The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Have you been affected by the conflict in the Middle East? In Switzerland, economists have calculated that if oil remains permanently above $105 (CHF83) a barrel, it would be the equivalent of a loss in income of CHF750 per person per year. At the time of writing, a barrel of Brent crude costs $107.
The conflict in the Middle East is having a direct impact on Switzerland, in particular tourism, economic growth and energy supplies.
“Flight cancellations, flight diversions and a drop in international travel are taking their toll on visitor numbers, particularly in Geneva, where hotels are already seeing a fall in bookings,” Swiss public broadcaster RTS reported on Wednesday. It noted that many flights from cities such as Kuwait, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh had been cancelled. At Zurich Airport only a quarter of the flights to these destinations were being maintained, it said. “Hoteliers in Geneva are very worried,” it added.
Also on Wednesday the KOF Centre for Economic Research and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) both lowered their forecasts for Swiss GDP growth this year from 1.1% to 1%. “The conflict in the Middle East has led to a sharp rise in international energy prices since the end of February,” SECO said. “This is dampening the international economic outlook and is expected to result in higher inflation rates, including in European and Asian trading partner countries.”
Although Switzerland doesn’t directly depend on the Persian Gulf for its energy supply, an extended Middle East conflict and high energy prices would have consequences for the Alpine country. On March 9, the price of oil exceeded $100 (CHF79) per barrel for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. If oil prices were to stabilise permanently at $90 per barrel, this would equate to a loss in average income per person of around CHF200-400 per year, KOF co-director Hans Gersbach told Swiss public broadcaster SRF. In the case of an oil price permanently above $105, income losses would be around CHF500-CHF750 per person, he said. On Thursday, a barrel of Brent crude hit $111.
A 61-year-old woman died in a cable car accident in the Engelberg-Titlis ski resort in central Switzerland on Wednesday when a cabin crashed down a snowy mountainside.
The woman, who lived in the region, was alone in the gondola. Between 100 and 200 people were evacuated from the lift’s 40 other gondolas, each of which can carry eight people. On Friday the gondola manufacturer said the accident was due to “an unexpectedly strong gust of wind”, which blew the cabin against a pylon. The impact unhooked it from the support cable.
Ski lift accidents are rare in Switzerland. The worst gondola lift accident occurred on July 12, 1972. The traction cable of a cable car travelling between Betten and Bettmeralp in canton Valais snapped, causing it to race back down the valley where it crashed. Thirteen people died.
Cable cars have a long tradition in Switzerland. The first cable car opened in 1866. Around 2,400 installations are currently in operation.
The spring session of parliament wrapped up on Friday. Issues on which majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives agreed included double surnames for couples, the federal budget relief package and the food initiative.
On Monday parliament decided that married couples can once again choose a double surname. This had been abolished since 2013 as a step towards gender equality. Now, however, in a move to give citizens more freedom of choice, couples who marry or enter into a registered partnership will soon be able to keep their family name, take their partner’s or create a double-barrelled family name (with or without a hyphen). Children will not be allowed to have a double surname – only the single surname of one parent.
The following day parliament finalised the federal budget savings package. Compared to the government’s proposal, the federal budget cuts for 2027-2029 have been reduced by around 40%. One of the outstanding issues had been contributions for the education of the Swiss Abroad: parliament wanted to make fewer cuts here than the government.
Also on Tuesday parliament rejected the food initiative, which called in particular for agricultural policy to be adapted to encourage the production and consumption of plant-based rather than animal-based food. The text also sought to increase Switzerland’s degree of self-sufficiency from 46% to at least 70%. These demands were seen by a majority as unrealistic and extreme. The government has also rejected the initiative. Voters will have the final say.
Ursula Andress, arguably Switzerland’s most famous film star, turned 90 on Thursday.
“Even on Ursula Andress’s 90th birthday, there is no actor – male or female – in Switzerland who has come close to what the woman from Ostermundigen has achieved,” Swiss public broadcaster SRF wrote on Thursday.
On October 5, 1962, a young girl from a Bernese suburb had cinemagoers spitting out their popcorn when she emerged from the sea with a knife tucked into a skimpy white bikini. The iconic image of Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in Dr. No, the first James Bond film, meant the Swiss actress, despite being dubbed because of her heavy Swiss-German accent, is today often considered the quintessential Bond Girl.
“This bikini made me into a success,” she admitted in 2001, before it was auctioned for £41,125 (about CHF92,000 at the time). While that scene was arguably the high point of her career, it certainly opened many doors for her. She was given star billing in 1965’s What’s New Pussycat? and appeared as Aphrodite in Clash of the Titans (1981).
Andress will be celebrating her birthday quietly at home in Rome, according to SRF.
Edited by Pauline Turuban/ac
The week ahead
Monday sees the publication of the government’s education report for 2026 and the crime figures for 2025.
The Swiss Cultural Centre in Paris re-opens on Tuesday following four years of renovation. The opening ceremony will be attended by Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.
The winners of this year’s Swiss Film Prize will be presented with their awards in Zurich on Friday.
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