attempt last March by some Swiss lawmakers to impose stricter rules on financial advisers failed. But as Swiss public radio SRFExternal link points out today, the issue could return to parliament soon. This is something Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer had warned about during the spring parliamentary debate.
“Pressure is growing,” anti-corruption campaigner Mark Pieth, of the Basel Institute on Governance, told SRFExternal link. He believes this may come from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Swiss parliament will soon discuss money-laundering legislation again, said Pieth. “The consequence of the Pandora Papers is that it all happens much faster,” he added.
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