Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The tragedy that marked the start of the year in Switzerland, the fire in a nightclub in Crans-Montana, remains the main topic covered by the Swiss media. Shock and mourning for the victims continue to prevail, but there is also discussion of responsibilities and consequences.
We then report on how Nicolás Maduro’s capture was received by the Venezuelan community in Switzerland.
The 40 people, including 20 minors, who died in the New Year’s Eve fire at Le Constellation nightclub in Crans-Montana, southwestern Switzerland, have been identified.
Twenty-two of the dead, aged 16-39, are Swiss, eight French and six Italian. The others are Portuguese, Belgian, Turkish and Romanian. In addition, 119 people were injured, 35 of whom were hospitalised abroad, in Italy, Belgium and France. All of them have also been identified.
On Sunday, hundreds of people, including many officials, attended the mass in honour of the victims in the resort. A day of national mourning was declared for January 9. French President Emmanuel Macron will also be present at the planned commemoration ceremony, the Elysée announced.
Given the young age of many of the victims, many schools are directly or indirectly affected. A psychological support mechanism has been activated at the resumption of classes in schools in canton Valais and the neighbouring canton of Vaud.
Investigations have so far established that the fire in Crans-Montana was triggered by some pyrotechnic candles that set fire to the ceiling of the restaurant. A criminal investigation for culpable homicide, culpable injury and culpable fire has been opened against the couple who run it.
The investigation will now focus on the renovation work carried out by the couple in the past, the materials used, the conformity of the fire exits and the fire-fighting equipment. It is not yet clear whether proceedings will also be taken against the municipal administration, which has in the meantime announced its intention to bring a civil action.
After questions appeared in the press about the fact that the bar owners were not arrested, the Valais public prosecutor’s office explained in a statement that the conditions for detention do not exist, as there is no suspicion that the two wanted to evade investigation and possible punishment.
“We have to ask ourselves what went wrong and where, and we have to intervene. Justice must also play its part. We owe it to the victims and their relatives,” said Economics Minister Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, in an interview with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Parmelin said there would be a pre- and a post-disaster Crans-Montana.
The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States and the latter’s attack on the South American country has provoked strong reactions in Switzerland. Meanwhile, the Swiss government has decided to freeze any assets deposited in Switzerland by Maduro and people close to him.
Foreign ministry spokesman Nicolas Bideau called for deescalation, moderation and respect for international law “which includes respect for the prohibition of the use of force and the territorial integrity of sovereign states”. Yesterday some 200 people demonstrated in Bern against the US intervention, calling for the immediate “condemnation of this aggression contrary to international law”.
Today the government decided to freeze with immediate effect, as a precautionary measure, any assets deposited in Switzerland by the Venezuelan president and people linked to him. With this measure, the government said it intends to prevent a possible outflow of these assets. This is in addition to the sanctions against Venezuela, which have been in place since 2018.
Around 1,500 Venezuelan nationals live in Switzerland, many of whom are in exile after fleeing Maduro’s regime. The Tages-Anzeiger met some of them. Mixed feelings emerge within the community, mainly related to concerns about what will happen in the country, but in a non-representative survey conducted by the newspaper in the Zurich and Basel regions, no one regrets the US intervention and the fall of the Maduro regime.
“I don’t like Trump, I don’t like his migration and customs policies, but I’m glad he got this man out of the country,” said Winterthur-based Venezuelan Ingrid Valbuena. It was a “belated Christmas present”, she added.
The declining birth rate is a phenomenon that is closely affecting Switzerland and has resulted in a problem that Blick reports on today: the closure of schools and kindergartens in small villages.
In recent years, many schools in small communities have closed their doors or announced their intention to do so. In canton Zurich alone, 18 kindergartens have disappeared since 2020.
With an average of 1.29 children per woman, Switzerland has the lowest fertility rate since surveys began, recalls Blick. In the future, this demographic trend will cause major challenges for the education system. By 2034, there will be 52,000 fewer pupils in primary schools.
The disappearance of schools also has consequences for all the social and economic activities that develop around them. The absence of the possibility of sending one’s children to school close to home also exacerbates the depopulation of small villages, pushing families to leave and not inviting new ones to move there.
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