Switzerland Today
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Switzerland Today
Greetings from Switzerland!
We start today with a corporate crime thriller: did Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider jump out of office or was he pushed? The general opinion is that Schneider was axed by the company’s board in favour of Nestlé veteran executive Laurent Freixe, who takes over the helm at the start of September.
Nestlé share prices fell on the news before recovering most of their value. Which just goes to show that the markets never like unexpected news and volatility – but they always get over it pretty fast.
Now we bring you the other main news of the day.
In the news: most terror suspects are teenagers, more aid to Sudan and the most popular baby names.
- Switzerland is one of several countries calling for fresh supplies of humanitarian aid to be sent to Sudan with the population of the war-torn country facing famine.
- Two-thirds of terrorism suspects arrested in western Europe are teenagers, marking a reduction in the age of suspects, according to a Swiss expert.
- A total of 431 songs have been submitted for selection as Switzerland’s entry at the next Eurovision Song Contest – hoping to emulate the success of Nemo’s The Code next year.
- Two people have died in a paragliding accident near the summit of the Breithorn mountain in canton Valais.
- Mia and Noah were the most popular Swiss girls and boys names for newborns last year.
Helping people out of poverty
Switzerland is not known for poverty, yet around 8.7% of residents (745,000 people) fall below the breadline in the rich Alpine state. The worst thing about poverty in Switzerland is that some of the hardship could be prevented.
Swiss public broadcaster SRF has highlighted the CHF1.2 billion in annual welfare paymentsExternal link that are never paid out – because people do not claim them.
Around 30% of people who are entitled to social benefits do not apply for them, either because they are ignorant of their entitlements or too ashamed to claim.
Some cantons and municipalities are going to some lengths to remedy the situation, either by broadcasting the range of welfare options available to people or finding likely recipients by going through tax records and other data.
Welfare includes supplementary benefits that are paid out to people who cannot afford to live on their income or pensions.
A total CHF5.5 billion was paid out in supplementary welfare in 2022, according to the most recent figures. This was CHF51 million more than the previous year.
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