Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
I have had the pleasure of meeting Alexandre Edelmann, director of Presence Switzerland, on several occasions. He is someone who likes to laugh and share an inside joke, even with strangers. Reading his solemn comments about his organisation’s revised plans for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy underlined, once again, the depth of the aftershocks caused by the deadly Crans-Montana bar fire.
The disaster has left a black mark on Switzerland’s image abroad, one that will take time and effort to repair. A significant part of that task will fall to Alexandre Edelmann and his team.
Sunny regards from Bern
“We can’t pretend it never happened.” That is how Alexandre Edelmann summed up Presence Switzerland’s decision to scale back its programme at the Olympic Games. Two weeks after the tragic Crans-Montana fire, the international impact of the terrible disaster remains considerable. The Swiss foreign ministry is acutely aware that the tragedy has resonated far beyond Switzerland’s borders.
As Swiss daily Le Temps reports, Presence Switzerland, the foreign ministry unit responsible for promoting Switzerland’s image abroad, has decided to cancel several events planned at its House of Switzerland hospitality venues, designed to showcase Swiss values and culture. “We have adapted the programme to take account of sensitivities and to avoid elements that could be misunderstood,” Edelmann said.
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will take place in northern Italy in early February. Among the 40 victims of the New Year’s Day fire, six were Italian nationals; ten were also seriously injured out of a total of 116. Italy has also been one of the most outspoken critics of the bar fire, with both politicians and media strongly condemning the lack of safety safeguards. “What happened was not a simple accident. It is the result of too many people not doing their job – or believing they could make easy money,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference earlier this week.
Le Temps writes that while Swiss actors in Italy are already observing tangible damage to Switzerland’s image, the director of Presence Switzerland believes it is still too early to fully assess the long-term impact.
What is Switzerland’s official position on Iran – and how is a country known for its mediation role navigating the current crisis? That is the question Swiss public broadcaster SRF put to the head of the Swiss foreign ministry’s Middle East and North Africa division.
Protests in Iran erupted on December 28 over soaring inflation. Iran’s deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, it was reported on Friday.
Switzerland elevated its consulate in Tehran to an embassy in 1936 and has long acted as a mediator between Iran and the United States. Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, who heads the Middle East and North Africa division at the Swiss foreign ministry, told SRF that her department remains in close contact with the Swiss embassy in Tehran and continues to fulfil its protecting power mandate.
“We find this appalling. These are dimensions we’ve never seen before,” Schmutz Kirgöz said, referring to the 2,600 deaths confirmed by the Iranian authorities, thousands of unidentified victims and some 20,000 arrests reported so far.
Switzerland represents US interests in Iran, keeping communication channels open in both directions. “This channel is in high demand. We won’t say more about that,” she said.
Of the roughly 180 Swiss citizens currently in Iran, most are dual nationals. “People are responsible for their own safety,” Schmutz Kirgöz noted, referring to a travel warning in place since 2024. “But we are in contact with most of them.” Most of the Swiss travellers in Iran have connected via the Swiss foreign ministry travel app, she said.
Switzerland’s mediating role could also come into play next week at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, where both US President Donald Trump and a “high-ranking Iranian delegation” are expected to attend.
Fines of up to CHF20,000 ($24,948) could be imposed on anyone refusing vaccinations in canton St Gallen in the future. The proposed measure has triggered a record response during a consultation process.
In a draft revision of its health law, canton St Gallen is proposing to introduce mandatory vaccination, along with fines for those who refuse. The proposal is based on the federal Epidemics Act, which allows cantons to mandate vaccinations in cases of significant risk, for example for certain professions or vulnerable groups.
Criticism has been swift. The cantonal government admits it underestimated the response: around 2,500 submissions were received during the consultation. “A new record,” said health director Bruno Damann.
Much of the criticism focuses on the amount of the fines. Although penalties would be income-based, the Swiss People’s Party wants them removed entirely. Others take issue with the term “mandatory vaccination” itself.
St Gallen would not be alone in introducing a compulsory vaccination mandate. Cantons including Basel Country, Basel City, Appenzell Outer Rhodes, Graubünden, Solothurn, Zug, Nidwalden and Zurich already base such measures on the federal Epidemics Act.
Other cantons – including Glarus, Aargau, Thurgau and Bern – do not include such provisions in their cantonal law. In Schaffhausen, as in St Gallen, the draft legislation is currently open for consultation until the end of February.
The Swiss passport has once again been ranked among the “most powerful” travel documents in the world.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a certain pride when holding my red Swiss passport. I am fully aware and grateful of the ease of travel it affords me.
In the latest Henley Passport Index, the Swiss passport ranks third, offering visa-free access to 186 destinations worldwide.
What makes a passport “powerful”? According to the ranking’s publishers, it reflects a country’s political stability, diplomatic credibility and geopolitical influence.
This level of access underscores Switzerland’s diplomatic strength, Blick writes. Beyond visa-free travel, Swiss passport holders also benefit from faster border procedures and shorter queues.
Singapore tops the ranking, followed by Japan and South Korea in joint second place. Switzerland shares third place with Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden.
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