Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Tomorrow, the "SwissCommunity Days", a new format of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, will begin in Bern. Over two days, the Council of the Swiss Abroad will meet in the Federal Palace for exchange and political work. Not only is the format new, the Council is being fundamentally renewed with 71 newly elected delegates out of a total of 140.
Also in the news today is a worrying increase in femicides in Switzerland, good news about pensions and a melting ice giant.
Warm greetings from Bern
New SwissCommunity Days in Bern: Following the direct online elections in over 40 countries, the Council of the Swiss Abroad will start the new legislature tomorrow with many newly elected delegates.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Council of the Swiss Abroad. For the first time, the “SwissCommunity Days” will take place in Bern, a new format that will replace the previous Congress of the Swiss Abroad of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), at least this year.
At the SwissCommunity Days, the current and new members of the Council of the Swiss Abroad – which has been fundamentally renewed with 71 newly elected candidates out of a total of 140 – will meet in the Federal Palace. Online direct elections were held in over 40 countries this spring. The result is a higher proportion of female delegates in the Council.
Workshops and discussions will prepare the delegates for their new role and focus on the most important concerns of the diaspora. On the second day, the new Council members will be officially confirmed, the board will be elected and a resolution on the e-ID will be passed.
The Congress, which serves as a platform for political work but also social exchange and networking, will now only take place once per legislature. The next time will be in 2027 due to declining numbers of participants and declining sponsorship money. Swissinfo will be on site at the SwissCommunity Days and will report on all the developments.
Another femicide in Switzerland: A man killed his ex-partner and two children. Government minister Beat Jans travelled to Spain to find out how femicides are being tackled preventively there.
This year, 22 women have already been killed in Switzerland in femicide crimes. This figure is more than in the whole of last year, as the Tages-Anzeiger writes. The latest victim is a 47-year-old Algerian woman who was stabbed to death by her ex-partner last Tuesday in Corcelles near Neuchâtel. The man also killed their two daughters.
The increase in these offences is also alarming politicians. Government minister Beat Jans travelled to Spain, where a lot is being invested in combating violence against women. A central register records acts against women and potential perpetrators are monitored. There are warning signs ahead of almost every femicide. Often there is a background of domestic violence as well as a recent separation.
Government minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has also spoken out after the murders in Corcelles. She appealed to those affected to seek help. The urgent measures adopted by the government in June include, among other things, more places in emergency shelters and increased prevention.
New forecasts show that the Swiss pension system is stable in the medium term – provided that the financing of the 13th pension payment is secured. Without a solution, there is a threat of a billion-dollar hole from 2026.
Is everything not as bad as previously thought? “The old-age pension finances are suddenly in good shape,” writes the Aargauer Zeitung. The new figures from the government predict that the funding gap will disappear in the medium term.
On one condition: the financing of the 13th pension payment must be clarified. Otherwise, a billion-dollar hole will open up from 2026. “In 2035, the deficit will be CHF4.2 billion,” says the newspaper. However, if the additional tranche were to be financed with an increase in VAT or wage contributions, the pension system would be relatively secure in the medium term.
The reason for this is that there will be more people in employment in the future than previously assumed. Due to the additional income, the operating result will never be negative until 2040 and the pension fund will grow to CHF66 billion instead of shrinking, as previously assumed.
A small damper at the end: the Federal Social Insurance Office points out that the figures are “subject to great uncertainty”.
Consequence of global warming: An Italian study predicts that the Aletsch Glacier will disappear in 75 years. This also has consequences for the stability of the mountains.
A few weeks ago I stood on the Aletsch Glacier for the first time. It was impressive to learn that there are several hundred meters of ice under my crampons. And sad at the same time, as this ice is melting away inexorably.
As early as 2100, the glacier as we know it today could have disappeared, RTS reports today. This gloomy prophecy comes from the Italian environmental organization Legambiente. At around 20 kilometres long, the Aletsch Glacier is still the largest glacier in the Alps. But between 2000 and 2023, it has declined by an average of 40 meters per year. If things continue like this, ice will only remain in the uppermost layers, the glaciologists emphasise.
The researchers are also concerned about the influence of melting ice on slope stability. On the left slope of the valley, the receding glacier has left cracks that have become larger over time. They call for better glacier monitoring, international cooperation and scientific studies to manage the consequences of global warming in the Alps with foresight.
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