The Swiss people, not renowned for their optimism, are in a distinctly upbeat mood about their prospects for the new year, according to an end-of-year survey.

The Swiss people, not renowned for their optimism, are in a distinctly upbeat mood about their prospects for the new year, according to an end-of-year survey.

The Swiss have not felt so good since the boom years of the 1980s, according to the survey published by the Berner Zeitung, contributing to a Gallup International poll on prospects for the year 2000 around the world.

One third of those questioned believe the first year of the new millennium will be a better year than 1999, while only 13 percent say they expect the situation to deteriorate.

Despite a series of recent redundancies, one third of Swiss feel the economic upturn will continue next year, says the survey, but 21 percent feel conditions will get worse.

The result is a considerable improvement on the early years of the 1990s, when Switzerland fell into recession. Between 1992-1996, an average of only 5 percent were optimistic about economic prospects for the following year.

In general, the Swiss are less optimistic for the new year than their European neighbours, according to the survey. But when it comes to feeling positive about economic prospects, the Swiss are apparently in second place in Europe, topped only by the Irish.

From the Berner Zeitung

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