Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Swiss ambassador Ralf Heckner had to take cover under a table at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington on Saturday night. Shots were fired and the attacker was caught. Heckner shares his experience of those dramatic minutes.
Warm greetings from Bern
On Saturday evening, several shots were fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in the US capital Washington, just metres from American President Donald Trump. Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner experienced the attack up close – under a table.
Heckner, who was only 10 meters away from Trump, kept his cool. In an interview with the CH-Media papers, he said that his experience as a crisis manager in Kenya helped him. He had made a mental note of the emergency exits in advance and knew exactly where to flee while security forces jumped over the tables.
Despite the attack, the after-party at the Swiss ambassador’s residence was not cancelled. The organisers jointly decided to hold the events under tightened security precautions. According to Heckner, the guests enjoyed the evening even if the mood was understandably subdued after the dramatic scenes at the Hilton Hotel.
According to Heckner, the American president struck an unusually conciliatory tone and condemned political violence. For the ambassador, this was the right message at the right time to avoid fuelling the already tense situation caused by political rifts.
Digital revolution or bureaucratic nightmare? The new IT system of the Swiss unemployment insurance offices was supposed to speed up processes. But four months after its launch, chaos still reigns – and clerks are once again reaching for pen and paper.
Instead of digital efficiency, Swiss unemployment insurance offices are experiencing a return to the paper age, according to an article by Der Bund. Because the new system only has rigid templates, employees sometimes write letters to the unemployed by hand or use post-its. According to employees, in order to complete the process digitally, “fake letters” have to be created and handwritten items painstakingly scanned.
Hopes for savings have turned into the opposite. The complexity of the Asal 2.0 IT programme is leading to an increase in staff instead of job cuts. In cantons such as Schaffhausen or Lucerne, the number of employees has already been increased by up to 27%. In addition, some employees have resigned because of the new system. Experts expect hundreds of new hires throughout Switzerland, as it can take more than a year to familiarise themselves with the unstable system.
The Swiss government reported system failures that lasted for days, blocking thousands of files. Insiders warn of a collapse in the event of the next crisis. If unemployment figures rise abruptly, they say they would be “lost” because the inflexible system does not allow for any workarounds, which could jeopardise the disbursement of funds.
From today until Thursday, the House of Representatives will meet for a special session to discuss various pending topics. This will also include a symbolic nod to a historical injustice and a ban on new motions during these four days.
Declarations are popular in the House of Representatives, although they remain legally non-binding. One such declaration was adopted today on the recognition of the persecution of the nomadic Yenish and Sinti peoples as crimes against humanity. By 1973, around 2,000 children had been taken from their families. The gesture is now intended to enshrine Switzerland’s historical responsibility in parliament.
In order to reduce the number of pending motions, a ban on new motions applies for the first time. Their number has risen by 70% in 15 years. Whether this will help is questionable. Skeptics expect that the members of parliament will simply submit their motions at the next session, which would only serve to postpone the problem.
From the red carpet in Cannes to the Federal Criminal Court: The Karimova case shows how an Uzbek “princess” used Switzerland as a conduit for bribes. In Bellinzona, much more than just her reputation is now at stake.
At the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, Switzerland is hearing one of its largest money laundering cases starting today. According to author Balz Bruppacher, who has been observing the case for years, Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan’s long-time authoritarian president Islom Karimov, used 30 bank accounts to hide hundreds of millions of francs in bribes. The fact that Lombard Odier, a Geneva-based private bank, is also accused, makes the trial puts entire financial center on notice regarding due diligence obligations.
The legal hurdle is high. Karimova has been in custody in Uzbekistan since 2014 and cannot appear in court. The court must therefore first decide whether absentia proceedings are admissible.
The return of the funds follows an unusual path. Since Uzbekistan is still highly corrupt, according to Transparency International, the money flows back via a UN fund. Today, this is used to specifically finance projects against child mortality.
Translated using AI/ac
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