Switzerland Today
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At 11am the government had originally planned to hold a press conference and reveal its latest plan for relations with the European Union. As it turned out, at 11am it held an extraordinary meeting about the unfolding events in Ukraine. Should neutral Switzerland impose sanctions? Read below.
In the news: The number of Swiss residents taking a holiday in their own country surged last year to help the tourism industry partially recover from the catastrophic effects of the pandemic.
- The number of overnight stays at hotels by locals hit a record 21 million in 2021, a rise of 27.9% from the first year of the pandemic, but still 25% below 2019 levels. Domestic wanderlust mainly focused on rural regions, particularly in the southern canton of Ticino, which saw a 54.9% increase in overnight stays.
- Fredi M Murer, who directed Höhenfeuer, often considered the best Swiss film of all time, will be awarded the Honorary Prize of the 2022 Swiss Film Awards. Murer, 81, is a “key figure in Swiss cinema, a filmmaker and craftsman from analogue times”, the Federal Office of Culture said.
- The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has demanded Credit Suisse be fined CHF5 million – the maximum provided for by law – for aggravated money laundering and subsidiary support of a criminal organisation. Switzerland’s second-largest bank is a defendant in a trial involving millions of euros that were allegedly laundered through its coffers by Bulgarian drug trafficker.
As Russia launches an offensive in Ukraine, should Switzerland apply sanctions? And if so, how severe should they be?
The Swiss foreign ministry considers Russian actions in Ukraine to be an “invasion” and a “gross violation of international law”. The European Union, which has already applied sanctions, is considering additional punitive measures. Meanwhile, the United States is urging the West to coordinate sanctions. What should Switzerland do?
Various factors play a role in the Swiss calculations, including neutrality, keeping Ukraine and the EU happy, and maintaining Switzerland as a hub for business and banking (about 80% of Russia’s commodity trading is estimated to go through Switzerland). There are also the 700 Swiss citizens who live in Russia and 200 who live in Ukraine to bear in mind.
But it’s Swiss neutrality that many people consider the main factor. Under this principle, Switzerland must maintain a comparably wide distance from two parties in a conflict. However, international law experts agree that this does not apply if, as in the case of Russia, there has been a clear unilateral attack in violation of international law.
“Neutrality does not mean indifference,” said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis this afternoon, after the government held an extraordinary meeting on Ukraine.
Cassis, who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, said the government would adjust its regulations so Switzerland could not be used to circumvent sanctions imposed by the European Union.
However, Switzerland would not impose any of its own sanctions on Russia. For the time being, no funds of private individuals are to be frozen in Switzerland.
The Swiss franc soared to 1.0288 versus the euro, its highest valuation since June 2015, as investors sought refuge in the safe-haven currency.
Obstacles and mistrust didn’t stop women designers from putting their ideas on paper. Some of their designs gained worldwide fame; their names, however, often didn’t. The Vitra Design Museum wanted to redress the imbalance in an exhibition.
The chances are you haven’t heard of Charlotte Perriand. You are, however, probably familiar with the chaise longue she designed (that’s her pictured on it). The iconic leather and steel recliner has long been associated with Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier, whose name also appears on the patent.
Not all women worked in the shadows: some female designers were thrust into the spotlight, including ten women hired by General Motors in the mid-1950s. But this seems to have been more of a marketing stunt than a true recognition of their talent.
Meanwhile in Switzerland, where women didn’t get the right to vote at a national level until 1971, over a hundred national and cantonal women’s organisations joined forces to create the Swiss Exhibition for Women’s Work (SAFFA) in 1958. Organised and designed exclusively by women, the exhibition was a great success and is particularly remembered for its architectural achievements. A permanent island was built for the occasion on Lake Zurich.
The situation has improved in some ways but equality still doesn’t exist. “The glass ceiling is noticeable in design, as in many other industries,” says Larissa Holaschke, a research associate in the design department at the Zurich University of the Arts. She still sees gender tendencies in design. “The soft areas such as textiles or interiors contrast with the hard areas such as product design or interaction design. These divisions, which were already historically formed at the Bauhaus, are still noticeable today.”
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