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THE WEEK IN SWITZERLAND

Five big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week

Tragic accidents in the Swiss Alps and the growing foreign population are among the Swiss news The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.

Published: 5 April 2024 15:30 CEST
Five big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week
Small Swiss towns beat larger ones. Photo by Daniele La Rosa Messina on Unsplash

Three people killed in a massive avalanche

A 15-year-old boy from the United States had died, along with two adults, in an avalanche that hit in the vicinity of Zermatt, a ski resort in Valais Alps.

Of the four people pulled out of the snow, only one was still alive, a 20-year-old Swiss man who was seriously injured and airlifted to hospital. 

READ ALSO: US teenager among three killed in Swiss avalanche 

And another tragedy struck in the mountains:

A deadly helicopter crash claims three lives

Three people, including a Canadian woman, were killed and three others injured in a helicopter crash on the Petit Combin mountain in the Swiss Alps.

The accident happened at a landing site during a heliski drop-off, after the aircraft slid off a 3,668-metre-high slope in canton Valais.

READ ALSO: Three killed in Swiss Alps helicopter crash 

SWISS airline vows to maintain the Geneva-Zurich flights

Despite complaints over the environmental impact of the 30-minute flight, the CEO of Switzerland’s flagship carrier said the air shuttle between the two hubs will continue.

It is used primarily by passengers from the French-speaking part of the country who are making a connection to international flights in Zurich.

READ ALSO : Why flights between Geneva and Zurich are so controversial

Small towns make better financial sense in Switzerland

Even though most of Switzerland’s population live in or near big cities,  a new study has shown that small and medium-sized communities are a better option.

That’s because they are less expensive overall in terms of rents, property prices, taxes, health insurance premiums, as well as commuting costs.

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland’s smaller towns trump bigger cities 

Switzerland’s foreign population is growing

In 2023, 241,700 people immigrated to Switzerland, an increase of 38.2 percent compared to 2022.

Most of them came from Germany, Italy, and France, along with other EU countries.

Having doubled between 2022 and 2023 from 2.3 to 5.2 percent, foreign residents have experienced faster growth than Swiss population.

READ ALSO : Understanding Switzerland’s growing foreign population

There is more news this week:

April has just began, and with warmer weather underway, you can enjoy a number of fun activities in Switzerland:

READ ALSO: Six things you should do in Switzerland this April 

Also, if you are wondering what’s ahead for the rest of the month, this article provides the answers.

Last but not least, have you ever wondered why some people are successful in their bid for Swiss citizenship, while others fail?

Turns out, there are some (decidedly arbitrary) reasons at play:

READ ALSO: The bizarre reasons people have been denied Swiss citizenship

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For members

THE WEEK IN SWITZERLAND

Six big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week

The slowness of Switzerland's trains and salaries of foreign workers are among the Swiss news The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.

Published: 17 May 2024 11:16 CEST
Six big news stories from Switzerland you need to know about this week

Swiss trains are on time, but slowly

Although Switzerland has a punctual and efficient train system, it is also the slowest in Europe.

The existing infrastructure is not adapted to faster trains, because it is not a top priority for the national railway company (SBB) or the Federal Office of Transport, both of which favour reliability and quality of service over speed.

They also prefer to focus on developing a dense network; this means trains can’t travel fast as they have to make frequent stops at all stations.

READ ALSO: Why are Swiss trains the slowest in Europe?

Are foreign workers in Switzerland underpaid?

Many people think so, but it turns out that highly-qualified foreign nationals employed in managerial roles not only earn as much as their Swiss counterparts, but sometimes even more.
 
This is what emerges from an analysis of data released by the Federal Statistical Office.

It indicates that wages of  B, C, and G-permit holders often exceed those earned by Swiss citizens employed in equivalent positions.

READ ALSO: In which jobs in Switzerland do foreign workers earn more than the Swiss?

Could Switzerland be ready to recognise non-binary status?

Switzerland recognises only two genders: male and female.

But what about people who don’t identify as either?

After a non-binary person, Nemo, who is from Switzerland, won the Eurovision Song Contest last weekend, questions  are arising about the country’s readiness to start registering a third gender in the civil status register.

Such a change, however, would require numerous adaptations of the Constitution, as well as federal and cantonal laws.

READ ALSO: Could Switzerland officially recognise a third gender status?

Knife attack leaves several injured 

A 43-year-old Spaniard, attacked people on the streets of Zofingen with several knives on Wednesday night before being arrested.

In a statement, the public prosecutor’s office for the canton of Aargau said the man “probably inflicted wounds on himself and, according to initial findings, displays abnormal psychological behaviour.”

Prosecutors added that there was “no evidence of a terrorist motive” and that an investigation “for multiple attempted murders” was opened.

Armed with “sharpened or pointed” metal weapons, the attacker first lashed out at a passer-by at the railway station in the town of 12,000 people, about 60 kilometres (38 miles) west of Zurich, police said.

He then wounded several people seemingly at random before entering a house, police added.

READ ALSO: Man wounds six in knife attacks in Swiss town

Health insurance may pay for glasses and contact lenses

Right now, some complementary plans cover part of the cost of eyeglasses, but the obligatory insurance (KVG / LaMAL) doesn’t.

However, a parliamentary motion seeks to change that.

“The purpose of compulsory health insurance is to provide the services you need to get or stay healthy,” said Green Party MP Katharina Prelicz-Huber.”

This issue will be debated during the summer session to begin on May 27, but it already faces some ipposition from a right-wing Swiss People Party,  which argues that “if we seriously want to slow down the burdensome and constantly rising health costs for the benefit of the population, we [must] show the political will not to constantly expand the benefits of compulsory health insurance.”

READ ALSO: Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?
 
Where in Switzerland do the motorists need to play toll?

While the motorway vignette replaces the obligation to pay toll on most Switzerland’s roads, a few Alpine tunnels still require drivers to pay a fee.

However, despite some recent media speculation, the Federal Council has opposed the idea of introducing further tolls on the Gotthard and San Bernardino tunnels, since both are public roads already funded by taxpayers’ money.

Instead, other strategies are currently being explored to combat the ongoing problem of traffic congestion o those much-frequented roads.

READ ALSO: The roads and tunnels in Switzerland where drivers need to pay a toll 

And also:

If you are a fan of J.R.R. Tolken’s “Lord of the Rings,” you may be interested to know it was inspired by the author’s visit, in 1911, to a village of Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland.

Tourists are still swarming the picturesque village, which prompted local officials to suggest imposing ‘entry fee’ ranging from 5 to 10 francs on visitors arriving by car:

READ ALSO: Stunning Swiss village plans to charge visitors to experience ‘Middle Earth

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