Ice Hockey: a Passion That Goes Back 100 Years Kronenhof, Pontresina, Grisons
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THE MAGAZINE FOR THE SWISS ABROAD JANUARY 2011 / NO. 1 Switzerland is dependent on foreigners Is the Federal Council in need of better organisation? Ice hockey: a passion that goes back 100 years Kronenhof, Pontresina, Grisons Enter the world Unparalleled natural of wellness. beauty. The 5-star Grand Hotel Revitalise your mind and body Kronenhof in Pontresina, Grisons, offers panoramic in Switzerland, and start 2011 views over pine and larch refreshed and exhilarated. forests, and the magnifi- cence of the Roseg Glacier. Tip 1 In this wonderful setting, Do you need to stop and indulgent massages, the nature itself contributes to Further information: recharge your batteries? benefits of water and har- your wellness. Switzerland has over 40 mony with nature … here, 54364 destinations and more than everything combines to 60 specialist “wellness” revitalise you. Switzerland Active relaxation. hotels offering a fantastic offers facilities entirely dedi- In an idyllic setting over- range of treatments for both cated to your welfare all year looking the Lake of the Four body and mind. In the moun- round. Find out more at Cantons, the 4-star Swiss tains, alongside a lake or MySwitzerland.com/wellness. Holiday Park at Morschach in the city, there’s an oasis is paradise for those seek- of calm and relaxation for Register at ing an active holiday, with everyone. MySwitzerland.com/aso sports facilities, swimming Tip 2 before 31 March 2011 and pools, Romano-Irish baths, A source of tranquillity win a 3-night stay with well- saunas and hammams in- Further information: and vitality. ness package at the 5-star viting you to indulge in an From Adelboden to Zermatt, Grand Hotel Kronenhof in energising experience. 36196 from thermal resorts to spas Pontre sina, Grisons. set in the most beautiful The peak of wellness. mountain regions, Switzer- At the heart of the Lavaux land is without doubt the vineyards and overlooking perfect source of relaxation. Lake Geneva, the 5-star Beauty or therapeutic treat- Mirador Kempinski at Mont- ments, dietary advice, sport, Pèlerin has everything you could possibly desire for the ultimate wellness break: Tip 3 A collaboration between Switzerland Tourism and the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) the only Givenchy spa in Switzerland, sophisticated Further information: cuisine and an outstanding medical centre. 54296 EDITORIAL CONTENTS 3 Election year and farewell is an election year , so it heralds a day of reckoning for Swiss 5 parliamentarians. The National Council and Council of States Mailbag 2011will be re-elected on 23 October. Some parties are already gear- ing up for the election campaign. The Social Democrats (SPS) plan to move more to the 5 At the cinema: Sennentuntschi left and attempt to overcome capitalism, as was decided at the delegates’ conference. The Free Democrats (FDP) want to ward off the European Union, and the Swiss People’s 7 Party (SVP) is also focusing on the issue of EU accession as well as on education and im- The tradition of the “Silvesterchläuse” in Urnäsch migration. This suggests that a long and uncompromising electoral campaign awaits us. Come what may, the SVP wants a member of its own choice on the Federal Council in- 8 stead of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. As you will recall, Widmer-Schlumpf was elected Immigration creates prosperity but also to national government in 2007 in place of Christoph Blocher and was punished with ex- brings new problems pulsion from the party. She now belongs to the Conservative Democratic Party of Swit- 12 zerland (BDP), which broke away from the SVP after Widmer-Schlumpf’s expulsion CERN: Research centre near Geneva and today has fi ve National Councillors and one member of the Council of States. “Swiss 15 Review” will provide in-depth coverage of the federal elections and will present the par- Notes from Parliament ties standing for election together with their manifestos in a special edition in Septem- Regional news ber. When the right to a postal vote was introduced for the Swiss residing abroad in 1992, 13,000 people initially cast a vote. At the 2007 federal elections, 111,250 Swiss abroad 18 Does Switzerland need government reform? were entered on an electoral roll, and this fi gure reached 130,017 by the end of 2009. The No, says political scientist Leonhard Neidhart. numbers should be even higher as the votes of the Swiss abroad are important and much sought after. We have therefore enclosed an electoral roll fl yer with this edition for an- 20 Switzerland has the world’s longest railway yone who has not yet registered. Take advantage of this opportunity, send the form to tunnel your representation and play an active part in Swiss political life. You will give more weight to the valid concerns of the Swiss abroad 22 and will help ensure they are resolved successfully. OSA news After six years and 32 editions of “Swiss Review”, I would like 24 to say farewell to you in this editorial as I am now of an age when Voting: Initiatives on deportation and taxation it is time to open a new chapter in my life with new challenges. Since 25 November 2004, I, together with my editorial team, have kept you Politics up to date with political, economic and social developments in 26 Heinz Eckert Switzerland and have attempted to produce a magazine worth read- Ice hockey has a 100-year history in Switzerland ing. Judging by the incredibly positive response we have received from all over the world, 28 I can only assume that you have found our work of interest. Whether by letter, e-mail or Carlos Leal – a Swiss actor in Hollywood telephone, dialogue with you has always been positive and constructive. I would like to 30 thank you most sincerely for your great interest, for the goodwill you have shown to- Swiss banks infuriate the Swiss abroad wards our work and for your many valuable suggestions. I wish my successor, the experienced Bernese journalist Barbara Engel, every suc- 31 Echo cess and satisfaction as the new editor-in-chief. And I wish you, dear readers of “Swiss Review”, good fortune and happiness in the New Year. HEINZ ECKERT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Cover photo: How would the Swiss football team fare without second-generation immigrants? Xherdan Shaqiri, who has Kosovan origins, plays for FC Basel and Switzerland. Photo: Swiss Football Association IMPRINT: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss abroad, is in its 38th year of publication and is published in German, French, Italian, English and Spanish in 14 regional editions. It has a total circulation of 395 000. Regional news appears four times a year. ■ EDITORS: Heinz Eckert (EC), Editor-in-Chief; Rolf Ribi (RR); René Lenzin (RL); Alain Wey (AW); Jean-François Lichtenstern (JFL), responsible for “Notes from Parliament”, Service for January 2011 / No. 1 / No. January 2011 the Swiss Abroad, DFA, CH-3003 Berne Translation: CLS Communication AG ■ L AYOUT: Herzog Design, Zurich ■ POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, editorial offi ce, advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Berne, Tel.: +41313566110, Fax: +41313566101, Postal account (Swiss National Giro): 30-6768-9. Internet: www.revue.ch ■ E-MAIL: [email protected] ■ PRINT: Swissprinters St.Gallen AG, CH-9001 St.Gallen. ■ CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local embassy or consulate. Do not write to Berne. ■ All Swiss abroad who are regis- tered with a Swiss representation receive the magazine free of charge. Anyone else can subscribe to the magazine for an annual fee (Switzerland: CHF 30 / abroad: CHF 50). Subscribers are sent SWISS REVIEW the magazine direct from Berne. Copy deadline for this edition: 15.11.10 Vorsorgen in Schweizer Franken. Agentur Auslandschweizer Stefan Böni Dorfstrasse 140, 8706 Meilen +41 44 925 39 39, www.swisslife.ch/aso We‘ll take you to Switzerland at the click of a mouse. Information. News. Background reports. Analysis. From Switzerland, about Switzerland. Multimedia, interactive and up to date in 9 languages. swissinfo.ch MAILBAG BOOKS 5 lm Cinematic projects Whitewashing THE MAGAZINE FOR THE SWISS ABROAD representing. Self- sometimes have to surmount many I am a reader of interest, narcissism obstacles before reaching the big screen. The fantastical your magazine by OCTOBER 2010 / NO. 4 and a general de- thriller “Sennentuntschi” and its director Michael being married to tachment from the Steiner (“Grounding: The Last Days of Swissair”, “My my wife who is a people (without ex- Name is Eugen”) had to overcome some tremendous hur- Swiss citizen. The ception) have been dles. This feature fi lm is about a Swiss legend – the Sen- article “Clean prevalent for a long nentuntschi (the herdsmen’s doll) – widely known money” by Lukas time in the Federal throughout the entire German-speaking alpine region. World Ski Championships: Lara Gut is back Swiss fi nancial centre Hässig is a great needs clean money Council. The abili- The author Hansjörg Schneider’s play on the subject Thomas Maissen’s new piece of whitewash- history of Switzerland ties of Federal (1972) provoked outrage and condemnation when it was ing typical of the fi nancial Councillors may be evident, broadcast on Swiss-German television in 1981, with its world at present. Maybe this but so too are their egos. The storyline telling of how three herdsmen in the Alps make kind of blinkered view will al- media, primarily driven by sales a straw doll to satisfy their sexual urges but the doll ways happen when specialists fi gures, are, of course, only too comes to life and takes revenge on its tormentors. write about their own narrow willing to satisfy the desire of “Sennentuntschi” – the story behind fi With a budget of 5.5 million Swiss francs, the Swiss section of knowledge but it is the people, who are tired of blockbuster initially appeared set for completion without any not hard nowadays to stand politicians, for sensationalism.