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Kosovo crowd in Bern

The Week in Switzerland

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Welcome to our selection of some of the biggest – and most colourful – stories in Switzerland over the past seven days.
 
This week saw the first state visit to Switzerland by a Kosovar head of state, the evacuation of a mountain village threatened by a landslide, ongoing challenges at Swatch, and disbelief and soul-searching after a Eurovision slap in the face.

Karin Keller Sutter, left, and Vjosa Osmani Sadriu
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter (left) and Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, President of Kosovo, take selfies on Parliament Square in Bern on Wednesday. Keystone / Peter Schneider

Crowds lined Parliament Square in Bern on Wednesday to welcome the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, who was paying the first state visit to Switzerland by a Kosovar head of state.

The two-day visit confirmed the “diverse relations that flourish” between the two countries, said Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in her official speech.

The Kosovar diaspora in Switzerland comprises around 160,000 people. Albanian is the second most widely spoken foreign language in Switzerland, after English.

“Today, numerous second- and third-generation Swiss citizens of Kosovar heritage call Switzerland home. They have become woven into the fabric of our society,” Keller-Sutter said. “Whether they’re football stars, teachers, mechanics, managers or politicians, they have all helped shape our nation for decades. Their success stories are also Switzerland’s success stories.” One of these success stories is Xherdan Shaqiri, the Kosovo-born Swiss football star, who met Vjosa Osmani Sadriu at a state banquetExternal link on Wednesday night.

Blatten
Locals and their dogs observe the site of the rockfall on a flank of the Bietschhorn mountain in the Lötschental valley on Monday. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

On Monday, all 300 residents of Blatten, a mountain village in the Lötschental valley, were evacuated due to the “imminent danger” of a rockslide.

The authorities made the call following a debris flow high above the village in the Kleines Nesthorn and Birchgletscher region.

It wasn’t immediately clear when residents – and cows and sheep – could return home. Alban Brigger, an engineer for the region specialising in natural disasters, told a news conference on Wednesday that an unstable mass of rock and a glacier remained key concerns – in particular, the prospect that falling rock could dislodge masses of ice. On Thursday evening another part of the acutely unstable area broke off. Two-thirds of the unstable material has already fallen.

The waiting and the uncertainty are a burden for the evacuees, Lutgard Werlen, a doctor in a neighbouring village, told the Tages-Anzeiger. She said she was mainly dealing with elderly people – “they were simply overwhelmed”. Some asked for sedatives, others simply wanted someone to talk to.

Swatch
Swatch watches in the Swiss Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. EPA/SHERWIN

Tough times for Swiss watch company Swatch, the owner of 16 watch brands including Omega, Longines and Tissot. Investors appear to be looking elsewhere, and criticism is mounting of the Hayek family.

At the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, activist investor Steven Wood failed, as expected, in his bid to get a seat on the board. Wood had argued that Swatch’s premium brands, in particular, needed urgent attention.  

Swatch shares are down 25% over the past year. At their peak in 2013, shares were trading at about CHF600 ($725) and the company reported profits of nearly CHF1.6 billion. Last year Swatch reported a 75% fall in net profit to CHF219 million; on Friday its shares were trading at CHF142.

Three family members sit on the seven-member board of directors: CEO Nick Hayek Jr, his sister Nayla and her son Marc. “In German we say beratungsresistent: resistant to advice. That is the essence of the problem . . . it is a sad story,” a consultant to the watch industry told the Financial Times.

Eurovision hosts
Eurovision hosts Michelle Hunziker, Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer (from left) react to Switzerland receiving no points from the public. Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel was widely considered a success – but the voting process left a sour taste for many Swiss fans.

It was all going so well. Swiss entrant Zöe Më was in second place after the votes from 26 expert juries had been totted up. How many points would the public in 36 other countries give Switzerland? Enough to pip Austria and win for the second year in a row?  

“Switzerland, viewers all over the world have awarded you … zero points.” Oof. Zöe Më was stunned, the Swiss television commentators thought there had been a mistake, the faces of the three hosts – who otherwise were smiles and high spirits all night – said it all.

“Are we really that unpopular in the rest of Europe? We don’t feel like celebrating after the result. We just want to go to bed,” two Swiss viewers told 20 Minuten. For her part, Zöe Më took the result like a pro, blowing a kiss to the camera. She later said coming second in the jury vote meant everything to her and she could “go to bed very happy”.

Cosplay
A cosplayer at Fantasy Basel in 2021. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The week ahead

The Women’s Euro football tournament 2025, hosted by Switzerland, kicks off in Basel on July 2. On Monday organisers will explain the programme of events.

On Tuesday the Federal Office of Public Health will give its annual assessment of health costs and health insurance premiums.

Also on Tuesday the European Space Agency (ESA) will inaugurate the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI) in Villigen, canton Aargau – the first ESA presence in Switzerland. On Friday ESA turns 50.

The weird and wonderful will descend on Basel on Thursday for Fantasy Basel, Switzerland’s largest festival for pop culture, cosplay and gaming.

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