Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern!
It’s Friday the 13th and the rain has been coming down like ice spears thrown from the sky – a somewhat ominous end of a week filled with doom and gloom headlines. According to the WEF, which holds its annual meeting in Davos next week, the world is facing multiple, simultaneous crises. But never fear, the WEF is here.
More on our polycrises world and the WEF in today’s briefing plus some uplifting news to start the weekend. And, here comes the sun.
In the news: pharmaceutical deals, a protected species under threat, and pressure on money laundering.
- US and Swiss authorities have agreed to share inspection documents on pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in a move to improve efficiency and safety in the drug supply chain. The Swiss pharmaceutical industry association, Interpharma, welcomed the deal and said it was an “important success for Switzerland as a production hub and for security of supply” in the country.
- The Valais cantonal authorities have opened a criminal complaint for suspected poaching after a lynx, a protected species in Switzerland, discovered near Crans Montana last year was reported to have been shot dead.
- A huge solar farm– the equivalent of 35 football pitches – is being planned at Bern Airport aimed at producing electricity for up to 15,000 homes from 2026. The “BelpmoosSolar” project is expected to cost around CHF30 million ($32.24 million). Official planning approval is still needed for the proposal.
- A new report from Transparency International finds that it’s rare that multinational companies are held accountable in Switzerland for money laundering or corruption. The anti-corruption NGO found that there have been just 10 such convictions in Switzerland over the past 20 years.
WEF: Talking doom and gloom over champagne in the Alps
A storm is brewing and what better place to talk about it than in the Swiss Alps over champagne and caviar. The WEF annual meeting takes place next week, and it’s attracting the usual criticism about the number of private jets, the expensive security detail, and the exclusive billionaires’ club.
As my colleague Matt Allen, who will be in Davos next week, writes, the soaring costs of fuel and food has triggered protests from Sri Lanka to Peru and Brazil. For most of the world, 2023 is expected to be a tough year as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
WEF sees itself as part of the solution to the world’s problems, by bringing together influential parties from around the world to tackle the most pressing issues.
But others are not so sure. “WEF symbolises inequality. They make a huge amount of money by charging people to come to the conference,” Morris Pearl, chair of Patriotic Millionaires, a group of wealthy people in the US who paradoxically argue they should be taxed more to fight inequality. “I have not seen any solid evidence that the people running the conference or attending are planning to change the course of this growing inequality.”
What do you think? Is there still appetite to cooperate, and can the WEF help advance some solutions to the world’s problems?
More
Federer’s big villa plans get the greenlight but not everyone is happy
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer is enjoying some more downtime with family since announcing his retirement a few months ago, and what better place to do it than in a lakeside villa estimated to cost around CHF60 million.
Federer’s property on Lake Zurich has been under construction for several years but there have been repeated freezes on construction due to legal requirements. The building application was ultimately approved by the city of Rapperswil-Jona in June 2021, but it is still facing opposition from a group called Rives Publiques who have been campaigning for public access to the lake.
According to 20 MinutenExternal link, the canton published their structural plan this week and it didn’t include public access to the lake. The saga seems to be less about Federer, since he gave consent to a footpath, and more about the authorities dragging their feet. But, it’s easy to draw attention to an issue when the most famous Swiss is involved.
One of the top 52 places to go in 2023 is in Switzerland. Can you guess where?
There’s another lakeside story making headlines. This time it’s a positive one, at least from the perspective of a tourism bureau. One Swiss city made the New York Times’ 52 places to visitExternal link list published yesterday. Can you guess which one? Here’s what the paper wrote:
Already blessed with a sublime Lake Geneva location and dramatic mountain views, this city has been adding architectural and artistic beauty to its repertoire as well. Known as Plateform 10External link, the city’s three-year-old arts district recently inaugurated a bold new building that resembles an artfully cracked block of white stone for a pair of museums.
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