Swiss Politics

Senate

This content was published on Sep 11, 2006 The Senate (also referred to as the Council of States) consists of 46 members and is the smaller parliamentary chamber. Its members represent the 26 cantons. The “full” cantons, of which there are 20, each send two representatives to the Senate, while six “half” cantons have one senator each. The Senate and the House of…

Parliamentary Committee

This content was published on Sep 11, 2006 Parliamentary committees, which exist for both chambers, examine issues related to their area of expertise and put forward recommendations to their respective chambers. The finance committee, for example, analyses budget questions. There are 12 permanent committees for each parliamentary chamber. Their composition reflects the weight of the political parties in parliament.

Navigating the party between left and right

This content was published on Sep 10, 2006 Darbellay outlines the current challenges of walking the political tightrope in Switzerland, which remains sharply polarised between left and right. The parliamentarian from canton Valais, who was elected president of the centre-right Christian Democrats on September 2 with 214 out of 218 votes, recently stirred up controversy with his comments that Justice Minister Christoph Blocher…

Swiss Politics

Austrian president emphasises common bonds

This content was published on Sep 7, 2006 Fischer, who was received by members of the Swiss government on Thursday in the capital Bern, hailed the pluralistic tradition of Switzerland and said he was an admirer of Switzerland’s impressive stability. Besides bilateral accords, discussions focused on European and international issues, notably the situation in the Middle East, with both countries seeing themselves as…

Swiss Politics

Swiss pledge additional funds for Middle East

This content was published on Sep 6, 2006 The funds are intended to allow emergency relief work to continue in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The additional funds approved by cabinet take the total Swiss contribution to just over SFr20 million. The government gave the Swiss-led International Committee of the Red Cross SFr5.2…

Swiss Politics

Solution to Iran crisis “likely to take time”

This content was published on Sep 1, 2006 Tim Guldimann, who now teaches at Frankfurt University, says that two tracks are now being pursued by the international community – dialogue and possible sanctions. Guldimann was speaking a day after Iran failed to heed a United Nations deadline for it to halt its nuclear programme or face possible sanctions. Iran has said it will…

Swiss Politics

No rest for the partisans

This content was published on Aug 31, 2006 But when it comes to politics, America is divided and polarized as never before. Consensus-ruled Switzerland has another year to wait for parliamentary elections. My late summer thoughts are of Swiss National Day, which we celebrated this year on Ellis Island in New York Harbor. The festivities were impressive and joyful. In the presence of…

Lebanon aid meeting to help shattered country

This content was published on Aug 30, 2006 The donors’ conference in Stockholm hopes to raise $500 million (SFr615 million). A separate meeting is scheduled for Friday on the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories. After one month of hostilities, the lives of many Lebanese and their economy lie in tatters. Israeli air strikes destroyed more than 80 per cent of infrastructure in…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet urges integration of foreigners

This content was published on Aug 30, 2006 The federal authorities will launch a pilot project in the next few weeks aimed at offering jobs to people who have refugee status. Justice Minister Christoph Blocher said the government had given an interdepartmental working group the task of coming up with concrete measures by June next year. At a media conference on Wednesday Blocher…

Swiss Politics

High gun suicide rate linked to easy access

This content was published on Aug 29, 2006 Every day, one person kills himself or herself with a gun, more often than not a military weapon – a fact the authors say is directly connected to lax Swiss firearms legislation. According to the study, published in the current edition of the American Journal of Public Health, Switzerland and the United States have the…

Swiss Politics

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Swiss Politics

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Senate

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Parliamentary Committee

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Navigating the party between left and right

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Austrian president emphasises common bonds

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Swiss pledge additional funds for Middle East

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Solution to Iran crisis “likely to take time”

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No rest for the partisans

More

Lebanon aid meeting to help shattered country

More

Cabinet urges integration of foreigners

More

High gun suicide rate linked to easy access

Popular Stories

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