Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

When did you receive your voting papers for Sunday’s federal elections? Have you received them? We investigated when each of Switzerland’s 26 cantons sent out voting material – and we name and shame the slowcoaches.

Keystone / Gaetan Bally

In the news:  Strategic fuel stocks, a blast at a hospital in Gaza, and fewer livestock being attacked by wolves.

• Switzerland repealed an ordinance that allowed it to tap strategic fuel stocks after supplies of petroleum products normalised. The Swiss government opened those stockpiles last year as imports along the River Rhine (pictured, at Basel) to the land-locked country came to a near standstill. Switzerland relies on the fuel it refines domestically as well as deliveries across land and by river, making the Rhine a vital conduit.
• The Swiss foreign ministry condemned a rocket attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip which is thought to have killed hundreds of people. Switzerland is calling for a full investigation into the incident. “Following the attack on a hospital in Gaza, in which hundreds of people lost their lives, Switzerland wishes to remind everyone once again that hospitals and civilians must be protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said.
• The number of livestockkilled by wolves in Switzerland has fallen by almost a third compared with last year. According to the environmental organisation Pro Natura, this decline is due to the expansion of herd protection. The president of the Swiss Sheep Breeders’ Association countered that the decline was due to the fact that fewer alps were home to sheep because of wolves.
• Police in canton Valais pulled over an erratic driver who turned out to be driving while inhaling laughing gas from a balloon. The 29-year-old man was confused and had paranoid symptoms, cantonal police said today. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Keystone / Marcel Bieri

The late delivery of voting and election material continues to infuriate Swiss citizens who live abroad. We asked Switzerland’s 26 cantons when they sent out the documents. Who is top – and bottom – of the class?

Of the roughly 800,000 Swiss Abroad, around a quarter are registered to vote back in Switzerland. In practice, many can’t do so because their voting papers don’t get to them in time.

The responsibility for sending out voting papers lies with the country’s 26 cantons, so my colleague, Melanie Eichenberger, rolled up her sleeves and asked every canton when they had sent out the voting material.

Given that voting papers can’t be sent to the Swiss Abroad more than a week before they are sent to voters in Switzerland, the earliest they could be sent to the Swiss Abroad this year was the week beginning September 11 (calendar week 37).

How did the cantons do? Well one canton actually jumped the gun sent them out on September 8, and two didn’t get round to it until calendar week 38.

2019 Invision

The young and still little-known Swiss watch brand ID Genève has won an illustrious backer: Leonardo DiCaprio. The star of Critters 3 is one of a group of investors who are providing the company with a total of CHF2 million ($2.2 million).

The company, which was founded almost three years ago, uses recycled material for some components in the manufacture of its timepieces. This apparently also convinced DiCaprio (pictured), who told the Financial TimesExternal link he had invested in ID Genève because it was “disrupting the luxury watch industry” and “championing ethically sourced and recycled materials and low-carbon footprint processes in a circular economy”.

ID Genève, founded by three people from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, produces watches whose cases are made of 100% recycled steel. What’s more, the bracelets of the first collections were made largely from pomace using innovative processes, and those of the third and last collection from green waste. The company also uses mechanical movements from unsold stocks from ETA, which belongs to the Swatch Group, while the material for the packaging is compostable.

The aim is to keep CO2 emissions as low as possible. However, the foreign travel of the sales staff, the export of the watches and the entire logistics have a negative impact on the CO2 balance. “We’re aware of this and are trying to reduce CO2 emissions there as well,” said CEO and co-founder Nicolas Freudiger.

“So far we’ve sold over 1,000 watches of our brand, and 500 new watches will be launched in January,” he said. The price of an ID Genève mechanical watch ranges from CHF3,500 to CHF5,000.

The majority of ID Genève’s customers are still based in Switzerland. However, thanks to the cooperation with the large British watch retailer Watches of Switzerland, the timepieces are increasingly being offered in Britain and the US.

For his part, DiCaprio said the whole industry should do more. “Sustainability should be a core value at any company. ID Genève’s pioneering efforts in this space are something I hope other companies take note of and continue to grow over time.”