Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Another referendum is due to be held in Switzerland at the end of November. Four proposals are on the ballot. An initial trend survey is surprising because the Swiss Abroad seem to be voting differently than usual.
The war in Israel is on the minds of young Swiss people. Now the Young Socialists Switzerland (JUSO) want the "Israeli war machine to stop being fed", as they put it. They support the controversial BDS organisation.
Good reading!
Swiss Abroad favour motorway expansion
The Swiss Abroad are much more in favour of motorway expansion than those surveyed at home. This is shown by the first Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) survey on the vote on November 24.
As a rule, the Swiss Abroad vote much more ecologically than the voting population at home. But this time, everything seems different.
According to a representative survey commissioned by Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, the majority of the Swiss Abroad currently want to vote in favour of motorway expansion, with 60% definitely or somewhat in favour. Of the 11,183 respondents in total in Switzerland and abroad, only 51% were in favour of the project.
Why is that? Even political scientist Martina Mousson from the political research institute gfs.bern is unsure. “This contradicts the pattern,” she says, adding: “Perhaps the impression of density is stronger among the Swiss Abroad.”
The representative survey commissioned by the SBC also shows initial yes trends for the tenancy law proposals and the proposal for uniform financing in the healthcare system. However, the gfs.bern research institute believes that many things are still possible with five weeks to go before the vote: “The voting campaign and opinion-forming are only just beginning,” says Mousson.
- SWI swissinfo.ch report with charts and further details
Swiss ski resorts facing crisis due to climate change
Lower-lying Swiss ski resorts fear for their existence. The Swiss ski resport town of Leysin in canton Vaud wants to ensure snow reliability with ski cannon – but there’s a problem.
The ski resorts of Leysin, Mosses and Lécherette in canton Vaud are having to review their snow cannon project. They originally planned to install 177 new snow cannon, but objections rained down. However, these objections are not the cause of the delay.
The more serious issue is that the plans would encroach on protected dry meadows.
The federal government has inventoried these meadows because they are important for biodiversity. “Our tourism future is at stake, and the ski lifts are the lungs of these destinations,” says Jean-Marc Udrioz, president of the mountain railway operator, stressing the ski lifts’ critical role in the tourism industry for these regions.
The Braunwald ski resort in canton Glarus is also on the brink of closure. After two loss-making seasons, it urgently needs sufficient snow throughout the season this year. Without it, the lifts will not survive, writes Swiss newspaper Blick.
The newspaper also analyses the reasons for the industry’s struggles: climate change is pushing up costs, making prices increasingly unaffordable for many. Finally, skiing is no longer embedded in Swiss culture as it once was, with cheaper alternatives available.
- Blick’sExternal link analysis of the crisis in ski resorts (in German)
- Swiss public television, RTSExternal link report on the issue in the resort town of Leysin (in French)
Young Socialists Switzerland support BDS movement
The Young Socialists Switzerland (JUSO), the youth fraction of the Social Democratic Party, has decided to support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
JUSO President Mirjam Hostetmann (left in the image above) confirmed the adoption of a corresponding resolution to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).
According to the report, the BDS movement calls for a boycott, withdrawal of capital and sanctions against Israel and is officially categorised as anti-Semitic by several countries.
In fact, the BDS approach is reminiscent of the Nazi slogan “Don’t buy from Jews”, writes the NZZ.
Hostetmann denied the accusation of anti-Semitism and explained that boycotts are a common political tool. Despite resistance within the JUSO, the decision was clear, but not unanimous. The Social Democratic Party has not yet commented on the matter.
- The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)External link article (in German and behind a paywall)
Decline in skilled trades in Switzerland
Fewer and fewer people want to work in skilled trades, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
A typical Swiss employee in 2023 is about 42 years old, male and Swiss. He works full-time in a profession, most likely in an intellectual or scientific field. Fifty years ago, this individual would have been in a skilled trade. As pictured above: a carpenter in an alphorn factory.
The FSO has analysed the development of the workforce over the past 50 years. In 1970, tradespeople made up 25% of the workforce, but this figure has shrunk to around 10%. In contrast, intellectual and scientific professions have grown significantly, now forming 28% of the working population.
“The importance of industry and construction has decreased, and we’ve become a knowledge and service economy,” says Michael Siegenthaler, an expert on the Swiss labour market at the Economic Research Centre at federal technology institute ETH Zurich. “It’s no longer so attractive to work as a craftsman,” Siegenthaler says.
- Swiss public television, SRFExternal link report on the changing world of work in Switzerland (in German)
Picture of the day
The Swiss pumpkin and vegetable weighing championship has taken place in Zurich. Matthias Leuenberger’s squash took second place weighing a whopping 654.5kg or 1,443lbs. “Joy and perseverance during the growing season are very important,” says Leuenberger. The winning pumpkin weighed 725.5kg.
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