Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Have you ever been on a ski tour? Since this weekend, I can finally answer that question with a “yes”. I also learned that the sport is tough, and I have great respect for everyone who does it regularly.
Today, the world’s top ski mountaineers competed against each other for the first time at the Winter Olympics. And once again, Switzerland had reason to cheer: Marianne Fatton from canton Neuchâtel won gold in the sprint edition of the discipline.
Enjoy the read.
Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek has taken aim at the Swiss National Bank (SNB). In an interview with papers from the CH Media group, he called on the SNB to do more to tackle the strength of the Swiss franc.
Many Swiss SMEs are facing “huge difficulties due to the extreme appreciation of the franc”, Hayek said. Some firms see relocation abroad as their only remaining option, he claimed. The passive official Swiss approach makes his hair stand on end, Hayek added. For him, the SNB should recognise that the “extreme overvaluation of the franc” is harming the country.
Hayek suspects a link with the “joint statement on macroeconomic and exchange rate issues” signed by the Swiss finance ministry, the SNB and the US Treasury Department after Washington imposed new tariffs. “Perhaps they wanted to avoid Switzerland ending up on a US blacklist of currency manipulators through anticipatory obedience,” he said.
CH Media examined this currency agreement in a separate article. “Signing such a declaration in the middle of a customs conflict was probably meant as a gesture of goodwill. Switzerland did not want to come under pressure simultaneously on tariffs and monetary policy,” the newspapers wrote. But the price could be high: “The de facto renunciation of interventions to weaken the franc hits the export industry hard.”
After US-led talks between Russia and Ukraine ended yesterday in Geneva without a breakthrough, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated that the next round of negotiations could also take place in Switzerland.
In yesterday’s briefing, my colleague Katy Romy reported that both Kyiv and Moscow described discussions as “difficult”. Although no concrete results were announced, all parties signalled their willingness to continue negotiations.
In an interview with British presenter Piers Morgan, Zelensky said the next meeting should again be held in Switzerland and that the negotiation process should remain in Europe. “If there is war in Europe, then we must find a place here. Europeans must realise that this is an attack on us and on Europe,” he said.
Switzerland is keeping a low profile for now. Contacted by the Keystone-SDA news agency, the foreign ministry confirmed that remains in contact with all sides and continues to offer its good offices. “If the parties wish, Switzerland is ready to organise a further round of talks,” it said.
The Swiss government wants to boost the exchange of information between cantonal police forces. It has launched a consultation on two legal amendments that would allow all cantonal forces to connect to the Polap search platform.
At present, a Swiss police officer can directly access certain EU police information systems, but not those of neighbouring cantons. “Currently, officers must submit individual requests in each case. It is complicated, inefficient and slow,” Justice Minister Beat Jans said at a press conference on Tuesday. As a result, a perpetrator of domestic violence in one canton may not be flagged in another.
“Cybercriminals and professional gangs of burglars do not stop at cantonal borders,” Jans said. The government thus proposes amending the law so that all cantonal forces can use the platform, which has operated at national and European level since 2024. Since a constitutional change is required, the proposal will be put to a vote of the people and the cantons. Implementation is not expected before 2029.
“The gaps when it comes to exchange of data are the result of excessive federalism in Switzerland,” says criminologist Daniel Fink, author of a book on the Swiss police. Efficient information-sharing systems are essential, he argues, noting that lists of wanted persons already existed in the eighteenth century. “However, we must ensure that data protection rules are respected,” he adds.
The Valais public prosecutor’s office met with Italian prosecutors in Bern today to clarify cooperation in the Crans-Montana case.
Coordination between Switzerland and Italy will be “stepped up” in the investigation into the bar fire that claimed 41 lives, the Italian and Valais authorities said after the meeting. Ahead of the talks, former Ticino senator Filippo Lombardi told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) he hoped they would help ease tensions between the two countries. After the New Year’s fire in Crans-Montana, in which six Italians were killed, Italy sharply criticised Switzerland and temporarily recalled its ambassador from Bern.
In recent weeks, Lombardi has appeared on several Italian television talk shows to explain the actions of the Valais judiciary, at times facing strong criticism.
In the NZZ interview, the former Centre Party politician argued that Italian politics is instrumentalising the Crans-Montana case in two ways: “On the one hand, to stir up sentiment against Switzerland. On the other, to convey to voters that, unlike in Switzerland, the government can influence the judiciary via the public prosecutor’s offices.” He linked this to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s proposed judicial reform currently under discussion in Italy.
Gold for Switzerland: Marianne Fatton from canton Neuchâtel has become the first Olympic champion in ski mountaineering.
The 30-year-old picked up the sport just over ten years ago and quickly celebrated her first successes. In 2015, she was crowned junior world champion.
Today, she added Olympic gold to her list of wins. According to Swiss public television, SRF, it was her speed in the transitions that made the difference. Fatton strapped her skis to her back – and later back onto her boots – so quickly that even long-time world number one Emily Harrop could not keep up. In the final descent, Fatton pulled decisively ahead, securing the first Olympic gold in the history of ski mountaineering. It is Switzerland’s 13th medal at the Milano Cortina Games.
The discipline is making its Olympic debut this year. Whether ski mountaineering will remain on the programme at the 2030 Winter Games in France will be decided this summer.
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