Switzerland Today

Hello from Bern,

What can I say? It’s the end of an era. Roger Federer has announced his retirement from professional tennis. It’s only fitting that it’s been raining all day because the tears are coming down over here in Switzerland.

But there’s life after tennis for Federer. He’s already the highest paid tennis player when he’s not playing tennis. What will he do next?

© Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

In the News: Fake news, fighter jets, and a pharma investigation.

• The saga of the fake energy poster continues. This time the Federal Office of Energy has confirmed that it had nothing to do with the poster that encouraged people to report their neighbours if they heated their homes above 19 degrees Celsius. The hunt is still on for the source of the mess though. The Federal Police have official opened an investigation so we should know soon whether the theories are true that Russian propaganda is behind the fake news.
• Switzerland’s House of Representatives has approved the purchase of new F-35 fighter jets from US firm Lockheed Martin. The decision clears the path for Bern to sign the purchase contract, even though an initiative to prevent the deal has not been voted on by Swiss voters.
• Novartis employees had an early morning visit from the Swiss competition commission (COMCO), which has opened an investigation into suspected unlawful use of a patent to reduce competitive pressure by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant. COMCO conducted an early morning raid at the company’s Basel headquarters yesterday in connection with the probe. The investigation seeks to determine whether the alleged behaviour constitutes the use of a so-called blocking patent, which might amount to an unlawful abuse of an allegedly dominant position according to the Swiss Cartel Act.
• The Basel City cantonal government announced that it is setting aside CHF250,000 starting in 2023 to trace the provenance of art and other objects in its five cantonal museums. The aim is to gain clarity about the origin of our collections step by step and to communicate the research results transparently. The Kunstmuseum Basel has already identified one artwork from the Nazi era that has been returned to a Jewish foundation.

© Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Federer bids farewell after 1,500 matches in 40 countries over 24 years

Tennis superstar Roger Federer is ending his professional tennis career. The news broke around 3pm here and nothing else seemed to matter in Switzerland. It was the day that many feared but knew was around the corner after the tennis star had been battling injuries for months.

“Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever could have dreamt and now I must recognise when it is time to end my career,” Federer said in a video statement posted on social networks.

We can debate for hours if Roger Federer is the Greatest Of All TimeExternal link but it doesn’t really matter. The Swiss tennis great is admired by even his fiercest competitors. He holds the record for the consecutive weeks at No. 1 (237) and more than 18 years in the top ten, including being the oldest No.1, when he was 36.

But it’s more than a numbers game when it comes to Federer. It’s also the way he played the game – the grace, ease, and focus – that earned him so much praise.

This grace translated off the court as well, which is why he is one of the most sought-after ambassadors for everything from chocolate to shoes to cars, watches and even the Swiss tourism industry.

I’d love to hear what are your favourite Federer moments. Send them to me by email and they might end up in print tomorrow: [e-mail].

© Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Playing poker like the Swiss play Jass but this time with low stakes bets

I grew up in a family of poker players so when I read this storyExternal link the first thing that came to my mind was – why didn’t I think of that? One reason of course is that I’m not as good as Maureen Blöchlinger, who is the best poker player in Switzerland.

She grew up playing poker in New Jersey like the Swiss play “Jass” she told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. She came to Switzerland for love, found a job working in finance and then gave it up to travel the world as a poker player.

On Friday she is opening the first licensed poker room in Zurich. This is thanks to a change in the gambling law in Switzerland a few years ago, which opened the door for “small poker tournaments” outside casinos. When the law says “small” it is referring to the size of the prize. In Canton Zurich, a player may not bet more than CHF300 a day, and the pot may not exceed CHF20,000.

It may not be the highest stakes, but one thing Blöchlinger is hoping to do is to attract more women to the game. “Men who don’t know me underestimate me,” she told the paper. This clearly works to her advantage.