Swiss Politics

Should the role of president carry more weight?

This content was published on Dec 3, 2012 Merkel, Monti, Mursi and Obama are all well-known players on the world stage. In times of crisis, they work together and even talk to each other on the phone, but because of the Swiss president’s one-year term limit, Switzerland is often left out of the conversation. The head governmental position has little meaning, as the…

Swiss Politics

President makes the government’s voice audible

This content was published on Dec 3, 2012 On December 5, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate will gather to elect the president for next year. Based on cabinet seniority, it will be Defence Minister Ueli Maurer’s turn at the helm. The president leads government meetings and represents the country abroad on state visits. While still pursuing his ministerial activities,…

Swiss Politics

What would we do without each other?

This content was published on Dec 2, 2012

Swiss Politics

Switzerland poised to keep EU at arm’s length

This content was published on Dec 2, 2012 Swiss voters came out in droves on December 6, 1992. In a country where voters are called to the polls four times per year, and participation rates are rarely more than half, turnout was historically high at 78.7 per cent. By putting the ratification of the EEA agreement to the people, the cabinet was seeking…

Swiss Politics

Switzerland and EU “at breaking point”

This content was published on Dec 2, 2012 Although Switzerland remains an important trading partner for the EU, Brussels is no longer prepared to have arrangements with Switzerland made to measure, according to Russotto. Switzerland cannot risk jeopardising its position in the internal market, he says. “It is time to widen the debate.” swissinfo: Where were you on December 6 1992 when Switzerland…

Swiss Politics

Swiss say vote “will revive” two-state solution

This content was published on Nov 30, 2012 “We believe that granting Palestine [non-member] observer status at the United Nations will revive the concept of a two-state solution,” Seger noted after the vote. He added however that the Swiss backing did not mean Bern was now ready to recognise Palestine as a state on a bilateral level. That would depend on the outcome of…

Swiss Politics

Gender quotas unlikely for Swiss economy

This content was published on Nov 29, 2012 Companies listed in EU countries could be forced to have more women on their boards, with a target of 40 per cent by 2020, under rules proposed by the European Commission earlier this month. In 2010 just four per cent of senior executive positions in Switzerland were held by women, and women made up 8.3…

Swiss Politics

Six-year sentence for BVK pension fund fraud

This content was published on Nov 28, 2012 The court handed down a six-year prison sentence to the 57-year-old who accepted bribes of up to SFr1.7 million ($1.8 million) while employed by the employee pension fund of the canton of Zurich. In the course of the bribe-taking, the man displayed “extreme criminal energy”, operating in a highly sophisticated way, the judge said. The…

Swiss Politics

Does Palestine UN vote threaten Swiss neutrality?

This content was published on Nov 28, 2012 Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter explained that the decision did not mean that Switzerland was taking sides in the Middle East conflict. Rather, the government hoped that it would provide a new impulse to get the peace process moving again. The statement to be delivered by Switzerland’s UN representative will also stress that the new status…

Swiss Politics

Israeli-Palestinian conflict reaches Bern

This content was published on Nov 28, 2012 The exhibition, The Nakba – Flight and Expulsion of the Palestinians 1948, currently visiting the Kornhaus Forum in the Swiss capital, was put together by a German association supporting refugee children in Lebanon. The history of Palestine and its residents since 1917 is documented on 13 large displays. “We young people should know what is…

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Should the role of president carry more weight?

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President makes the government’s voice audible

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What would we do without each other?

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Switzerland poised to keep EU at arm’s length

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Switzerland and EU “at breaking point”

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Swiss say vote “will revive” two-state solution

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Gender quotas unlikely for Swiss economy

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Six-year sentence for BVK pension fund fraud

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Does Palestine UN vote threaten Swiss neutrality?

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Israeli-Palestinian conflict reaches Bern

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