The magazine for the swiss abroad

Apriljuni 20112014 / NNo.r.3 2

Switzerland and Europe must redefine their relationship

Family policy – a field day for parties and ideologies

A star for 40 years – the careers of Bernhard Russi Write your city tale.

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108_14g_01_staedte_2014_genf_ins_210x297.indd 4 17.02.14 09:23 EDITORIAL Contents 3

Vague unease with incalculable consequences

ou will return to a country that is no longer the same as the one you left. 5 A friend wrote this message to me on 9 February. It reached me in Sydney where Mailbag Y I was visiting the part of my family currently living in Australia. Is it really 5 true? Has become a different country after voting yes to the “initiative Books: The life of Louis Chevrolet against mass immigration”? 6 No, that is obviously not the case. The Swiss have not turned into a nation where the Images: Markus Raetz, the perception majority are xenophobic, patriotic fundamentalists as is sometimes portrayed. The rea- researcher son for the approval of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) initiative was a vague sense of un- 8 ease for many people about high rents, crowded trains, congested roads and wage pres- The family – reality, myths and politics sure. The referendum was somewhat paradoxical if you consider where the initiative gained most support. The highest numbers of Yes votes were found in remote, rural re- 12 Yes to the mass immigration initiative – gions where few foreigners live. what happens now? The outcome of the ballot has fundamentally changed Switzer- land’s relationship with the 28 EU states. During the referendum 15 + 16 Billions spent on new fighter jets and a campaign this ramification was constantly played down by those minimum wage? The people will decide. behind the proposal but it is now a reality. The Federal Council now finds itself in the unenviable position of having to seek ways Regional news of protecting Switzerland from isolation in the face of the decision reached on immigration policy. It has now shifted into the role of 20 suitor in its dealings with the European Union, Switzerland’s most important trade part- – art collector and founder of ner. The first consequences of the isolationist policy were announced by Brussels just the magnificent gallery in under a week after the referendum: both “Erasmus+”, the agreement on the mobility of students, and the “Horizon 2020” research programme were suspended. This is a bad 22 Stamp collecting – once a popular pastime, sign for Switzerland as a research location, for the younger generation and for our small, collections are practically worthless today resource-poor economy. Extensive coverage and comment concerning the referendum can be found in the politics section from page 12. 24 Literature series: Lina Bögli This issue’s key focus topic is family policy, a subject that all the political parties are devoting much attention to at the moment – often by propagating myths rather than re- 25 flecting reality. OSA news I also wish to highlight two other articles in particular – the story of Bernhard Russi, 28 the Swiss skiing legend from the 1970s who played a major role as a course designer at Notes from Parliament the Olympic Games in Sochi, and a culture feature on Ernst Beyeler and his legacy, 30 the in , which is more successful than any other art Echo in Switzerland. Barbara Engel

Cover photo: Symbolic image of Swiss-EU relations: a flag thrower on the Männlichen near Grindelwald with the flag of Europe. Photo: Keystone/Martin Ruetschi

IMPRint: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss abroad, is in its 41st year of publication and is published in German, French, Italian, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. 2 It has a total circulation of 400,000, including 140,000 electronic copies. Regional news appears four times a year. The ordering parties are fully responsible for the content of advertise- ments and promotional inserts. This content does not necessarily represent the opinion of either the editorial office or the publisher. ■ EDITORS: Barbara Engel (BE), Editor-in-Chief; Marc Lettau (MUL); Jürg Müller (JM); Alain Wey (AW); Peter Zimmerli (PZ), responsible for “Notes from Parliament”, Relations with the Swiss Abroad, FDFA, 3003 Berne, Switzerland. Transla- tion: CLS Communication AG ■ LAYOUT: Herzog Design, Zurich ■ POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial office, advertising: Organi­sation ­of the Swiss ■ ■ w April 2014 / No. Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, 3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110, Fax: +41313566101, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. EMAIL: [email protected] ie ■

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What is the cause of ment with the political, eco- “Memories are about all that is left of the dramatic life Switzerland’s insecurity? nomic and social groups that took Louis Chevrolet from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Isn’t Switzerland, in light of opposed to the initiative for Paris and finally to the United States where he became its referendum system, simply being incapable of exposing one of the greatest racing drivers of all time” – this much more transparent than the widespread falsehoods line appeared in the US newspaper “The Corpus Christi any other country and there- and the threats to our coun- Times” on 18 March 1938. Now Martin Sinzig, a Swiss fore less protected against try. Can our leaders now do business journalist, has taken a journey through Eu- criticism? Isn’t being a Swiss some damage limitation? I rope and North America to capture these memories and Federal Councillor therefore wish them all the best. present them in a biography. The result is “Louis Chev- the most difficult job in poli- Jean-François Monnier, rolet – der Mann, der dem Chevy seinen Namen gab” tics? Can the government be St Julien de Peyrolas, France (Louis Chevrolet – the Man Who Gave His Name to the strong in a country where the Chevy), a portrayal of the adventure-filled life of the people are strong? The native of Neuchâtel who arrived in New York by ship on ­Federal Council must master- Unacceptable editorial his 22nd birthday and became one of the most influen-

fully strike a balance between Over the immigration initia- Chevrolet – Louis up give Never tial engine and racing car designers in the USA. self-determining Switzerland tive, Barbara Engel catego- Everyone is familiar with the name Chevrolet today. But and an EU governed from rises the Swiss as either what lies behind it? Little was known for many years about afar. The Federal Council FAR-SIGHTED or NAR- the life story of the company’s founder Louis Chevrolet, who needs our full support for its ROW-MINDED, FAINT- was born on 25 December 1878 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and died Swiss statesmanship. HEARTED and EGOISTI- on 6 June 1941 in Detroit, the “Motor City”. The biography Edgar Ruf, Düsseldorf CAL. One might expect such published to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chevrolet http://home.arcor.de/edgar.ruf an intolerant and insulting company in 2011 is the result of many years of meticulous re- classification from the polit- search. It contains new findings and previously unpublished buro of a totalitarian state contemporary documents and photographs together with These Swiss voters but not from a country that press articles about the highs and lows of the early automo- The majority of Switzerland’s stands for democracy and tive industry. Sinzig also provides the first in-depth insight cantons are German-speak- freedom. Barbara Engel into the events surrounding the founding and development ing and it is their votes that should apologise for her of Chevrolet as a company. However, he does not just focus determine whether initiatives tasteless faux pas. on the work of the ingenious designer and inventor but also are approved or not. The Hans Waldispuhl, on Louis Chevrolet as a person – a very family-oriented man, Swiss want to be masters of Shediac Bridge, Canada a devoted brother and father, and a loyal and caring husband. their own destiny and not A special touch is added by giving the book’s foreword to Bob take orders from the EU. Lutz, the former long-time head of development at General French-speaking Switzerland Thank you! Motors and a fellow Swiss American. has left-leaning ideas influ- After the grievances ex- GM, Chevrolet’s parent company, was badly hit by the eco- enced by France and its polit- pressed in the February is- nomic and financial crisis at the beginning of the 21st cen- ical representatives are ready sue (and others) I would like tury and had to undergo a painful restructuring process. The to hand Switzerland over to to pay tribute to Barbara longstanding Pontiac brand fell victim to the reorganisation, the EU. These voters are for- Engel and her team. Under but the established Swiss name survived. Thanks to Chevro- tunately in the minority and I the editorship of Barbara let, GM held the biggest IPO of all time in 2010. Chevrolet has hope that Switzerland re- Engel, “Swiss Review” has developed into the fourth-largest brand in the world. mains a prosperous and become an extremely varied Sinzig, who himself has a strong interest much-envied country despite and interesting magazine in the US automotive scene, is part of the voting in favour of the initia- that does a fine job of keep- muscle-car generation and experienced tive put forward by the Swiss ing us informed about devel- first-hand the oil crisis in the early 1970s People’s Party. opments in our native land. and the end, at least for the time being, of Guy Nicolas, Divided opinion about con- the big and powerful road cruisers. Dijon, France tent is obviously acceptable. This biography, which is not just about You can’t please everybody Chevrolet, is a great read for anyone inter- all the time, as they say. ested in the international economics of the

2 Damage limitation What is regrettable is that early 20th century. Through Chevrolet’s life Shocked at the outcome of some readers express their and his influence over the automotive in- the immigration referendum criticism so harshly. Crass dustry, it presents the economic background to modern-day mo- on 9 February, I wish to ex- criticism is anything but in- bility and emerging globalisation. iew April 2014 / No. v press my indignation at its spiring. THOMAS KALAU e Raymond Hoechli, obtuse and reckless archi- MARTIN SINZIG, “Louis Chevrolet – Der Mann, der dem Chevy seinen wiss R

S donated Photo: tects and also my disappoint- Barcelona, Spain ­Namen gab”; Orell Füssli Sachbuch, 2011; 190 pages. CHF 35, EUR 25. 6 Images

­extraordinary perception. A crooked piece of wire is Perception and reality ­transformed into a face if observed from the correct angle, Markus Raetz is something of a magician among Swiss a rabbit becomes a man, and a buckled sheet of metal a­rtists. Observers are constantly astonished by his work. looks like a sweeping landscape due to the interplay of It is as though he possesses an enhanced sense of light and shadow. Markus Raetz, who was born in Berne 2 ss Review April 2014 / No. mages: Kunstmuseum Bern and Bern Kunstmuseum I mages: private collection Swi 7

in 1941 and grew up in Büren an der Aare, is one of

­Switzerland’s leading artists today. The Museum of Fine Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Bern until 18 May 2014. An extensive Arts Bern is displaying an overview of his graphic work catalogue with text in German, French and English has been published for the and a number of his sculptures. exhibition. Verlag Scheidegger & Spiess, CHF 150.– 8 Focus

Between wishful thinking and reality – the battleground of family policy Family policy issues have rarely been as intensely debated as they are today in Switzerland. Social and economic developments have radically altered our home life, but notions of the ideal family continue to cloud the view of reality. By Jürg Müller

Far from everyone will adopt the same ap- “A developing country in terms of at 1.3 percent of gross national product proach to achieve the same goal. Paradoxi- family policy” (GNP), it lies below the OECD average of cally, not everyone even wants to attain the This certainly does not mean that nothing 2.23 percent. spends 2.8 percent of same objective. Swiss family policy clearly is being done. Most parents receive child GNP on families, Austria 3 percent and illustrates this point at the moment. All the allowances at a level governed by federal France 3.7 percent. political parties want to strengthen “the law. Various forms of relief for families ex- Of course, it would be desirable if “every family”. However, exactly what they under- ist under tax law. Deductions from taxable family were able to take care of its own fu- stand by the concept, which family models income are granted for every minor and all ture, development and material needs in- and objectives their demands are based young people in initial training and further dependently. However, the basic require- upon, remains vague and varies dramati- education. Tax deductions have also ap- ments for meeting this objective do not yet cally. Some conjure up the spectre of the plied to some external childcare costs for exist in Switzerland”, explains Thérèse “nationalisation of children” when calls are some time as well as to child health insur- Meyer-Kaelin, President of the Federal Co- made for more child day-care facilities, ance premiums. Federal government pro- ordinating Committee for Family Affairs, while others evoke the image of the “little vides start-up funding to support the cre- an advisory body of the Federal Depart- housewife” when women dedicate them- ation of new day nursery places, an ment of Home Affairs. A “sufficiently ef- selves full-time to their children and home. initiative that has been extended twice and fective family policy” does not exist in There are arguments over tax breaks and will expire in 2015. There is also maternity Switzerland, she says, and goes further: family allowances, external childcare and insurance for women in employment. Fur- “The typical excuse of the supposed protec- day schools, paternity leave and uncaring ther state aid is also provided for families tors of the family to ensure nothing is ulti- mothers, and after-work fathers and child in need, such as reduced health insurance mately done” is to declare the family a pri- minders – or, generally, about the right and premiums as well as additional benefits in vate matter. Achieving a balance between wrong kind of lifestyle model. some cantons. Many communes and cities family and working life “is often like an ob- These issues are often heatedly debated as offer a number of subsidised day nursery stacle course”. Yet the family is “the most two family policy referenda last year illus- places. important unit for enabling the harmoni- trated. It was evident that it goes far beyond However, provision is far from lavish. So- ous development of society and allowing the family. It is a question of ideology and so- cial spending on families and maternity is each person to flourish individually”. cietal blueprints, of role models and equality significantly below the European average. issues. Several policy areas are usually af- The risk of poverty is disproportionately 80 percent of women are in employment fected at the same time, namely education, high in Switzerland for large families and Little progress has been made in balancing social affairs, the labour market, taxation, fi- single parents. Remo Largo, an emeritus the social reality with family policy meas- nance, housing policy and urban develop- professor in paediatrics at the University of ures. The traditional family model with the ment. And, of course, as all parties without Zurich and a best-selling author, painted a strict division of roles – the father as the pro- exception claim, it is first and foremost about dramatic picture in a recent interview: vider and the mother looking after the home the child’s welfare. “Switzerland is a developing country in terms and children – is still looked to by some but Family policy is a perennial issue in Swiss of family policy. In comparison with the no longer usually reflects reality. This form politics. Remarkably however, it has never Scandinavian countries, Switzerland spends of family life certainly still exists but has not been and still is not an independent policy a third less of gross national product on chil- been the predominant way of life for some area in Switzerland. Transport, education, dren and families. Despite all the private and time. youth, old-age, regional, business and eco- public protestations, money is more impor- A look at the facts, figures and structures

2 nomic policy - all these areas and more tant to us than children.” A study conducted underlines this finding. Over 80 percent have constitutional status and possess by the Social Work Division at the Berne of women are in employment of one form their own article in the federal constitution. University of Applied Sciences on behalf of or another. There have never been so many The same is not true of family policy de- the trade union umbrella organisation Tra- single-person households. Between 1970 spite all parties programmatically pro- vail.Suisse reveals that Switzerland’s ex- and 2008 the number of family households

ss Review April 2014 / No. claiming the family as the “fundamental penditure on families is low in comparison fell from 75 percent to just over 60 percent.

Swi unit of society”. with the other OECD countries. Standing Households consisting of married couples 9

Largely a myth: the typ- ical 1950s family – the stay-at-home mother re- sponsible for bringing up the children and the working father as bread- winner

and partners without children increased Couples with children where both partners quired specialists who then have to be re- significantly over the same period. A key are in part-time employment are still a mi- cruited abroad. A greater provision of exter- indicator for the family situation are the nority today although their proportion has nal childcare places might help here. Around employment models in these couples. The doubled. 40 percent of couple households and 54 per- following details are provided by the Fed- cent of single parents are already using these eral Statistical Office – the proportion of The middle class under pressure today; where the youngest child is under couples with a male partner in full-time It is therefore still women who ease up in seven years of age the figures are as much as employment and a female partner not in their careers when children arrive. It is pre- 52 and 70 percent, respectively. employment fell significantly between dominantly women who face a dilemma and However, childcare costs in Switzerland

2 1992 and 2012. In households of couples who have to ask themselves the question of are record-breaking. According to an where the youngest child is under seven career or children. This predicament is lead- OECD report, families spend around half years of age the proportion has declined ing to a declining birth rate and to undesir- their income on childcare, which is more from around 62 to 29 percent. The model able effects on the economy and society. than in any other country. High day nurs- with a male partner in full-time employ- Many well-educated women are withdraw- ery costs of up to 2,500 Swiss francs a

ss Review April 2014 / No. ment and a female partner in part-time ing from working life completely or at least month for full-time places also often use up

Swi Bridgemanart.comPhoto: employment is the most common today. partially, causing a shortage of urgently re- a considerable chunk of the second income. 10 Focus

Many middle-class families who are de- cohabiting partners receive two full pen- Over 80 % of Swiss pendent upon a second income can testify sions. women are in employ- ment: reconciling family to that. As day nursery rates are income- The Social Democratic Party too is life and a career often dependent in Switzerland, low earners are thinking out loud about launching an ini- involves great stress. Working women are por- paradoxically slightly better off because tiative. It is focussing on demands for a bet- trayed as uncaring they receive allowances. However, this re- ter work-life balance, more affordable mothers by some parties. sults in disincentives for the middle class childcare places and an increase in child al- that could prove disastrous, especially in lowances. times when there is a shortage of special- ists in the workforce. Some companies have Burying certain myths recognised the problem and now provide This level of activity indicates that politi- internal childcare places and also bear a cians have realised how dramatic the large share of the costs. It is nonetheless changes to family structures and couples’ usually only very large companies that can relationships are. The Federal Statistical afford to do this as it is too expensive for Office provides the following summary in many small firms. This is where the state its comprehensive 2008 family report: has to step in. “Various taboos have been broken as a re- sult of the individual gaining independence Family policy voting marathon from society, the emancipation of women, The opportunity to move closer to a solu- and also the relinquishment of religious tion in the foreseeable future was passed up and bourgeois values.” It should neverthe- last year. A constitutional article on family less be recognised that the taboos that have policy was defeated by a cantonal majority been broken are not that old at all. Cultural in March 2013 despite the majority of the conflict over the “correct” family model Swiss people voting in favour of it. The pro- and adequate family policy are often based ject was initiated in Parliament by the Chris- on myths that do not stand up to historical tian Democratic People’s Party (CVP). The analysis. new article would have obliged federal gov- The “traditional family” with the fixed al- ernment and the cantons to promote the location of roles between men and women reconciliation of family life, employment is actually not that old. “This ideal was only and education. The expansion of childcare first adopted by wide sections of the popu- outside of families and schools would pri- lation in the boom years after the Second marily have strengthened the position of World War,” reveals Regina Wecker, emeri- working mothers. tus professor of history at the University of The second family policy proposal in the Basel in an article for the German newspa- same year was defeated in November 2013. per “Die Zeit”. What is often portrayed as The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) wanted to something natural and of eternal value ex- provide tax relief for families who look af- isted as the norm for around three decades ter their children themselves. They argued from 1960 and has not reflected the reality that this was only fair as parents who send of a majority of people in Switzerland either their children to day nurseries can claim tax before or since. allowances. Wrong, said opponents of the The fact that women undertake employ- SVP’s popular initiative – the bill would ment does not make the present day a his- fiscally favour the “traditional” family with torical anomaly either, as it was the norm for the woman at home looking after the chil- centuries. Women made up “the majority of dren. the workforce in the newly created textile But the parties have not given up – the factories up to the mid-19th century”. CVP is now exerting pressure with two in- Women had simply worked from home prior ents had already died or had no time for their itiatives which will spark debate this year. to that, in the home textile industry, for ex- offspring because they had to work. Until One of its popular initiatives seeks to make ample. the introduction of old-age and survivors’

2 child and educational allowances exempt External childcare is not a recent devel- insurance (AHV) in 1948, it was common to from tax, while the other aims to abolish opment either. This phenomenon is only place children with other families if a parent the so-called marriage penalty whereby “new” if you do not look back beyond the died. And, generally speaking, “the require- married couples are disadvantaged under 1960s. Many children during the 18th and ment for children to have special care and to the old-age and survivors’ insurance 19th centuries were not raised by their par- be looked after only emerged in the 19th

ss Review April 2014 / No. (AHV) system. The pension of a married ents. This is not because they had childcare century and could not be met until well into

Swi couple today stands at 150 percent, whereas in the modern sense but because their par- the 20th century. Not even by the birth par- 11

The transparent family Whoever is selected is first amazed – and then groans. In Switzerland, the statisticians want to know exactly what the family does, how it is or- ganised, who spends money on what in the family and who earns how much and how. Three thousand families have been randomly picked and then meticulously scrutinised each year since 2000. Those who consent are flabbergasted at the effort involved. They have to record all their pur- chases and break them down into the tiniest details. They have to note down whether friends invite them to brunch and the monetary value of this invitation. The wife’s singing lessons, the day nursery costs, the vol- untary assistance to an aunt and the annual donation to the association of Friends of the Mongolian Horse are all documented. And even in the frosty month of January the question “Did you harvest vegetables from your own garden today?” still has to be answered every single day. The statistical drama unfolds over two months – with preliminary meetings, instructions, trial recordings and the subsequent daily noting of every detail for four weeks. There are also additional telephone interviews on top of that about health and wellbeing, the weight of the youngest child and all sorts of other matters. Thanks to this survey we know a lot about the average Swiss family. We know that it includes 2.23 people and consumes 2.945 kilograms of meat per person each month – almost twice as much as in 1950. We know that it spends just under seven percent of household income on food shopping. Expenditure on “accommodation and energy” has climbed to 15.356 percent or 1,474.78 Swiss francs. We know that the said household spends 768.34 Swiss francs a month on its mobility – 621.24 francs on the car but just 2.89 francs on “transportation of persons via the waterways”. The average household is not very epicurean: it contents itself with monthly consumption of 0.449 litres of Swiss white wine and 2.946 litres of beer, while 38.51 francs’ worth of cigarette smoke fills the air. Spend- ing on “other tobacco products including drugs” stands at 2.44 francs. Why the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) explicitly analyses house- holds rather than families is easily explained – the forms home life takes are changing dramatically and the model of the “middle-class family unit” is fading away. In light of this, for statisticians the “household” now equates to family life irrespective of its form. Anyone wishing to find out whether, despite this, their own household matches the Swiss image of the family to some degree will find some comfort in this comment from the FSO: “The traditional small family remains deeply rooted in Switzerland and is the reality experienced by most of the population.” But the picture becomes very mixed upon closer in- spection. Of the 1,139,800 single-family households with children re- corded in 2011 – in lay terms we would simply call these families – only 769,100 were traditional models consisting of a married couple with ents because they had no time,” says Regina their own young children or teenagers. The second-largest group was Wecker. made up of single parents – with 166,900 single mothers and 29,500 sin- The debate over family policy would be gle fathers with children. In addition, there were tens of thousands of

2 much enhanced if historically untenable myths were not presented as arguments. so-called patchwork families (married couples with children from previ- The single legitimate family type does not ous relationships), cohabiting partners with their own children, and exist and never has. family units arising through relationships other than marriage which also consider themselves “patchwork families”. There were also several dozen same-sex couples with children. ss Review April 2014 / No.

Swi Keystone Photo: Jürg Müller is an editor with the “Swiss Review” Marc Lettau 12 politics – vote of 9 February 2014

Swiss diplomacy facing herculean task The approval of the so-called mass immigration initiative on 9 February 2014 has thrown Switzerland’s policy on Europe off track. The actual repercussions remain unclear at the moment. However, it is evi- dent that a long period of uncertainty is set to follow. By Jürg Müller

Calm is usually restored quickly in Swit- credibly demonstrate that these issues are cil must now attempt to mould the new zerland after a referendum campaign. It is also caused by domestic factors. Opportu- constitutional text into legislation. The different this time around after 9 Febru- nities were also missed to introduce ad