Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Defence is one of the main political issues in Switzerland right now. This morning, the topic of ammunition used by Swiss soldiers occupied several debates in the Senate.
Parliamentarians refused to allow soldiers to store ammunition at home. “If we accept this motion, we accept even more femicides and suicides,” one politician warned.
At the same time, the Senate decided that Switzerland must build up sufficient stocks to protect its airspace and maintain domestic ammunition production.
Enjoy your reading,
Ammunition took centre stage this morning in the Senate, where parliamentarians rejected a motion seeking to reintroduce the practice of allowing Swiss soldiers to store handgun ammunition at home.
Parliament had abolished the distribution of army-issue ammunition to take home in 2007. A motion by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party Senator Werner Salzmann sought to reverse that decision, arguing it would strengthen military readiness.
But the text was withdrawn on Tuesday by a majority of parliamentarians, who felt the current security situation did not require the return of ammunition at home. Numerous studies show correlations between ammunition access at home and higher rates of violent deaths, suicides and femicides, Flavia Wasserfallen of the left-wing Social Democratic Party, pointed out.
The Senate did, however, back another motion from Salzmann aimed at preventing the relocation of ammunition producer SwissP Defence. It also accepted a committee motion calling for Switzerland to rapidly increase its air-defence capabilities and to build up sufficient stocks to protect its airspace.
Investment by Swiss companies in the United States could create jobs in Switzerland, says the president of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. But the Swiss public remains unconvinced, according to a survey in Blick newspaper.
“Three to five new jobs in the US create one job in Switzerland,” argued Chamber President Rahul Sahgal in Finanz und Wirtschaft. He acknowledged there may be “occasional job transfers”, but insisted the overall effect would be positive.
The population does not share this optimism.
According to a Sotomo poll for Blick, 69% of respondents are somewhat or clearly opposed to the declaration of intent between the two countries, which would reduce tariffs on Swiss exports to the United States from 39% to 15%.
According to the poll, supporters of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party are the only ones to roundly back the deal signed by the two countries. Even in conservative circles, the agreement is viewed with caution. The main concern cited by respondents is the transfer of data to the US.
The Swiss labour market is becoming more difficult, according to Watson. The population continues to grow, while the number of jobs is stagnating or falling slightly.
Although Switzerland has a high employment rate by international comparison, signs of a slowdown are emerging. Watson analysed Federal Statistical Office data and found that the volume of employment (full-time equivalents) fell by 0.1% in the third quarter.
Zurich has been particularly affected, notably due to the collapse of Credit Suisse bank and staff cuts at other financial institutions. For the first time, the Lake Geneva region now has more full-time equivalents than canton Zurich.
Yet Zurich does not offer the most pessimistic picture. In north-western Switzerland (cantons Aargau, Basel Country and Basel City) and eastern Switzerland (cantons Appenzell Inner and Outer Rhodes, Glarus, Graubünden, St Gallen, Schaffhausen and Thurgau), companies representing 7% and 7.3% of employees, respectively, plan to reduce staff.
More and more Swiss people are skiing abroad. Nearly one in five skiing accidents now happens outside the country, warns national accident insurer Suva.
Many Swiss winter sports fans visit neighbouring countries for cheap skiing in regions like the Tyrol, Savoie or South Tyrol – and accidents are not uncommon. In 2023, Suva recorded more than 2,500 cases in Austria, 2,300 in France and just over 1,000 in Italy.
Compulsory accident insurance remains valid abroad, but coverage varies depending on the country. For destinations with which Switzerland has a social security agreement, Suva covers treatment costs at the foreign country’s standard rates.
Such agreements exist with the European Union, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states, and five other countries, but not with the US or Canada. “For countries that do not have this type of agreement, we reimburse up to twice the amount of costs that would have resulted from treatment in the most expensive Swiss public hospital,” Suva expert Maximilian Gmür is quoted in the press release.
The Advent calendar of Swiss Oddities
Every day until December 24, our newsletter features a surprise article from our Swiss Oddities series – interesting, unusual and sometimes bizarre stories from Switzerland.
Translated from French using DeepL/amva/sb
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
