Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

The upcoming biodiversity initiative has once again highlighted the gulf between town and country in Switzerland. We interview a winegrower and author about the complex relationship between two worlds that, in his opinion, don’t speak the same language. 

More on that and other news and stories from Switzerland on Wednesday.

Brienz, in central Switzerland. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

In the news:  Landslide inconvenience, the strong franc and inflation, the strong franc and food production, banning fur imports, and an increase in business travel.  

Parts of the popular Swiss tourist resort of Brienz remain closed off following a landslide earlier this month. Road and rail links continue to be disrupted by an unusually large mass of rock and debris that fell on the town. Electrical, safety and cable installations were also affected. Clearance work is continuing.

Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan said the franc’s strength played a key role in keeping inflation low compared with the United States and the euro area. The fact that price growth never exceeded 3.5% in recent years is mostly down to the country’s exchange rate, Jordan said yesterday.

However, the strong franc has forced another prominent symbol of Swiss food production abroad. Having laid off a large proportion of its Swiss-based workforce last year, confectionary company Hero has announced a new production facility in Spain. Hero follows a trail already blazed by the likes of Toblerone, which now manufactures in Slovakia, and candy maker Sugus, which has moved some operations to China.

The Swiss government has proposed a ban on the import of furs produced in cruel conditions along with a ban on their trade within Switzerland. Today it submitted its draft for consultation, which will last until November 22.

Swiss business people are travelling by air more often again. In the first half of the year, the number of tickets bought by Swiss companies rose by 10%, according to a survey published today.

Vincent Guignet

The upcoming biodiversity initiative has once again highlighted the gulf between town and country in Switzerland. Winegrower and author Blaise Hofmann explains the complex relationship between two worlds that don’t speak the same language. 

The initiative, on which the Swiss will vote on September 22, aims to oblige public authorities to devote more space and resources to nature. This has angered some farmers, who fear it will severely restrict food production, but most people who live in built-up areas support it.

In this interview, winegrower and author Blaise Hofmann explains why 1996 was a “pivotal year” for the gap between town and country in Switzerland, why the divide is in fact smaller in Switzerland than in many other countries, and why it’s important for city dwellers to understand the efforts agriculture is making in terms of ecology.

Yann Sommer in action. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Sports fans have to know how to mourn, declared the Tribune de Genève, following the recent retirement of Yann Sommer, former goalkeeper for the men’s national football team. What does the loss of top athletes mean for a nation’s identity?

“When it comes to sport, ‘Swissness’ has taken a nasty beating in recent years,” the Tribune de Genève wroteExternal link in an editorial. “First, it was Roger Federer who let us down. On Monday, Yann Sommer retired from international sport. One day, it will be [skier] Lara Gut-Behrami’s turn to call it a day. Three athletes who have represented or still represent very strongly what our country is, or how we think we see it.”

That’s the way life is for fans, the paper said – “you have to know how to mourn”. The “best goalkeeper in the history of our little footballing country” had decided to make way for a younger, more ambitious player. “We know what we had, but not necessarily what we’ll get.”

The newspaper notes how Sommer “has been with us” for over ten years. “He’s always been good, he’s had some exceptional results, our national team has reached a lot of milestones with him and we’ve been able to come together in his wake – especially when he had the good idea of saving a penalty from Mbappé one evening in June 2021,” the paper said, referring to his penalty save against FranceExternal link that meant Switzerland went through to the quarterfinals of the Euros.

“All that will now be relegated to the status of memories, and we’ll tell future generations about them like Federer’s titles or Gut-Behrami’s runs, assuring kids that ‘things were better before’. But sport, like life, is an eternal restart, the Tribune de Genève concluded. “And anyway, we still have [world champion skier] Marco Odermatt…”