Switzerland today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
It's a week that starts with a bitter aftertaste for Swiss ice hockey fans. After dominating the home World Cup until the semi-finals, the Swiss national team saw its dreams of glory fade away last night against Finland.
However, gratitude prevails towards a team that has ignited emotions, a feeling that SWISS airlines also wanted to demonstrate in a rather unusual way.
Enjoy the read!
For the fifth time in five finals, the Swiss national ice hockey team failed to win gold last night and had to settle for the silver medal.
The title went to Finland, who managed to score the winning goal in overtime in Zurich after a balanced goalless game. The defeat hurts particularly badly, writes the Tages-Anzeiger, not only because the Swiss were undefeated in the tournament (defeating winners Finland a few days earlier 4-2), but also because the team’s stars, such as Roman Josi and Leonardo Genoni, are no longer at their peaks and new talent hasn’t swooped in.
“Clubs, federations and leagues are called to action. They must finally join forces to lead Swiss ice hockey into the future,” writes the Tages-Anzeiger.
Although there was no fairy tale ending, the team certainly took fans on a memorable journey. While Switzerland and Finland were still facing each other on the ice, an Airbus of the Swiss International Airlines traced a heart-shaped circuit over Zurich before continuing its journey.
The summer session of parliament opened today. Particularly heated discussions are expected on topics such as the free trade agreement with Mercosur, Swiss aid to Ukraine and the question of financing pensions.
This year, the thirteenth payment of the old-age and survivor’s pension voted for by the Swiss will be paid out for the first time. So far, parliament has not yet reached an agreement on how to finance it but by the end of the session the solution will finally be known. On the table is a temporary increase in VAT, combined or not with an increase in salary contributions.
The controversial free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries is another hot topic. The Greens have already announced a possible referendum, while the agricultural sector is expressing strong scepticism and calling for support measures to offset the effects of market liberalisation.
The left also criticises the intention to involve the Swiss private sector on an unprecedented level in supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine. Parliament will have to vote on a federal law that provides for CHF500 million in incentives for Swiss companies engaged in projects in the country.
Today the press also wrote about French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan being invited to the Swiss parliament by Swiss Social Democrat parliamentarian Carlo Sommaruga, of. Her positions on the conflict in the Middle East are criticised by those who oppose the recognition of Palestine and accuse Hassan of anti-Semitism.
Exactly 10 years have passed since the inauguration of the Gotthard Base Tunnel , which completely redesigned Swiss and European public transport.
When travelling between the north and south of the Alps in the past, train enthusiasts would marvel at the train snaking up the spiral and loop tunnels on the old Gotthard line. This extraordinary engineering marvel has been largely supplanted by another one: the longest railway tunnel in the world, inaugurated on June 1, 2016. It stretches 57 kilometers almost in a straight line and allows trains to reach speeds of 200 km/h.
If in 2015 there were 9,000 people crossing the Alps daily, in 2025 there were 16,400. The number of passenger trains, however, decreased from 89 to 66, while the number of freight trains remained stable (from 87 to 89). The trains themselves, however, are much longer than those that could pass on the old line.
Travel times for a trip from Zurich to Milan have been reduced from just over 4 hours to 3 hours and 17 minutes. However, this is far from the 2 hours envisaged in 1992, when the Swiss people had voted on the project for the New Alpine Transversal (which in addition to the Gotthard base tunnel also includes the Monte Ceneri tunnel, inaugurated in September 2020, and the Lötschberg tunnel, in service since 2007). A lofty goal destined to remain so.
The huts of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) are increasingly confronted with “no-shows”. Hikers book but then don’t show up, often without canceling. Now the SAC wants to make everyone pay.
This behavior creates serious problems for managers: the huts are officially full but remain partly empty, with organisational and economic consequences. Guardians still have to cook, shop, and schedule staff based on reservations, even when many guests don’t arrive.
The phenomenon is significant: about 40% of bookings are cancelled (twice as much as in conventional hotels) and thousands of overnight stays are lost without cancellation, 1% of the total, Watson points out in an article on the subject. This is despite the fact that 2025 was a record year, with more than 400,000 overnight stays in SAC huts.
To counter the problem, the SAC is considering the introduction of a booking fee valid for more than 150 huts and the launch of an awareness campaign with the German and Austrian alpine clubs. A decision on this is expected in mid-June during the assembly of delegates of the SAC.
Translated using AI/ac
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