Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Close to New Year's Eve, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis broke his silence. After refusing to be interviewed by the print media for almost a year, he gave a wide-ranging interview to the newspapers of the Tamedia press group, which can be read today.
Between the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and "migratory flows that cause instability", Cassis paints a bleak picture of international geopolitics. However, he believes that a ceasefire in Ukraine could be possible by 2025.
In this newsletter, we also look at the link between Swiss voting behaviour and mortality during the pandemic, and the incredible challenge set by four Swiss rowers.
Enjoy the read
Switzerland is not taking sufficient
account of the threats posed by global geopolitics, worries Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. He argues that Switzerland’s stability depends on a stable relationship with the European Union.
“We have become accustomed to our prosperity and security over the decades; they are almost a divine right,” says Cassis. In the eyes of the Foreign Minister, however, all is not well with the world. He points out that the European Union’s economic health is deteriorating, world trade is falling and the major powers are unashamedly asserting their claims to power, “if necessary by force”.
While he believes that Switzerland is coping “relatively well”, Cassis also sees “symptoms here at home”. He points in particular to the debate on the budget in parliament, but also to the polarisation of opinions. “People are more aggressive in terms of form and methods. I’m not even talking about social networks, which have become an outlet for and an amplifier of the frustrations of a large part of the population,” he points out.
Against this backdrop, continues the minister from the Radical Liberal Party, Switzerland needs to have “a stable, predictable and serene relationship with its neighbours”. With this in mind, he believes that the new package of agreements with the European Union (EU), approved by the Federal Council on December 20, gives Switzerland this much-needed stability.
- Read the full interview with Ignazio Cassis in 24 heuresExternal link (paywalled).
A study has established the link between voting behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic and mortality in Switzerland.
Epidemiologist Matthias Egger and his team analysed data from the first vote on the Covid law in June 2021 for a study published in the European Journal of Public Health. This enabled them to determine that municipalities with a high proportion of ‘no’ votes recorded a higher than average number of deaths during the pandemic.
Egger attributes this link to scepticism about protective measures in these municipalities. “It’s clear that the people who voted no were fundamentally sceptical about the protective measures and therefore respected them less,” explains the epidemiologist.
Previous studies have already shown that socio-economic factors can influence the likelihood of contracting the virus, such as level of education, housing conditions and the number of people infected. The Swiss Health Observatory recently published a report on this subject.
- Read the article on the Watson websiteExternal link (in German).
At the end of the year, some people make good resolutions. Others set themselves crazy challenges. This is the case for four Swiss who are planning to row across more than 4,000 kilometres of ocean for the second time.
“After the first race, we said ‘never again’,” says Samuel Widmer. In 2022, his team of four won the Atlantic Challenge, a rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean between Spain and the Caribbean. The four rowers have finally decided to do it again in 2025. “With time, you forget the bad experiences and keep the good ones,” explains Widmer to Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
From mid-June, the ‘Swiss Raw’ team will be taking part in a race across the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. The athletes will be at sea for more than 60 days. “We row for two hours, then have a two-hour ‘rest’. During that time, we eat, drink, sleep, go to the toilet, clean and repair the boat. We bandages any wounds. We do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until we get back ashore,” explains Widmer.
The race places high physical demands on the rowers. They consume 6,000 calories a day. Despite this, Widmer lost 17 kilos last time. The 30-year-old policeman from Aargau also had to overcome seasickness. “I realised that you could vomit and row at the same time. It wasn’t great, but it gave me a great deal of mental security. Afterwards, I knew I could do it,” he confides.
- Read the SRF articleExternal link (in German)
Picture of the day
The parade of giant polar bears accompanied by aerial dancers and acrobats enlivened the streets of Lausanne during the performance put on by the French troupe Remue-Ménage this weekend.
Adapted from French by DeepL/ac
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