Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern,
Where Monday has (so far) passed by without a major Credit Suisse/UBS story, which must mark some progress. Credit Suisse’s annual shareholder meeting in Zurich tomorrow is sure to provide some fireworks again.
In the news: foreign firms still flocking to Switzerland.
- Some 265 foreign-owned companies established a presence in Switzerland last year, creating 1,199 jobs in their first year of operations here, it was reported today. The number of new firms from abroad has remained consistent in the last few years, with the trend relatively unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the newcomers are in the life sciences or ICT sectors.
- Around 230,000 retirees in Switzerland do not receive supplementary state benefits to guarantee a minimum standard of living, although they are legally entitled to do so, an elderly rights group said today. The main driver of the reluctance is a lack of awareness of the benefits’ existence, Pro Senectute said. Shame, pride in self-sufficiency, and administrative hurdles are also factors.
- The world’s largest watch fair, Watches and Wonders, received a record 43,000 visitors during its week-long exhibition in Geneva, organisers said today. They added that the mood of participants was more upbeat than previous years, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. Switzerland’s other watch fair, Baselworld, was shelved after failing to recover from the pandemic.
‘Dress rehearsal’ elections in Geneva, Lucerne and Ticino.
Cantonal votes in Switzerland aren’t usually very interesting for non-political onlookers – even the Swiss themselves struggle to muster enthusiasm. However, regional elections this weekend in Geneva, Lucerne and Ticino generated a bit of noise in the press today. Coming half a year ahead of national elections, they can be seen as a “so-called dress rehearsal before [Autumn’s] federal elections”, SRF writes.
And what was the upshot? Not an earthquake: there were slight right-wing gains – largely at the expense of the Green parties – and no huge surprises. Is even war in Europe and the collapse of the country’s second-biggest bank not enough to shake Swiss political stability? Not according to cantonal results, and not according to latest opinion polls. Let’s see what happens between now and October.
Spain hits back against Switzerland with star-studded tourism ad.
In Friday’s newsletter, we wrote about how Roger Federer had teamed up with Trevor Noah for a new Swiss Tourism adExternal link, in which the amiable couple enjoy a light-hearted train ride in the Alps. On Saturday, however, the 21 Minuten newspaper reported that the Spanish tourist board, eager to maintain the country’s attractivity, was reacting with a hastily-filmed competitor clip – featuring long-time Federer rival Rafael Nadal and Noah’s Daily Show predecessor Jon Stewart.
According to 21 Minuten, the not-yet-released video would feature Nadal and Stewart, wholly unable to understand each other, actually boarding the train they had intended to board, before arriving at their destination (Alicante) several minutes ahead of time. One particularly hilarious scene would show a local Spaniard having a fatal heart attack when he hears the train is about to be “early”. Spanish tourism authorities said their goal was the opposite of the Swiss one: they wanted to tackle clichés rather than cement them, a spokeswoman told 21 Minuten.
However, further research by swissinfo.ch later revealed that 21 Minuten completely invented it all as an April Fool’s Day joke.
Breaking news: other people have fun in sunny places.
Swiss media seem to be trying to brighten up the dull and cold start to April here with exotic inputs from further afield. Yesterday, Blick reportedExternal link on a Bern-born man now living the good life in Cape Town, South Africa, while the Tages-Anzeiger profiledExternal link a Basel woman’s saffron plantation in southern Morocco – stories full of sand, safari, and some nice plugs for the emigrants’ tourism businesses.
But if that wasn’t exotic enough, RTS radio listeners were then treated this morning to a live report from – Tahiti! Why Tahiti? Why not! According to the radio station’s lucky correspondent, Easter holidays are beginning on the pacific island: no less than five long-haul flights from various western countries were expected this evening, she said. Disembarking guests are treated to “hand-crafted flower garlands”, made by so-called “flower mothers”. Lucky for some!
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