Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern,
There’s a colourful splash of flowering trees outside my window here in Bern. We have an equally eclectic selection of news and other stories in today’s briefing.
In the News: More details on Montreux family drama, Switzerland’s human rights record and the Red Cross responds to questions about Ukraine.
- Information is starting to emerge about the family that died after jumping from an apartment building in the lakeside town of Montreux last week. The cantonal police reported today that the four members of the family most probably died by suicide. A fifth member of the family – a 15-year-old boy – remains in a coma. The police have ruled out the involvement of a third party but still aren’t clear why the family jumped. There were no warning signs and no signs of struggle in the apartment.
- Amnesty International has painted a mixed picture of Switzerland’s human rights record over the last year. While the rights group applauded the vote in favour of same-sex marriage and moves to strengthen the criminal code provisions on rape, it criticised the country in several areas. One in particular was the excessive use of force at Swiss asylum centres and prison sentences for protesters.
- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) rejected reports that it was involved in any forced evacuations from Ukraine to Russia and argued that there is a disinformation campaign against the ICRC on social media. The statement comes after Russian media reported that the ICRC is considering opening an office Rostov-on-Don, on the Russian border near the besieged city of Mariupol. ICRC replied that any talk of a presence in the region was part of efforts to scale up its operations to meet humanitarian needs where they arise.
The essential question of what’s “essential”
Swiss cement maker Holcim announced today that it is exiting the Russian marketExternal link. The media release was short but punchy. It said: “The Holcim Board of Directors has decided to initiate the process to exit the Russian market in line with the company’s values to operate in the most responsible manner.”
What makes this statement unique is the mention of “values” – something very few companies making a similar move have done. Most of the time companies have said that supply chain bottlenecks, sanctions or practical logistics have made it too difficult to continue operating. But the cement company didn’t have a lot of business in Russia. A spokesperson wrote to me at the start of the war that Holcim “operates a small business in Russia containing three cement plants and around 1,000 people”. The business is only 1% of global net sales.
The situation is different for many companies. This includes pharmaceutical companies. Today, Roche CEO Severin Schwan responded to questions in an interview in the Tages-Anzeiger paper about whether the company will keep supplying medicineExternal link. “We can’t just withhold life-saving cancer drugs from Russian patients. There is international consensus that medicines are exempt from sanctions,” said Schwan. However, some pharmaceutical companies have started to limit its exports to Russia to “essential medicines”.
Nestlé has also started narrowing its brand offering in Russia to the “essentials” after it faced an uproar on social media. The company has stopped selling KitKats and Nesquik and plans to focus on providing essential food, such as infant food and medical/hospital nutrition. Johnson & Johnson announced today that it would stop selling personal care products like mouthwash.
Each company seems to have their own interpretation of “essential” that it might just be easier if governments stopped listing products companies can’t sell and instead listed products they can sell.
Stranded in Zurich Airport with no place to fly
I’m starting to think airports should invest in mobile homes that could be quickly set up on a flight tarmac. According to various media reports, hundreds of travelers on their way to China are stuck in Zurich Airport. Apparently, many were on their way to Shanghai when China announced the largest city-wide lockdownExternal link in response to rising coronavirus cases. Swiss International Airlines canceled the flight to Shanghai leaving the travelers in limbo.
Many were just transiting at Kloten airport and therefore don’t have visas to stay in Switzerland. As a result, they can’t leave the airport terminal. The airline has provided meals, internet and births but passengers are apparently irritated. Photos have shown travelers sleeping on the airport floor and some holding up signs reading: “I want to go home”.
By the end of the day the Swiss government had said that the passengers will be able to leave the airport but how they’ll get to Shanghai is still open.
Foreign chocolate breaks into the Swiss market
There’s one way to know that Easter is just around the corner in Switzerland. The shelves are stocked with endless chocolate bunnies. But a growing number of them are being imported from abroad. That’s according to the Swiss chocolate industry bodyExternal link ChocoSuisse, which released their annual figures today.
The share of foreign chocolate in the Swiss market is around 42%. In 2011, the share of the Swiss market held by importers was only 34%. It seems that some of this is due to a rise in the consumption of imported chocolate – from 4 kilos to 4.7 kilos per capita. The other is a drop in the consumption of Swiss chocolate in Switzerland from 8 to 6.6 kilos per capita in the last decade.
We shouldn’t be too quick to write off Swiss chocolate or declare that Swiss tastebuds have changed. The industry group says that price might have something to do with it. Last November parliament agreed to keep tariffs in place on imported sugarExternal link to the ire of the chocolate industry. This has made raw materials, and consequently chocolate bars and bunnies more expensive. “This alone increases production costs in Switzerland by between 1-2% of wages and hands foreign imports a further cost advantage,” writes the industry body.
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