Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
As I write these lines, US President Donald Trump is addressing the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos via video conference.
Expectations have been high among the international elite ahead of the speech by the new leader of the world's leading economic power.
Today we also report on fresh criticism of the Israeli drones bought by the Swiss army – another of their troubled projects. Meanwhile, a candidate to replace outgoing Defence Minister Viola Amherd has yet to emerge.
Happy reading!
Argentina’s president slams ‘wokeism’ in WEF speech
While waiting for Donald Trump’s address, WEF participants heard from one of the US president’s staunch allies, Argentine President Javier Milei, who made a plea against “wokeism”.
Milei wants to restore Europe’s greatness or “make the West great again” by fighting against “wokeism”, he told the Davos audience. It is the “cancer” of our time, he declared, before listing all its evils, attacking LGBT rights, abortion, gender equality, climate protection and migration policy.
The world’s economic and financial elite gathered in the Graubünden resort, who have been observing Trump’s every move since Monday, will now be eagerly watching as he delivers a 45-minute online speech and holds a question-and-answer session.
The discussion could prove lively. The US President has threatened his main trading partners with tariff hikes and increased protectionism. Swiss ministers are also hard at work behind the scenes at the WEF.
After initialling the free trade agreement with Thailand, Economics Minister Guy Parmelin said talks with the new US administration on a US-Swiss free trade agreement could begin. Negotiations between the United States and Switzerland were interrupted under Joe Biden, whereas Trump relaunched them during his first term in office.
- Full article by Swiss public television, RTSExternal link (in French)
Financial audit harshly criticises Swiss drone procurement project
Switzerland’s decision to purchase Israeli drones has come under fire again. An investigation by Swiss public television, RTS, reveals that the drones still can’t handle the cold, while the Swiss Federal Audit Office has published a damning report on the project.
Ten years ago, Switzerland ordered six Hermes 900 drones from the Israeli manufacturer Elbit Systems for CHF250 million ($275.5 million) – a move that excited Swiss army officials. Today, the aircraft’s de-icing system is still not operational, reveals RTS.
As a result, the drones are banned from flying when it is too cold and icy, which in Switzerland is around two months of the year. The problem was first identified in 2020, but since then it’s been business as usual. This is not the only problem with Israeli drones. The Swiss state-owned defence company RUAG is supposed to fit them with an automatic airborne collision avoidance system, which is (also) not operational.
Because of this, Swiss public television, SRF, reported that the drones could possibly collide with birds. Although a launch was announced for 2019, the drones have so far only been flown for testing and training purposes in Switzerland.
The planned purchase of the drones has also been criticised by the Swiss Federal Audit Office. In a report published on Wednesday, it criticised “overly ambitious objectives, inadequate planning and management and insufficient risk and quality management”.
At a time when Defence Minister Viola Amherd has announced her resignation, at least seven other armament and IT projects in the department are in serious difficulty.
- Full article by Swiss public television, RTSExternal link (in French)
- Read the Keystone-SDA news report on SWI swissinfo.ch (in English)
Russia seizes Swiss assets of Ukrainian oligarch’s niece
Russia has seized millions of francs from the Swiss niece of Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man (pictured above), Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported on Thursday.
The 41-year-old’s confectionery business was seized in Kursk, Russia. Moscow has apparently decided to respond to the sanctions imposed by Switzerland by seizing foreign assets.
The niece of Ukraine’s richest man, who has lived in Switzerland for over 25 years, has had her stake in the Russian subsidiary of the Konti group, which specialises in confectionery, confiscated, as well as her company dividends. She estimates the loss at CHF94.5 million ($104 million). The woman has filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland. The office refused to accept her as a complainant but is investigating as it suspects the act was carried out unlawfully by a foreign state. The Swiss courts will regard the Ukrainian as a whistleblower, stating that she is only indirectly affected.
Tax proceedings had already been opened in Russia more than six years ago against the Konti group’s Kursk subsidiary. The Moscow tax authorities sent a request for administrative assistance to Bern. However, this was suspended after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the Ukrainian oligarch’s niece, however, it is clear that Russia would not have confiscated the company if Switzerland hadn’t frozen the central bank’s assets under sanctions.
- The full article in Le TempsExternal link (Paywall, in French)
The 60th anniversary of the Solothurn Film Festival
On January 22, Culture Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (pictured above, in centre) kicked off the Solothurn Film Festival, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
“The Solothurn Film Festival is an opportunity to take stock of Swiss filmmaking,” said Culture Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider at the opening of the festival.
The culture minister recalled that the new wave of Swiss cinema in the 1960s was a reaction to profound social, cultural and political changes. “If we look a little more closely, we see that today Switzerland is in the grip of equally significant upheavals,” she said.
The film L’héritage de Bruno Stefanini (The Legacy of Bruno Stefanini) opened the festival. It’s about the son of Italian immigrants who became a billionaire entrepreneur in Winterthur and a collector of 100,000 objects. The artistic director of the Solothurn Film Festival, Niccolo Castelli, invited the public to reflect on their own heritage, the main theme of this year’s festival.
Documentary films will be in the spotlight this year. Over 60 documentaries are being showcased, compared with 28 fiction films. Six films – four documentaries and two dramas – are in the running for the Solothurn Film Prize, worth CHF60,000 ($66,130).
- News report by the Keystone news agency (in French)
Picture of the day
What better way to strengthen ties between Switzerland and the European Union than a fondue? It was over this traditional Swiss dish that Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (left) and European Union’s new trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, met on Wednesday on the fringes of the WEF annual meeting in Davos.
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Translated from French using DeepL/amva
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