Swiss Politics

Neuchâtel church tax goes up in smoke

This content was published on Dec 5, 2010 In Switzerland churches of the state-recognised faiths – mainly Catholic and Protestant – receive SFr1.9 billion ($1.9 billion) annually from the cantons via taxes on individuals and companies. But amounts and tax regimes vary hugely by region. “This chapter is over; it finished badly,” Gabriel Bader, president of Neuchâtel’s protestant church synod council, told swissinfo.ch.…

Swiss Politics

“It depends on the behaviour of governments”

This content was published on Dec 4, 2010 Christine Egerszegi, vice-president of the Swiss parliament’s OSCE delegation, tells swissinfo.ch what the body can achieve, and what not. The first summit in 11 years of the 56-member body failed to sign on to the action plan after two days of talks in the Kazakhstan capital, Astana, which ended on Thursday. Instead, the government representatives…

Swiss Politics

People’s Party to target Schengen membership

This content was published on Dec 4, 2010 One week after voters approved the party’s initiative to expel foreign criminals, delegates at an open-air meeting in canton Vaud agreed that the party should push for Switzerland’s withdrawal from Europe’s Schengen Area and the introduction of restrictions on development aid. More than 40 motions were approved. Delegates unanimously voted in favour of demanding that…

Swiss Politics

WikiLeaks Swiss domain online again

This content was published on Dec 4, 2010 The Swiss Pirate Party, which supports freedoms on the internet, successfully migrated entries to new servers. Party chairman Denis Simonet told a media conference on Friday that they had registered the address so that any Swiss who wanted to access WikiLeaks by typing “.ch ” could do so. WikiLeaks had been informed by mail of…

Swiss Politics

Readers mostly back expulsion vote

This content was published on Dec 4, 2010 It was a black day for some while for others it was a day of glory. Those who provided feedback to swissinfo.ch on the initiative, launched by the centre-right Swiss People’s Party, were in no mood for arguing. Supporters and opponents took part in the debate with very clear positions and, depending on the language…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet under fire over handling of Libya crisis

This content was published on Dec 3, 2010 The flow of information between the different ministries was insufficient and individual ministers exceeded their authority, according to a report by a 13-member Senate committee in charge of overseeing the activities of the government and the federal administration. “The parliamentary control committee believes that cabinet ministers must not only abide by the laws of the…

Swiss Politics

Looking back at the Switzerland-Libya dispute

This content was published on Dec 3, 2010 As the Swiss federal parliament prepares to release its official report on how the crisis was handled, swissinfo.ch takes a look at the history of the strained relationship between the two nations. The trouble began in mid-July 2008 when Hannibal Gaddafi – a son of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi – was arrested and charged with…

Swiss Politics

Word of the year reflects political debate

This content was published on Dec 2, 2010 It was selected by a six-member jury of media and entertainment personalities from some 2,000 suggestions and announced on German-language Swiss radio on Thursday. The jury justified its choice by saying a single political group was managing to determine public debate and to give new expressions popular currency. Last year’s word was “Minarettverbot”, or “minaret…

Swiss Politics

Bern explains procedure after deportation vote

This content was published on Dec 2, 2010 Sommaruga was in Brussels on Thursday for a meeting of a mixed Schengen committee. Non- EU member Switzerland belongs to the Schengen area where there are no internal border controls between its 25 member states. She told the ministers about the results of the deportation vote on November 28 – supported by 52.9 per cent…

Swiss Politics

Leuthard meets British and Dutch premiers

This content was published on Dec 2, 2010 Both prime ministers were in the city on Thursday lobbying for their countries to host the World Cup in 2018. Belgium and the Netherlands had put in a joint bid. In a statement, Leuthard’s ministry of environment, transport, energy and communication said her talks with Cameron had centred on finance and economic topics. They discussed…

Page 856 of 1365

First … 854 855 856 857 858 … Last

Swiss Politics

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Sign in and personalize Swissinfo