![The four-metre-long painting "Sonntag der Bergbauern" [Sunday of the Mountain Farmers, 1923-24/26] had to be removed by a crane from the German Chancellery in Berlin for the exhibition in Bern.](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2025/12/01_Pressebild_KirchnerxKirchner.jpg?crop=1165px,0px,1670px,1670px&w=480&ver=f05a5a9c)
Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The parliamentary winter session is entering its final stretch. On the agenda today are the ongoing negotiations with the United States, the “No to a 10 million Switzerland!” initiative and a proposal to cap the number of federal employees.
Cybertrucks have been spotted on Swiss motorways, but only on transport lorries. Whether the vehicles will ever be allowed on Swiss roads remains uncertain, as Switzerland finds itself caught between negotiations with the US and the regulatory approaches of the EU.
Sunny regards from Bern!
It is the final week of the parliamentary winter session. Here is Tuesday’s political round-up from Bern. Parliament has recommended rejecting the “No to 10 million Switzerland” initiative and a proposed cap on federal staff numbers.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have recommended a “no” vote on the Swiss People’s Party’s initiative “No to 10 million Switzerland!”, which seeks to curb immigration. Parliament argued that the proposal would create new problems rather than solve existing ones. The Senate also rejected counter-proposals to the initiative.
The initiative presents voters with an ultimatum: limit immigration or end the bilateral agreements with the EU, as parliamentarian and former Centre Party president Gerhard Pfister said. Pfister’s successor, Philipp Matthias Bregy, also supports this position, arguing that public concerns must be addressed to avoid jeopardising Bilateral Agreements III.
Also happening in parliament: the House of Representatives debated a proposal to cap the number of federal employees, a proposal that was jointly put forward by the Swiss People’s Party and the Radical-Liberal Party. The federal administration currently employs around 39,000 full-time staff, costing roughly CHF6.5 billion ($8.17 billion) out of a total federal budget of CHF86 billion.
Incoming Swiss President Guy Parmelin warned that such a cap would reduce flexibility and complicate the implementation of parliamentary mandates. Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian Esther Friedli criticised the government for lacking an entrepreneurial mindset, while Social Democrat Eva Herzog cautioned against the “illusion that the use of artificial intelligence can drastically reduce the number of jobs as it is already known how error-prone AI is, and its use must be controlled by humans”.
A report published by Amnesty International Switzerland today has criticised the police response to a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Bern in October, describing it as unjustified and excessive.
The assessment is based on Amnesty’s own observations and around 180 witness statements. The unauthorised demonstration on October 11 escalated into serious unrest, causing millions of francs in property damage. Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon. According to the authorities, 18 officers were injured.
Amnesty criticised the use of “kettling”, in which protesters are encircled. The organisation said the measure was implemented suddenly, without clear warning, preventing people from dispersing and placing vulnerable individuals at risk. Amnesty also identified shortcomings in police communication, with announcements audible only on the square of the Federal Palace and contradictory instructions causing confusion.
The Bern cantonal police responded that the deployment had been announced in advance. Police commander Christian Brenzikofer told Keystone-SDA that the aim of the operation was to separate violent groups from peaceful demonstrators.
A study by the University of Zurich and the Swiss Health Observatory highlights significant regional disparities in the availability of paediatricians, down to municipal level.
According to the study, the Central Plateau and eastern Switzerland are most affected. In many municipalities there are 0.6 paediatricians or fewer per 1,000 children. The situation is slightly better in the Lake Geneva region and in canton Ticino, while canton Zurich is facing a serious shortage. According to the Zurich Paediatricians’ Association, around 190 full-time paediatricians currently care for 270,000 children and adolescents, with one in four doctors aged over 60.
The study shows that shortages are particularly acute in rural areas, where family doctors often provide paediatric care. The responsibility is heavier outside cities, one doctor explained to the Tages Anzeiger, because referrals to colleagues are less readily available.
The situation is expected to worsen. By 2029, around a quarter of current paediatricians are expected to retire. High workloads, night and weekend shifts and comparatively lower pay are deterring new recruits, as is the growing administrative burden, says study author Michael von Rhein in the Tages Anzeiger.
The Parliament has backed negotiations with the United States but Switzerland remains caught between the US and the EU, navigating a delicate path on issues such as chlorinated chicken and Tesla’s Cybertruck.
Parliament supports ongoing negotiations with the United States on a trade and economic agreement. Yesterday, the foreign affairs committee of the House of Representatives endorsed the mandate, while adding that Switzerland would not be obliged to ensure that the promised CHF200 billion ($250 billion) in private Swiss investment in the US actually materialises. A proposal to rule out concessions to Washington, for example on vehicle approvals or meat imports, was rejected. This afternoon, negotiations with the US moved a bit further. The foreign affairs committee of the Senate also approved the negotiating mandate, with a vote of 10 to 0, with 2 abstentions.
As the Tages Anzeiger notes, possible concessions on chlorinated poultry or the approval of Cybertrucks remain declarations of intent rather than binding commitments. For now, neither chlorinated chicken imports from the US nor Tesla’s angular pickup trucks are likely to appear on Swiss roads or supermarket shelves. Switzerland and the EU are negotiating separately with Washington, and European safety rules remain decisive.
“The Cybertruck is essentially an experimental vehicle,” Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, as cited by the Tages Anzeiger. With its sharp stainless-steel edges, it is “too dangerous for Europe,” the German Social Democrat said.
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