Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern,
The sun is back, and the government ministers are soaking it up in the “Far West” of Switzerland as part of the annual “extra muros” get-together organised outside Bern. This time – which is the 16th since 2010 – the Federal Council meeting is taking place in Geneva.
In the News: challenges of collecting sexual harassment data, the Swiss stop ammunition exports, and government keeps some Covid measures.
- The Federal Statistical Office has released the latest figures on sexual harassment. In 2020, the police recorded 1,435 cases of sexual harassment – an increase of 19% since 2009. However, the office says these figures should be treated with caution because they only capture cases reported to police. Many victims of harassment don’t speak up because they fear retribution. The government wants to improve data-gathering by surveying the population.
- The government confirmed that Germany had requested permission to re-export ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks that it will send to Ukraine. Switzerland vetoed Germany’s request citing its policy of neutrality that doesn’t permit it to provide arms for use in conflict zones.
- The government proposed extending a few Covid measures today, including the release of Covid certificates until 2024. It also suggested that the federal government should continue to cover the costs of Covid tests until the end of 2023, at which time this would be handed over to the cantons.
Tagging along with the Swiss delegation in Ukraine
The Swiss delegation travelling to Ukraine today has given a rare glimpse into their travel routines. All over Swiss media today, you can see a politician checking her phone on a train, another looking out the train window on the way from Poland to Kyiv, and three members of the delegation standing in front of the airplane after disembarking. Such photo-ops are a rarity in Switzerland. Seeing politicians in their travel attire like “normal people” conjures up images of American politicians on the campaign trail.
The NZZ’s headline poked fun at all the social media frenzy,External link writing that the politicians are “in Kyiv and on all channels”. The Swiss parliament posted the pics on their own Twitter site and the delegation is travelling with its own media entourage.
Media attention aside, the trip isn’t without controversy. No one from the Swiss government has travelled to Kyiv since the outbreak of the war. And on Wednesday, Ignazio Cassis, who holds the Swiss rotating presidency, said there were no plans to do so. “It is a political act wanted by parliament and we respect this decision,” he said during a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday.
Travelling to an active war zone is dangerous, raising questions about whether it’s worth the risks. The Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) had “actively” advised against parliamentarians travelling to Ukraine, according to a report in Blick.
“What does this journey bring to Ukraine?” asks the NZZ. “And what good does it do for Switzerland, the small state that is struggling with the big question of neutrality?” Several other politicians rejected the invitation to visit Kyiv from the Ukrainian parliament for safety or scheduling reasons. Some thought the trip “could endanger Switzerland’s neutrality and one’s life and limb”.
But Irène Kälin, the president of the House of Representatives who is leading the delegation, said: “I’m afraid that it will shake me as a person. And I think that’s a good thing.”
Farmers stage a bloody protest against wolves in Ticino
Few people will forget the bloody scene in The Godfather film when the bedsheets are pulled away to reveal a dead horse’s head. Local officials in Bellinzona, in canton Ticino, experienced a similar unforgettable moment when they discovered several dead sheep sprawled out in front of the Piazza Governo (or government building) this morning.
The display was an act of protest to demand urgent action against wolf attacks. According to reports, several sheep were killed on Tuesday in Vallemaggia, north of Locarno. Assuming this is the result of a wolf attack, the farmers used the sheep protest to call for more effective measures against these attacks, reported media in Ticino. While the head of the Ticino Office of Hunting and Fishing has confirmed the death of a dozen animals, it hasn’t said whether a wolf is to blame.
How to respond to more frequent wolf attacks has been the subject of lively debate in Switzerland. See this story and our vote coverage on changing the hunting law from 2020. The Tages-Anzeiger newspaper also offered thoughts on whether a wolf packExternal link could emerge in Zurich.
Russian assets riddled all over Switzerland
Today the government announced that the value of Russian assets frozen by the Swiss government had reached CHF9 billion – an increase of CHF1.5 billion since April 7. But is this everything? And is it enough?
This is a relatively small amount, writes the Financial Times. The Channel Island of Jersey alone froze $7 billion of assets linked to the Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich. The FT concludes that this reflects the fact that applying such a sweeping set of sanctions is a “work in progress”.
Most of the assets that have been reported so far come from banks, and secrecy laws have complicated some of the reporting. “Without evidence of clear suspected criminality, Swiss bankers must protect clients’ secrecy at all costs,” writes the FT. But, there are other factors complicating efforts – it’s the lawyers. Well-paid Swiss lawyers of the Russian rich already started moving assets offshore when the West started to put in place sanctions. And lawyers, as the NZZ reports, have thus far been shielded by attorney-client privilege. What is considered “privileged” information is up for debate though.
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