Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
German firm Siemens is set to deliver up to 200 trains to the Swiss Federal Railways. The Swiss company Stadler has withdrawn its appeal against the awarding of the lucrative contract – but not because it has changed its mind.
Today we also touch on a growing phenomenon in Switzerland: in a country where more and more people are turning away from Christianity, some are still deciding to take the plunge and get baptised – as adults.
Swiss firm Stadler Rail has withdrawn its appeal about a contract to deliver at least 116 double-decker trains which Swiss Federal Railways awarded last November to Germany’s Siemens.
The appeal, filed at the Federal Administrative Court, was intended to force an independent review of the decision. The U-turn is now due to the fact that the documents obtained from the court during the proceedings are, according Stadler, heavily redacted and do not offer sufficient transparency. For Stadler, the fundamental information that would have given the proceedings the necessary basis to continue is therefore inaccessible.
The contract provides for the supply of 116 double-decker trains for Zurich’s S-Bahn and western Switzerland. It is worth some CHF2.1 billion francs ($2.6 billion), with an option to extend by another 84 trains – for a total of 200 trains and CHF3.6 billion.
The affair sparked debates in Switzerland about the practice of awarding public sector contracts. Representatives from across the political spectrum criticised the decision by the Railways and called for Swiss companies to be given priority in similar cases.
The Swiss foreign ministry has summoned the Israeli ambassador in Bern following the recent decision by the parliament in Tel Aviv to extend the death penalty.
“Switzerland rejects the death penalty everywhere and in all circumstances as it is incompatible with the right to life and human dignity,” the foreign ministry wrote.
Tim Enderlin, the head of the ministry’s Peace and Human Rights Division, will outline the Swiss position in person this week to the Israeli ambassador, Tibor Schlosser. The latter, interviewed by papers belonging to the Tamedia group, said he understands Switzerland’s point of view, but that “attention in his country is also focused on the dignity of the victims of terrorism and their families, as well as on preventing further terrorist attacks”.
The new law provides that, in cases of murder with a terrorist motive aimed at destroying the state of Israel, the death penalty or life imprisonment may be imposed. When such cases are judged by Israeli military courts in the Palestinian territories, the death penalty – by means of hanging, and within 90 days of sentencing – is mandatory. The law has been criticised as racist, given that in practice it concerns only the Palestinian people.
Israel had abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954, except in cases of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and military treason. The last individual to be executed in the country following a court sentence was Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
More and more people are moving away from the Christian faith. But a reverse trend is also gaining ground: adult baptisms. The phenomenon, which is particularly intense in neighbouring France, is also more widespread in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
In France, 13,000 adults have taken the leap this year, an increase of 28% on 2025. In Switzerland, the numbers are more modest, but rising. Before Covid-19, around 15 adults were baptised each year in the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg. In 2025 there were 59 and this year they have risen to 130, reports RSI.
According to Massimo Gaia, delegate of the bishop of the diocese of Lugano, such people approach Christianity “not out of tradition, and not because it is customary”, but “as the fruit of a search” and a personal choice. In a secular context, he added, these are people who have “never received any Christian teaching, but approach faith precisely out of conviction”.
However, this is hardly set to have a major impact on the general trend in Switzerland of moving away from Christianity. While in 1970 just 1.2% of the population had no religious affiliation, by 2024 it had risen to 36.8%. The percentage of people of Protestant and Catholic faith fell from 95.5% in 1970 to 48.7% in 2024.
An Easter peace march on Monday in Bern attracted more than 1,200 people who expressed solidarity with victims of violence around the world.
The sizeable number of participants was a strong signal against growing militarisation, indicated the organisations behind the event. Last year, around 800 people took part.
“We are overwhelmed by news about bombs, massacres, famines. And the most frightening thing is not the violence itself, but the speed with which we become accustomed to it,” said Virginia Köpfli, president of the women’s peace movement Frieda.
The tradition of Easter marches, which happen across the world, dates back to the 1960s, when pacifist movements took a stand against nuclear weapons. In Bern, the tradition somewhat faded towards the end of the Cold War, but saw a revival in 2003 after the US invasion of Iraq, recalls the Keystone news agency.
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