Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern,
It’s carnival season in Switzerland, despite the conflict going on elsewhere in Europe. But Ukraine is still setting the agenda on Wednesday.
In the news: last Swiss diplomats leave Kyiv, Schröder leaves Ringier
- Switzerland has evacuated its remaining diplomatic staff from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The ambassador and four other diplomatic staff had left Ukraine with the support of a team of special forces from the Swiss army, the foreign ministry confirmed on Wednesday. The ministry has advised all Swiss citizens to leave Ukraine if possible. Swiss nationals who need assistance are told to contact the foreign ministry helpline.
- Parliament gave the green light today to create a cyber command centre for the Swiss armed forces. As part of an overhaul of the country’s cyber defence, the centre will be upgraded and staffed with up to 575 members by 2026 – more than twice that under the current structure. The Senate unanimously followed the House of Representatives as supporters referred to the risks of modern warfare and the war in Ukraine.
- Swiss-based publishing group Ringier has suspended its cooperation with Germany’s former chancellor, Gerhard Schröder. Schröder served in the German government from 1998 to 2005 and is known to be a close friend of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He is also chairman of the board of Russia’s state-controlled Nord Stream and Rosneft companies. The measure was taken “by mutual agreement”, Ringier said on Tuesday.
Defending the Swiss skies: war in Ukraine raises domestic questions
Much of the Swiss reaction to the war in Ukraine so far has been about sanctions and solidarity. But as in other European states, debates have also picked up about how well-prepared the country would be to defend itself in case of attack. Already on Monday, politicians from the right suggested a CHF2 billion ($2.17 billion) raise for the army, which would bring its annual budget to CHF7 billion, or 1% of Swiss GDP (the average among European members of NATO is 1.77%). They also called on left-wing groups to stop collecting signatures for an ongoing people’s initiative against the purchase of new F-35 fighter jets from US company Lockheed-Martin.
And yesterday evening this last point was repeated by none other than Defence Minister Viola Amherd. After telling Swiss public television RTS that “Switzerland has to defend its airspace itself”, Amherd said that even more important than extra funding for the army would be that opponents drop the plans for the F-35 people’s initiative. She repeated this in German-language media today. (As a reminder: in 2020, 50.1% of voters approved a credit of CHF6 billion for the army to buy new fighter jets. Unhappy with this outcome, a left-wing alliance subsequently launched another initiative, this time targeting the specific type of jets to be purchased; they have until March 2023 to collect 100,000 signatures).
For the time being, the question about boosting the army remains divisive. Yesterday, Social Democratic Party co-leader Mattea Meyer told SRF that in general a “spiral of armament” is to be avoided, while as for the F-35 specifically, it is a plane “built for offensive war – but does Switzerland want to attack? No.” The Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA), which is behind the initiative, hasn’t yet reacted to Amherd’s statement. In an interview in Le Temps todayExternal link however, Andreas Gross, a founder of GSOA, reiterated his view that the F-35s are “useless” for Switzerland, which (being surrounded by NATO) only needs to police its airspace rather than defend it. As such, he said, Switzerland could buy different planes: “dissuasive ones, not bombers”.
Not all doom and gloom in Lucerne as carnivals continue
It’s carnival season in Switzerland, and last night the Lucerne edition wrapped up after a week of parades and parties. The Lucerne “Fasnacht”, the second-biggest in the country, finished with a bang, i.e. with the traditional parade of loud and masked “Guggenmusig” players (see photos). Some 22,000 people were out late into the night, despite freezing temperatures, still-high daily coronavirus figures, and questions like “can you celebrate carnival when there’s a war in EuropeExternal link”? Last Saturday, up to 40,000 partied in Lucerne; war or no war, with pandemic restrictions lifted, people want to celebrate. And carnival continues: after a scaled back, “pop-up” edition in Bern this weekend, the Basel carnival – the country’s biggest – starts next Monday with its traditional four am parade.
Rumours made in Chelsea: soon a Swiss owner at Stamford Bridge?
The Russian owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, is looking to offload the club amidst calls for him to be sanctioned over links to Vladimir Putin. Today, a Swiss name came up as potential buyer: billionaire Hansjörg Wyss (photo above), who made his fortune selling medical devices and who lives in the US. “Along with three others, I received an offer on Tuesday to buy Chelsea from Abramovich, Wyss toldExternal link a rather surprised Blick journalist, who seemed to just want to get an opinion about the Ukraine war. “Abramovich is trying to sell all his villas in England, he also wants to get rid of Chelsea quickly,” Wyss said. However: “[He] is currently asking far too much. You know, Chelsea owe him £2 billion. But Chelsea has no money. Whoever buys Chelsea would also have to compensate him.” Even the generosity of Wyss – “one of the most philanthropic people in the world,” according to Forbes – might stop short of that.
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