Switzerland Today
Hello from Bern,
Where today we look at the snowballing story of a discriminatory, but not very discriminating, business decision, as well as at the Swiss media's promotion efforts for a well-known rock band.
In the news: sanctions dodgers, asylum returns, inflation surprise.
- Two Swiss-based commodity trading firms are alleged to have bypassed sanctions on Russia via subsidiaries abroad, Swiss public radio SRF reported today. The firms, which were not named, face an inquiry by the Office of the Attorney General. Neither the OAG nor the economics ministry confirmed this.
- The number of rejected asylum seekers who left Switzerland last year rose significantly, SRF also reported. According to authorities, this increase in “returns” was not just due to increased asylum applications overall, but also to better cooperation with countries such as Algeria.
- Inflation in Switzerland unexpectedly eased in January, with consumer prices rising by 1.3% compared to a year earlier, the federal statistical office announced today. Bloomberg reckons that this could open the door to earlier-than-expected rate cuts by the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
Davos in the news again for the wrong reasons.
The Alpine resort of Davos was having a good run of it in the media for a while. In December, public television SRF streamed its big-budget “Davos 1917”, a historical spy-drama involving nurses and high-altitude intrigue; reviews were not all 10/10, but some called it “historically good”. Since then, it’s been noticed that this year marks the centenary of the publication of Thomas Mann’s “Magic Mountain”, which put Davos on the global map by immortalising – and satirising – the booming tuberculosis sanatorium industry there 100 years ago. And in January, the annual World Economic Forum went off in Davos without fireworks, but also without big hiccups.
Yesterday things crashed down to earth after media reported on the case of a mountain restaurant in the area which had refused to rent snow equipment to Jewish guests – because of various “frustrating incidents” including the theft of a sled and the neglect of equipment on the slopes. The policy, which naturally set off an avalanche of news after being reported by 20 Minuten, was written in Hebrew for the attention of Davos’ (Orthodox) Jewish guests. And while the restaurant owners later apologised and rolled back on the “no sleds for Jews” (the headline in a number of newspapers today) policy, it also maintained that problems remained about the habits of some visitors.
As the Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes todayExternal link, various incidents involving orthodox Jews and tourism operators in Davos have arisen in the past – including disputes about hygiene, and about bringing picnic food into restaurants. Last summer, a dialogue between authorities in Davos and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) broke down; the Davos side complained of a lack of willingness to accept suggestions or feedback, the NZZ writes. Regarding the current affair, next steps are at least clear: police will investigate a possible case of “discrimination or incitement to hatred”; the SIG is also going to raise a case.
All kicking off in Letzigrund.
Recently, Zurich’s Letzigrund stadium has been in the news due to football violence: in a hard-line approach to hooligans, authorities closed an entire sector of FC Zurich’s home ground for a game after fans clashed with police. This summer however, there won’t be an empty seat in the house when on June 29, rockers AC/DC will be in Letzigrund. 20 Minuten writes that despite seated tickets costing from CHF209 ($236), the Australian group “manages more than ever to fill stadiums and sell millions of albums each year” – helped no doubt by newspapers like 20 Minuten and the rest of the Swiss pressExternal link breathlessly announcing its tour dates. In the interest of balance, and to prevent discrimination against lesser-known acts, this journalist would like to point out that a group called “Taylor Swift” will play in Letzigrund 10 days after AC/DC. Everyone deserves a chance!
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