Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Every year, many young Franco-Swiss dual nationals living in Switzerland avoid Swiss military service by attending a single information day in France. Swiss politicians now appear determined to put an end to this.
We also look at how the Crans-Montana tragedy is casting a shadow over what is usually a carefree carnival season – before turning to canton Aargau, which could become the first in Switzerland to regulate speed cameras at constitutional level.
Happy reading!
It could become more difficult for young people with dual nationality living in Switzerland to get out of Swiss military service. Political momentum is building to change the rules, as the daily 24heures reports.
The focus is on Swiss–French dual nationals. Around 1,000 young people each year avoid both military service and the military exemption tax in Switzerland simply by taking part in a civic information day in France.
A motion calling for an end to this exemption for Swiss–French dual nationals was adopted by a clear majority in the Senate. The House of Representatives, however, is pushing for a broader solution that would also apply to dual nationals from other countries. According to 24heures, positions are unlikely to shift in the March parliamentary session. The House of Representatives will therefore have to decide in June whether to align itself with the Senate or to maintain the status quo – the former appears the more likely option.
Defence Minister Martin Pfister wants to resolve the issue more quickly than parliament. Official talks with Paris are planned in the coming months. Switzerland could also act unilaterally by no longer recognising the French information day as a sufficient alternative to military service. Any change in practice would not apply retroactively.
The toll of the Crans-Montana fire disaster rose again over the weekend with the death of a young man who had been hospitalised in Zurich. The tragedy is also affecting carnival celebrations across Switzerland.
The latest victim was an 18-year-old Swiss national from Lutry in canton Vaud, who died at Zurich University Hospital. This brings the death toll from the New Year’s Eve fire at the Le Constellation bar to 41. Five other people injured in the blaze remain in critical condition in Zurich.
Carnival events taking place across the country until the end of February are being held under heightened security. Additional safety measures have been announced for most celebrations, including the three largest carnivals in Basel, Lucerne and Bellinzona.
In Sierre, canton Valais, organisers cancelled the traditional burning of the winter effigy. “Here, everyone knows someone affected by the tragedy,” said Jérémie Zuber, president of one of the town’s three carnival committees. “But we also have a mission to bring smiles back to people’s faces and help them get through this difficult period.”
A long-standing stereotype in Switzerland portrays residents of canton Aargau as particularly poor drivers. It is therefore somewhat ironic that voters there will decide on March 8 whether to restrict the use of speed cameras – known locally as “radars”.
As the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) notes, no other canton debates speed cameras as intensely as Aargau. Local media revisit the issue regularly, and politicians return to it at least every two years.
Voters will decide on an initiative launched by the youth wing of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party entitled “Stop the radar excesses!”. If accepted, Aargau would become the first canton to regulate speed cameras in its constitution. Under the proposal, the installation of speed cameras and fixed traffic-light detectors would require cantonal authorisation. Currently, this responsibility lies with municipalities. The initiative, supported by both the cantonal government and parliament, would also require devices to be signposted. Semi-stationary cameras could only be used for a maximum of 72 hours.
Given the intensity of the debate, one might assume that Aargau is saturated with speed cameras. In fact, only one permanent radar is currently in operation – in Baden.
Tim Guldimann, a former parliamentarian and former Swiss ambassador to Iran and Germany, has spoken out in Schweizer Illustrierte about the geopolitical tensions surrounding the Trump administration and how Switzerland should respond.
He doesn’t mince his words. He describes US President Donald Trump as “a scoundrel without a conscience” and sees Washington’s actions in Venezuela and its ambitions regarding Greenland as signalling the end of a rules-based world order. “The US government is no longer interested in treaties or international law,” he says.
Guldimann doesn’t believe Switzerland should mirror the White House’s tone, but he argues it should adopt a clearer position. “Federal President Guy Parmelin, for example, has not ruled out joining Trump’s controversial Board of Peace. A simple ‘we don’t see the need’ would have been enough,” he says.
On relations with the European Union, Guldimann welcomes the agreement on Bilaterals III, but he warns that initiatives such as the Neutrality Initiative or the proposal of a population cap known as the “No to a 10 million Switzerland” initiative could undermine it. “What is missing is leadership from the federal government,” he says. “It should explain how these projects interact and what truly matters. Instead, it hides behind the supposed will of the people – and that creates uncertainty.”
Translated using AI/amva/ts
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