The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Swiss newspaper editorialists were busy this week, commenting on an “undisclosed romantic relationship”, an eyebrow-raising trip to China by a former government minister, and the decision in Zurich to abolish early French lessons. Plus, a massive survey reveals the mood in Switzerland.
Shown the door – what else? On Monday Nestlé fired its CEO, Laurent Freixe, for failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a subordinate.
“Love in the workplace is first and foremost a private matter. But the dismissed Nestlé boss has crossed a red line,” reckoned the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). “Things get tricky when there’s a power imbalance”. By concealing the liaison, Freixe made himself vulnerable to blackmail and opened the door to conflicts of interest, the NZZ concluded.
“In a country where, in 2024, eight out of ten people said they had had a relationship (flirtation or sex) with a colleague, the sudden ousting of Nestlé’s CEO raises questions,” wrote the Tribune de Genève. “Embroiled in its turnaround operation, did the multinational not have more pressing matters to deal with? Or did it seize an opportunity to get rid of a manager who hadn’t performed to its satisfaction?”
The Financial Times chipped in, pointing out that Nestlé, “a totem of corporate Switzerland, is now facing one of the most difficult periods in its 160-year history. It has had three chief executives in just over a year and a share price that has sunk 40% since 2022”.
Freixe was hastily replaced by Nespresso boss Philipp Navratil, who has been with Nestlé for 24 years but only joined its executive board this year. “Time to borrow a solution from government and install corporate veeps?” wondered the FT.
Former Swiss government minister Ueli Maurer continues to ruffle feathers, this time by posing with some of the world’s less democratic leaders. Reaction in Switzerland has been heated but mixed.
On Wednesday Maurer joined Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un and others in Beijing for a major military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. No leaders of big Western countries attended.
Retired government ministers were split. Maurer was “acting against the interests of his own country” and was damaging Switzerland’s reputation, according to Moritz Leuenberger.
Joseph Deiss was even more critical. “In Beijing […] autocrats and internationally wanted people such as Vladimir Putin are being presented with a new world order that suits them – and Mr Maurer is supporting this with his visit,” he said. He added that if Maurer “wants to make a fool of himself as Xi Jinping’s lapdog”, he’s free to do so.
However, former Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey took a different view. “As far as I know, we’re not at war with China,” she said. “At a time when the US is imposing punitive tariffs on Switzerland, there’s no harm in maintaining relations with China.” Calmy-Rey even questioned whether Switzerland shouldn’t use its former government ministers more for diplomatic purposes, like in France.
Maurer, who stepped down from government in 2022, told Swiss public broadcaster SRF that he was in Beijing in a private capacity. “Respect for China demands that we take part here,” he said. “China has never bullied us in any way but has always supported us. Our neutrality should not build borders or erect walls but be open with everyone.” Maurer admitted he had not told the current government of the visit.
“Embarrassing but meaningless,” was the verdict of Blick, which said Maurer’s appearance damaged his own image more than that of Switzerland. For the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), the fuss was “overblown” and “distracts from the fact that Bern is still struggling in its dealings with Beijing”.
Maurer has form when it comes to making controversial trips abroad. When he held the rotating Swiss presidency in 2019, he visited China, Russia and Saudi Arabia and was received in the White House by Donald Trump.
Should youngsters in German-speaking Switzerland be taught French? No, says Zurich’s cantonal parliament. Is national cohesion falling apart?
The authorities ruled on Monday that pupils in canton Zurich should in future only learn French from secondary school or high school onwards – and not from year five, as is currently the case.
Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told Swiss public television, RTS, she was “concerned” by this decision “because it calls into question the strategy on national languages that had been decided” and “it questions our relationship to our living together and to our linguistic diversity”.
However, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reckoned it was a good call. “French plays virtually no role in [German-speaking pupils’] everyday lives; it’s a language that exists only in the classroom. The same applies to German west of the River Saane (Sarine). When French-speaking and German-speaking Swiss meet, after a few stammered saluts and hallos they switch to hello. Only in English do people meet at eye level.”
The world may appear gloomier lately, but one thing has remained remarkably constant: the Swiss population’s satisfaction with their lives.
This is according to three polls by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation involving more than 50,000 people between 2023 and 2025.
The pollsters identified three main reasons for the general sense of well-being: two out of three respondents perceive their financial situation as relaxed; four out of five are not worried about potentially losing their jobs; and nine out of ten are largely unworried about their personal safety.
However, only 20% of respondents agree with the statement that children in Switzerland today can grow up more carefree than any other generation before them – down from 32% in 2023. Also, 84% say people in Switzerland have become more inconsiderate and selfish in recent years.
The week ahead
On Tuesday the Federal Electricity Commission will announce the price of electricity for 2026.
On Thursday the Pax Art Awards 2025 will be handed out in Basel to digital artists.
Friday and Saturday are Swiss Wood Days 2025. This year Bern will show off what wood can do.
Edited by Samuel Jaberg/ac
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