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Swiss Politics

Appeals launched in wake of pre-election riots

This content was published on Oct 7, 2007 Critics accused police of failing to stop the militants while others pointed out that the party of the controversial justice minister, Christoph Blocher, had been stoking tensions with its hardline policies. “I’m saddened by the images of violence,” Calmy-Rey said. “A few hundred extremists can’t endanger our democracy,” she told the SonntagsBlick newspaper. Calmy-Rey said…

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Personalities drive Swiss election campaign

This content was published on Oct 7, 2007 British correspondent Peter Capella tells swissinfo that personalities have played a much bigger role than ever before in Swiss politics, but no major changes are expected. Capella, a veteran journalist who has lived in Switzerland for nearly two decades, is a Geneva-based reporter for news agency Agence France-Presse. He says that despite the more colourful…

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Swiss Politics

Curtain falls on last parliament

This content was published on Oct 6, 2007 swissinfo met five senior politicians in the parliament building over the past few days to hear about their careers and hopes for the future. The new parliament will meet for the first time in December following the general elections later this month. The last waltz began for some parliamentarians as early as last Monday when…

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Swiss Politics

Pacifists celebrate anniversary

This content was published on Oct 5, 2007 The Group for Switzerland without an Army (GSoA) has seen a number of ups and downs during its first quarter century, but believes it has made a useful contribution to public debate and still has an important role to play. The organisation was founded by young pacifists in Olten, northern Switzerland, in 1982, and was…

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Swiss Politics

Parliament puts brakes on UN ambitions

This content was published on Oct 5, 2007 Members of the House of Representatives warned that following this path would deal a fatal blow to the country’s neutrality and that it was too soon to even contemplate such a move. The criticism was levelled against Calmy-Rey’s plan in Bern on Friday, during the final day of the last parliamentary session before the elections…

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Swiss agree to dialogue with EU over tax row

This content was published on Oct 3, 2007 Both sides said on Tuesday that they would resume talking next month, and downplayed the spat. They also announced that negotiations would start in November on linking up their electricity power grids to secure supplies. “We have differences on the tax issue, but we agree to keep on speaking together, and that dialogue will reach…

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Swiss Politics

Money and Elections

This content was published on Oct 3, 2007 This fall Swiss voters are getting ready for their four-year round of choices for members of parliament. The two systems are also quite different in other respects: proportional versus majority voting, which makes for more parties and more candidates in Switzerland, thus deemphasizing personal charisma in the appeal to voters. Also, war and health insurance…

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Swiss Politics

Myanmar in dock at UN rights body

This content was published on Oct 2, 2007 Blaise Godet was addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which on Tuesday condemned Myanmar’s “violent repression” of protests and called on the junta to allow its investigator to visit for the first time in four years. The 47-nation UN human rights watchdog was holding a special session on the troubled southeast Asian country…

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Swiss Politics

Brussels’ man in Bern takes stock

This content was published on Sep 30, 2007 The Austrian, whose official title is European Commission head of delegation to Switzerland, says he misses a fundamental debate on Swiss-European Union relations. He is also following upcoming elections with interest. swissinfo: How would you describe your first few months in your new position? Michael Reiterer: I was amazed by the huge interest in me…

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Swiss Politics

Human Rights Council president wants reform

This content was published on Sep 29, 2007 Doru Costea’s comments came as the Council’s sixth session ended on Friday, against the backdrop of clashes in Myanmar. The Council has planned a special session on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Southeast Asian nation. Costea told the Swiss Le Temps newspaper that changes were necessary following the Council’s failure in the Middle…

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