Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Politics and French-speaking Switzerland took centre stage over the weekend.
While the Radical-Liberals came out surprisingly clearly in favour of the package of agreements with the EU, the cantonal elections in Geneva and Jura saw the Swiss People's Party make great strides – a significant result, according to a political scientist.
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The Green Party’s Nicolas Walder was elected to the Geneva cantonal executive in the second round of the by-election. In the Jura, no one won an absolute majority on Sunday in the first round of the election to the cantonal government. The second round is set for November 9.
After the resignation of Antonio Hodgers, the Greens will retain their seat on the Geneva State Council. According to the final results, Nicolas Walder is ahead of the People’s Party candidate Lionel Dugerdil by 5,604 votes. The turnout was 32.3%.
On Sunday, the people of Jura went to the polls to elect their government and parliament. Turnout reached 41.5%. During the election to the government, the three outgoing ministers came out on top. In the Jura Parliament, the Centre gained two seats and remains the main force, ahead of the Social Democrats (16 seats/+3) and the People’s Party (11 seats/+4). The other parties regressed and the Liberal Greens disappeared off the political map.
One of the major issues at stake in the elections was the potential of the Swiss People Party getting a foothold in the Geneva and Jura governments, which would have been a first. In Geneva, the party candidate Lionel Dugerdil did not succeed, but he obtained an unprecedented result. And in the Jura, Fred-Henri Schnegg is well placed for the second round. For political scientist Andrea Pilotti, “the People’s Party’s themes have taken hold in Geneva and in the Jura. Two border cantons is not insignificant.”
At an assembly in Bern on Saturday, the members of the Radical Liberal Party clearly took a position in favour of the agreements with the EU negotiated by the Federal Council. They also appointed their new president.
At the end of the discussions, 330 members said yes, 104 no, to the agreements negotiated with the EU by the Federal Council. The outgoing president of the party, Thierry Burkart, said that this was not yet a final position. The party’s final line will only be set before the future popular vote.
After the announcement a few days ago of Burkart’s resignation, the party has also appointed two co-chairs: parliamentarian Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher and senator Benjamin Mühlemann. They were the only candidates.
On Monday, the Swiss People’s Party called for the rejection of the package of new agreements with the EU. It criticised a “colonial treaty” of submission to the EU and a danger to direct democracy.
There are many cross-border human resources directors (HRDs), especially in the canton of Geneva, RTS revealed on Sunday. Many people think that this situation encourages the hiring of other cross-border workers, but there are no statistics to prove it.
According to figures obtained from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), 22% of the HRDs active in the canton of Basel-City are cross-border workers, and the percentage rises to 45% for the canton of Geneva.
But the figures from INSEE and the FSO date from 2022 and do not include exactly the same professional categories. They must therefore be handled with caution and reflect more of an order of magnitude. “We must always be wary of hasty interpretations,” says Xavier Studer, spokesperson for the FSO.
Since 2002 and the entry into force of the free movement of persons in Switzerland, the number of cross-border commuters has increased by 250%. However, the statistics show that the curve in the number of unemployed has not jumped in the border cantons. In addition, protection mechanisms exist to promote jobseekers who reside in Switzerland.
Journalist Julian Perrenoud has compiled the portraits of 26 Swiss Abroad in a book. This trip not only allowed him to see the world from a different perspective, but also to get to know herself better.
Ten years ago, Julian Perrenoud moved to Canada. Thanks to his volunteer work in a club of the Swiss Abroad, he heard many stories about Swiss expatriation and had the idea of making a book about it: 26 people, from each of the 26 cantons and living in 26 different countries.
The Schwytz native interviewed and photographed Swiss Abroad using his smartphone – a work tool that was stolen in Colombia. “Fortunately, I was able to block everything in time and back up my photos,” he says.
According to Perrenoud, often it is an overly rigid daily life that has motivated these Swiss to leave the country. These trips have left their mark on him: “Without the many cultural influences from all over the world, I would probably be more reserved, shy and conservative today.”
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