Swiss Politics

Traditional parties lose in Zurich elections

This content was published on Apr 4, 2011 The centre-right Liberal Greens nearly doubled the number of seats in parliament to 19, while their centre-left rivals, the Greens, consolidated their 19 seats and gained a seat in the cantonal government. The small centre-right Conservative Democratic Party, standing for the first time, won six seats. The main losers were the traditional centre-right Radicals and…

Swiss Politics

Politicians reluctant to campaign online

This content was published on Apr 3, 2011 A specialist in political public relations, Mark Balsiger, tells swissinfo.ch that this is a mistake. Balsiger has recently published a book in German on the right approach to election campaigning (Wahlkampf – aber richtig) in which he presents five success stories and offers advice to candidates, including how to take advantage of the internet and…

Swiss Politics

Tamils protest at asylum policy shift

This content was published on Apr 2, 2011 Protestors called for a rethink of a decision in force since March 1, saying the human rights situation in Sri Lanka remained precarious. At the start of the year, the Federal Migration Office said the situation in the country had improved and decided that most asylum seekers could return to the north and east of…

Swiss Politics

Peoples’ will sets the agenda

This content was published on Apr 1, 2011 Considered a cornerstone of Swiss democracy, the initiative system allows any citizen to call for a vote on any issue providing they collect at least 100,000 signatures in support of it. Originally intended as a means for citizens to propose changes to the constitution, people’s initiatives are perhaps now the most effective instrument stakeholders have…

Swiss Politics

Red Cross holds talks in Tripoli

This content was published on Apr 1, 2011 The team arrived on Wednesday at the invitation of the Libyan authorities, the ICRC said on its website on Friday. The officials met the prime minister, the secretary of health and environment and the chief of staff of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. More high-level meetings are planned. The head of the team, Jean-Michel Monod, described…

Swiss Politics

Swiss tell Ivorian ex-president to step down

This content was published on Apr 1, 2011 The violence broke out as supporters of the internationally-recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, apparently launched a final push to oust Laurent Gbagbo, who lost the presidential elections last November but has refused to step down. Switzerland has called for restraint from both sides, especially with regard to violence against civilians. The Swiss call follows a resolution…

Swiss Politics

Discord over National Anthem 30 years on

This content was published on Apr 1, 2011 Surveys have found that much of the population do not know the words and there have also been attempts to modernise the song. The government declared the Swiss Psalm, as it is known, the national anthem on April 1, 1981. Starting with the words “Radiant in the morning sky…” the song was actually composed in…

Swiss Politics

Bugged cuckoo clock scandal rocks government

This content was published on Apr 1, 2011 The Swiss government has been accused of hiding surveillance systems in cuckoo clocks and then giving them as official gifts to at least 30 embassies.

Swiss Politics

How Russian-Swiss relations survived the 1990s

This content was published on Mar 31, 2011 Stepanov spoke to swissinfo.ch in Moscow about his recently published 700-page memoirs. “Bern diary of a Russian ambassador 1992-1999” relates discussions and events that changed the course of relations between the two countries, which re-established diplomatic ties 65 years ago. The first Russian ambassador to Bern touches on the subject of money laundering investigations in…

Swiss Politics

Swiss embassy opens in Armenia

This content was published on Mar 31, 2011 Swiss President and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey opened it on Thursday. Now all three Caucasus republics, including Georgia and Azerbaijan, have Swiss embassies. Konstantin Obolensky will serve as the Swiss ambassador to Armenia. Several Armenian leaders attended the opening ceremony, including President Serzh Sargsyan. Talks centred around the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey,…

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