Switzerland Today
Greetings from Bern,
Here are the latest news and stories making the rounds here in Switzerland on World Press Freedom Day.
In the News: the end of Covid entry restrictions, biotech investment records, and sexual harassment.
- The last remaining Covid entry restrictions are no more as of today. No more countries or regions are on a high-risk list, making it possible for anyone to travel to SwitzerlandExternal link under normal entry regulations. Travellers will also no longer have to provide a vaccination or recovery certificate to enter the country.
- The Swiss biotech sector invested a record amount in research. According to the industry’s annual report released today, Swiss biotech companies spent close to CHF2.6 billion on research and development. The industry also achieved sales of CHF6.7 billion in 2021, up from CHF4.9 billion the year before. But is this just a corona bump? Apparently, most of the research spend was non-Covid related but not every company was able to make it through the pandemic unscathed. Between 3-5% of companies faced financial difficulties or had to shut down.
- Employers aren’t taking sufficient measures to prevent sexual harassment according to an analysis by Swiss public broadcaster SRF. Their data team analysed 218 legal casesExternal link of sexual harassment from the last 28 years. In some 68% of cases, the companies didn’t have measures in place to prevent sexual harassment as required by law. In 44% of the cases, the perpetrator was the superior and in 19% it was the employee.
Switzerland gets called out for ‘criminalisation of journalists’
Switzerland is among the countries that performs well when it comes to freedom of the press. But it has a few weak spots as Reporters without Borders pointed out today. The country dropped from 10th to 14th place in the NGO’s annual ranking of press freedom released today to coincide with World Press Freedom Day.
One of those weak spots is banking secrecy laws. They were tightened in 2015, which makes it a criminal offence for anyone, including journalists, to make use of confidential banking client information. Earlier this year, a global investigation team relied on a major data leak at Credit Suisse to uncover accounts that were allegedly held by corrupt officials, criminals and human rights abusers. No Swiss media was involved in the so-called “Suisse Secrets” investigation out of fear that they could face prison time.
In an interviewExternal link in the Tages-Anzeiger, Irene Khan, who is the UN rapporteur for the protection of freedom of expression, took aim at Switzerland for what she believes could result in self-censorship by journalists.
“The Swiss banking law is an example of the criminalisation of journalism,” said Khan. “This could complicate investigative journalism on corruption in other countries.”
Following the “Suisse Secrets” revelations, Khan sent a letter to foreign minister Ignazio Cassis expressing concern about the impact of banking laws on freedom of the press. She received a response on Friday in which the ministry said that parliament is reviewing the law. The letter also indicated that no journalist has ever been prosecuted under the law. I’m not sure that puts all the worries at ease.
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Who is the Swiss billionaire making a bid for one of the most valuable football clubs?
Hansjörg Wyss is one of the wealthiest Swiss abroadExternal link (or Swiss, for that matter). Forbes ranks him in the top 600 wealthiest people with a net worth of $5.1 billion.
About a decade ago, he sold shares he held in the medtech company Synthes to the US company Johnson & Johnson, raking in about $10 billion. Since then, the Swiss billionaire has largely focused on donating money to good causes. In 2018, he announced in a New York Times editorial that he was donating $1 billion of his assets to environmental protection. He financed 15 climate protection projects in his hometown of Bern and founded the Wyss Centre, a research facility in Geneva dedicated to neurotechnology.
With this track record, it’s not surprising that the news over the weekend that he is looking to buy the English football club Chelsea had many people scratching their heads in Switzerland. Sure, the billionaire likes to play tennis, but owning a football team?
The NZZ reports that Wyss, who lives in the US, was approached by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the current owner of the team who is the target of sanctions.
Wyss has submitted a bid to buy the team with English investment manager Jonathan Goldstein and Todd Boehly, who is a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and the Lakers basketball team.
Wyss is apparently media shy, but it might be a little hard to stay out of the spotlight with all the frenzy around this team.
Car-free Sundays could become a national trend but is it out of nostalgia or necessity?
The yellow cards were waving with excitement in an open-air assembly in Glarus last Sunday as local voters gave their support to a car-free zone on Sundays. Other towns are planning similar car-free pilots including Andermatt, Winterthur, and even parts of Zurich.
But the reasons for the return to the days of kids running carefree in the streets are diverse as Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported todayExternal link. In Winterthur, four car-free Sundays have been proposed to make people aware of the value of streets with low traffic. In Zurich, the local government sees it as an opportunity for people to get to know their neighbourhood better on foot or by bike. In Basel, car-free days are a way to lower the carbon footprint of the town.
Ironically, Switzerland introduced car-free days in the 1950s and 1970s because of the threat of a shortage in the supply of crude oil, triggered by the 1973 oil crisis. Given current events, a few car-free Sundays might not be a bad thing.
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