The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
As silverback Yeba settled into the gorilla enclosure in Basel Zoo this week, some other alpha males – the heads of six large Swiss companies – travelled to the White House to try to convince US President Donald Trump that a trade deal would benefit both countries.
Also in this briefing we look at the four issues on which the Swiss – including those living abroad – will vote on March 8, some alarming Swiss climate projections, and the risks of not learning a national language – even if you’re a star chef in one of the country’s best hotels.
The CEOs of six large Swiss companies have taken part in trade talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington, in an attempt to lower the 39% tariffs on Swiss goods entering the country.
The meeting in the White House was attended by Jean-Frédéric Dufour (watchmaker Rolex), Diego Aponte (shipowner MSC), Johann Rupert (luxury goods giant Richemont), Daniel Jaeggi (commodities trader Mercuria), Marwan Shakarchi (gold refiner MKS PAMP) and Alfred Gantner (Zug-based investment company Partners Group). They stressed that a bilateral trade agreement would significantly strengthen economic exchanges, to the benefit of both countries.
The meeting was held “in a constructive spirit” and enabled the Swiss business leaders to “reiterate support for the ongoing talks” between the two governments, they said in a statement. The CEOs said they didn’t take part in any direct negotiations with the president.
“It’s a good thing that Swiss entrepreneurs are lobbying Trump – hoping for the Supreme Court is futile,” wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) in an editorial on Thursday. “The economy cannot rely on the American judiciary. If the judges overturn the US president’s tariffs, he’ll find new reasons for his favourite means of exerting pressure.”
The climate in Switzerland is becoming hotter, drier and more unpredictable. What’s more, temperatures could rise even more than predicted, according to a report on Swiss climate scenarios.
Compared with average global warming, the climate drift in Switzerland is more pronounced, said the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) and the federal technology institute ETH Zurich on Tuesday. While the global temperature has risen by 1.3°C, the warming compared with the pre-industrial era has already reached 2.9°C in Switzerland.
According to the researchers’ calculations, the rise in temperature in Switzerland will reach 4.9°C if the planet warms up by 3°C.
These figures represent an increase of 10-15% compared with previous climate scenarios for 2018. According to the report, this warming will mean more heatwaves, more droughts, heavier rainfall and less snow.
“Switzerland’s climate future is bleak,” wrote news website Watson on Tuesday in an article on climate realism. This is a belief that efforts to limit climate change to international targets are unlikely to succeed, so governments should start preparing for the consequences of a warmer world.
The Swiss will vote on four issues on March 8 – three initiatives and one referendum – including the financing of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo’s parent company.
The “CHF200 is enough!” initiative, organised by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, wants to reduce the annual radio and television licence fee from CHF335 ($414) to CHF200. In addition, companies should be exempt from the fee altogether. If the initiative is rejected, a direct counterproposal from the government will apply, lowering the licence fee to CHF300.
“Despite this counter-project from [Communications Minister Albert] Rösti, the initiative has a chance at the ballot box,” wrote Blick on Wednesday. “The SBC is facing an election campaign under tightened conditions: it must itself report in a balanced way on the initiative, which would massively restrict it.”
Voters will also decide on the cash initiative (which wants to guarantee supplies of cash and the use of the franc as the national currency) and the climate fund initiative (which will force the authorities to channel funds towards a comprehensive approach to combating climate change).
An alliance who organised a referendum against the introduction of individual taxation argue that this would not lead to greater equality. On the contrary, they say, individual taxation would place a heavier burden on families, single people and the middle class, while high-earning dual-income households would benefit.
Twin sisters Vilai and Virat Kanjan, two of the world’s most decorated Asian chefs, spent three years cooking at the five-star Bürgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne. But because their spoken German wasn’t good enough, they were told to leave the country.
“We left Spices [one of the Bürgenstock restaurants] because we didn’t pass the German exam,” Virat Kanjan told Nau.ch on Tuesday, saying they had been too busy working to study German.
The Swiss Foreign Nationals and Integration Act requires third-country nationals to integrate if they are staying in Switzerland for a longer period.
But when one door closes another opens: the 60-year-old twins from Bangkok already have a new job at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, where they have taken over the kitchen of the Fidelio restaurant.
The week ahead
If you’re in the Swiss capital at 11.11am on Tuesday (the 11th day of the 11th month), head to the Käfigturm (prison tower) to see the city of Bern lock up its carnival bear (someone in a bear suit). Exactly 111 days later Bern’s carnival kicks off when the bear is woken by drumming and liberated.
That’s pretty tame compared with what happens in the central Swiss town of Sursee on Tuesday, St Martin’s Day. The Gansabhauet tradition involves blindfolded revellers trying to decapitate a dead goose hanging from a wire. Here’s a guide I wrote a few years ago to Gansabhauet and four other bizarre Swiss customs.
If after all that you need a drink, the two-day beer trade fair, Bärner Bier Rundi, starts on Friday at the BERNEXPO event hall. It’s a chance to taste many new and interesting craft beers, experience the regional beer culture and learn about local breweries.
Edited by Samuel Jaberg/ac
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