Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu – Interior Minister Alain Berset has appeared before parliament for the last time. But I've a feeling we haven't heard the last of him.

Keystone / Anthony Anex

In the news: Farewell to a government minister, Swiss support for Ukraine, and an increase in cancers among young people.

• Alain Berset (pictured), who held the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has appeared before parliament for the last time. “Mr Covid”, as he was described by the president of the Senate Eva Herzog today, is retiring from politics after 20 years in office, 12 of which were spent in government as interior minister. “I’m leaving. I’ll be with you in spirit, in friendship”. He could almost have said “I love you”, but “that’s too much for a Thursday morning”, he said with a smile.
• Switzerland is increasing its contribution to Ukraine by CHF11.8 million ($13.7 million). In total, the Swiss government is spending around CHF26 million on winter aid measures, the foreign ministry announced. The government is supporting several NGOs in providing life-saving protection as part of winter aid. For example, it has enabled repairs to almost 1,000 flats and houses and the distribution of heating material to around 1,300 households in frontline areas.
• Cancers in people under the age of 50, previously extremely rare, are on the increase. “They have almost doubled,” says Solange Peters, head of medical oncology at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). In her view, this is “an alarming sign”. The increase particularly concerns breast, colon, pancreatic, liver, prostate, kidney and uterine cancers.

• The financial centres of Switzerland and Britain moved closer together today as Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and her British counterpart, Jeremy Hunt, signed an agreement on the mutual recognition of financial services in Bern. The agreement covers the recognition of equivalence in the areas of banking, securities services, insurance, asset management and financial market infrastructures for professional clients.

KEYSTONE/Salvatore Di Nolfi

Is wealth unfairly distributed in Switzerland?

A large-scale survey by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, of around 57,000 people shows that four out of five respondents consider the wealth gap to be too large.

Perception and the numbers do not quite match. According to various studies, income in Switzerland is relatively broadly distributed. Only the top 10% have a stronger income growth than the average income, Isabel Martinez from the Center of Economic Research at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich told Swiss public broadcaster SRF. In terms of income inequality, Switzerland is internationally in the middle, and this inequality hasn’t increased significantly.

The situation is somewhat different when it comes to assets. The highest wealth in this country has grown much bigger than the highest incomes. However, this picture of a rather broad distribution of income and greater inequality in wealth is not new. But the perception has apparently changed, Martinez observes. This has been accentuated by inflation in recent months.

What do you think? Join the discussion nowExternal link in the new weekly debate on “dialogue”, an offer by the SBC.

Swiss Solidarity

Swiss Solidarity, with the support of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, is holding a national solidarity day today on the theme of “Education for all: a future for children and young people in Switzerland and worldwide”.

Swiss Solidarity is calling for donations for children and young people in Switzerland and around the world. The proceeds will be used to support educational projects for children living in conflict situations abroad and to help young people in difficult circumstances in Switzerland to integrate into the labour market and find an apprenticeship.

For those of you in Switzerland, pledges for the “Education for All” campaign can be made today, December 21, from 7am to 11pm on the freephone number 0800 87 07 07 provided by Swisscom. Donations can also be made via TWINT or at the post office counter with the note “Education”. Those of you abroad can also contribute directly online at www.swiss-solidarity.orgExternal link using a credit card, PayPal or through e-banking.