THE MAGAZINE FOR THE SWISS ABROAD

APRIL 2006 / NO. 2

Swiss farmers face an uncertain future

Booming new Swiss fi lm industry

Poverty in and how to fi ght it PUBLICIS

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2000 farms disappear every year

wiss farmers are worried: they fear for their own existence. 5 This is why more Mailbag than 10,000 farmers from all corners of Switzerland gathered on Berne‘s Bundesplatz Sto demonstrate against “current developments in agricultural policy.” Farmers fear a 5 reduction in subsidies and competition from cheap, foreign agricultural products. As the Pres- Sounds: Blues from Switzerland ident of the Swiss Farmers‘ Union dramatically portrayed the situation, many farmers are al- ready living off their savings. 7 Images: An anthology of station life The statistics are hard to believe: Every year, 2,000 farms go to the wall: that‘s fi ve every day. Whereas in 1990 there were 93,000 going agricultural concerns, last year there were only 8 65,000. At the same time the number of farmworkers dropped from 253,000 to 190,000. And Swiss farmers are worried there‘s no end in sight: the 2011 agricultural reform will result in the disappearance of between fi ve and ten farms every day. 12 Nostalgic tunes from a Swiss cow byre Swiss farmers receive CHF 4 billion in federal subsidies every year. “Too much,” say trade associations, economists and politicians who are calling for structural changes or, in other Regional news words, fewer but larger operations that can produce as cheaply as their competitors in the USA or the EU. As our feature article illustrates, however, it‘s not as easy as it sounds. More- over, farmers have an important function to fulfi l as landscape gardeners. 13 The increase in and related services are continually the subject of politi- Federal parliament in session cal debate. In an interview with the “Swiss Review”, Walter Schmid, Director of the Univer- 14 sity of Social Work and President of the Swiss Conference for Social Welfare, outlined an ef- Offi cial DFA Information fective way of alleviating poverty in Switzerland. Having been in charge of the Youth and Social Services Offi ce of the City of Zurich for many 16 years, he is well acquainted with the subject. First and foremost he calls Booming new Swiss fi lm industry for supplementary benefi ts for young families, to ensure that their chil- dren can be raised and educated properly, as well as for working people with incomes below subsistence level. In Schmid‘s opinion it is shame- ful that, in this day and age, a country as affl uent as Switzerland still has people working for pay that does not even cover the costs of daily liv- Heinz Eckert ing. Schmid also criticises the fact that Switzerland‘s social policy suf- fers from an “intellectual straightjacket” that prevents the development of modern, effective welfare solutions. A Swiss fi lm has also become a hot topic recently. Thousands of people have been fl ock- 18 ing to cinemas to see “Grounding”, the partly fi ctional, partly documentary account of the fi - Poverty in Switzerland nal days of Swissair. Controversial discussions have been triggered by Michael Steiner‘s fi lm, which blames banking giant UBS and its CEO Marcel Ospel for Swissair‘s grounding and 20 presents Mario Corti, Swissair‘s last CEO, with a clean slate. Thanks to Michael Steiner, the OSA News Swiss fi lm industry is experiencing a revival. Coming on the heels of the highly-acclaimed 22 “Mein Name ist Eugen”, “Grounding” is Steiner‘s second big box-offi ce hit. Who is this direc- Switzerland – Mecca of low-cost airlines tor who has given Swiss cinema its two biggest hits in recent years? Alain Wey portrays this 36-year-old native of Zurich and takes the opportunity to chat with Michael Steiner about 23 his new projects. His conclusion: Having overcome its agonies, the Swiss fi lm industry is ex- News in Brief periencing a new lease of life and is now producing such high quality works that it once more Cover photo: Renzo Blumenthal – Organic farmer HEINZ ECKERT has the chance to gain international recognition. and Mister Switzerland 2005: A symbol for modern agriculture. Photo: Keystone

il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. IMPRESSUM: “Swiss Review”, the magazine for the Swiss Abroad, is in its 33rd year of publication and is published in German, French, Italian, English and Spanish in 21 regional editions. It has a total circulation of over 380 000. Regional news appears four times a year. lm ■ EDITORSHIP: Heinz Eckert (EC), Editor-in-Chief; Rolf Ribi (RR), Alain Wey (AW), Gabriela Brodbeck (BDK), responsible for DFA Information Pages, Service for the Swiss Abroad DFA, CH-3003 Berne. René Lenzin (RL), reporting from parliament. Translation: CLS Communication Ltd ■ POSTAL ADDRESS: Publisher, Editorial Offi ce, Advertising: Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, Alpenstrasse 26, CH-3006 Berne, Tel. +4131356 6110, Fax +4131356 61 01, Postal Account (Swiss National Giro) 30-6768-9. Internet: www.revue.ch ■ E-MAIL: [email protected] ■ ■ ■ Photo: Freneticfi SWISS REVIEW Apr PRINT: Zollikofer AG, CH-9001 St.Gallen. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please advise your local Embassy or Consulate – do not write to Berne. Single copy CHF 5.– All-round insurance cover 8IFSFWFSZPVSOFXSFTJEFODF for Swiss citizens living abroad. XJMMCF XFXPOjUMFUZPVMPTF TJHIUPG4XJU[FSMBOE

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THE MAGAZINE FOR THE SWISS ABROAD

Congratulations Here in Ver- High-altitude blues. If you were to ask for two high-fl ying DECEMBER 2005 / NO. 6 As a recently natu- mont we‘ve been Swiss bluesmen, then Napoleon Washington from La Chaux- ralized Swiss living struggling for de-Fonds and Hank Shizzoe from Berne would defi nitely abroad, I would some time now to come out on top. Both are guitar virtuosos blessed with deep like to thank you get a moratorium voices and a special feel for out-of-the-ordinary melodies. for the “Swiss on the planting of They are representatives of a vibrant, contemporary blues Review”, which is GM crops passed style of a quality that ranks alongside that of the true greats one of my most (without success), of this genre on the other side of the Atlantic. Napoleon

30 years of Christmas markets important links in Switzerland a seed labeling law Washington recently brought out his second album “Home-

Radio legend: to Switzerland. “Echo der Zeit” turns 60 passed (with suc- grown”, which he recorded in New York. He has been playing Direct democracy: Congratulations, A huge responsibility for politicians cess but without the guitar since he was twelve, and his life to date has been particularly, on the subsequent en- pretty adventurous. He was engaged for tours in America layout of your December issue. forcement) and a bill passed (1991, 92 and 95) by New Yorkers Gary Setzer (brother of The colors on the cover and which would protect farmers Brian) & The Roostabouts. He toured Europe and the United the picture of the Christmas from lawsuits by GM seed manu- States with his old blues formation, The Crawling Kingsnake.

market in front of the Einsiedeln facturers (still in the legislature). ying high blues fl Swiss The dawn of the new millennium saw Napoleon Washington’s monastery made for a really We have already experienced debut as a solo artist with his renowned steel guitar. As an instru- well-illustrated and dynamic the contamination of organic mentalist in a class of his own he earned universal praise with his magazine. crops by GM genes, and we know fi rst album “Hotel Bravo”. An extraordinary concert, fi lmed in 2004, FACUNDO M. SIMES LANFRANCHI, that there are increasingly reports is becoming one of the most original advertising media ever: “The CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA surfacing about the health risks of Washington Theater” is a virtual cinema on the Internet, in which eating GM foods, and yet our ef- anyone can discover the bluesman at work – simply by visiting www. Step-by-step forts to awaken people to these napoleonwashington.com It was very refreshing to read circumstances are frequently Ode to the water-lilies. Organic atmospheres, hypnotic moods, your objective editorial in frustrated. So it was very grati- intimate ballads – these are all features of the second fantastic al- the December issue and then fying to be part of a vote that had bum from the band Water Lily, entitled “13th Floor”. It is impossi- the beautiful picture of the such a positive and hope-fi lled ble to place the six artists from in one particular style cate- Christmas Market with the outcome. gory: they create a universe that hovers back and forth between Einsiedeln Monastery in the SYLVIA DAVATZ, HARTLAND, rock, trip-hop, pop and folk and reveals a particular predilection background. In summation the VERMONT, USA for psychedelic moods. Gripping melodies, inspired musicians, a whole issue was perfect until vocalist who sings with a voice that fl uctuates between crystal clear l got to the Hanspeter Kriesi The Rebirth of Swiss Football and strained – all these combine to make Water Lily a fi rst-rate con- contribution. This is exactly I would like to congratulate tender for an export hit. Formed on the threshold of the year 2000, the known attitude of the aca- Heinz Eckert for his editorial the group had already made a good name for themselves on Swiss demic ivory tower elite. They and his double-page feature on stages by 2002, when they released their fi rst album “Aphasie”. A know everything and we out here “Köbi Kuhn”. I am also tempted year later, Water Lily were awarded the “Nouvelles Scènes” prize by living in the Wilderness are to point out that the Union the radio station Couleur 3. For their new album, the group secured considered morons, numb-skulls Sportive Suisse de Paris (USSP) the services of renowned English producer Teo Miller (Placebo, Rob- and nitwits. Believe me, direct – founded in 1910 - has not ert Plant etc.). “13th Floor” ends with an ethno-psychedelic piece democracy will remain for a waited to be prompted by the that is carried by a rousing didgeridoo and seeks to invite us on an long time and l will keep voting Swiss Football Association (SFV) extraordinary journey. www.waterlily.ch from San Diego on every to seek out talented young play- Best orchestra for funeral music. The Dead Brothers? The name referendum! Keep up the good ers... The most famous Swiss of this quartet from has certainly caused a few frowns, but work in the rest of the “Swiss USSP member to play at inter- there is more than a pinch of irony behind this name. The Dead Review”! national level was Aaron Pollitz, Brothers have declared themselves the best funeral music orches- MAX WIRTH, SAN DIEGO, USA who clocked up 23 caps; he tra of the century, and as such they blend an enormous number of played in the Uruguay – Switzer- styles: gipsy music, swing, jazz, rock ’n’ roll, folk and country. Their Planting GM crops land (3 – 0) fi nal at the 1924 motto is: music should be festive. With a banjo, trombones, trum- Many thanks for your report Olympic Games in Paris. Let’s pet, accordion and guitar, they aim for a universe that comes across in the December “Swiss Review” hope Köbi Kuhn’s young and as comical and macabre in equal proportions. Their fourth album, on the people‘s referendum of dynamic “bunch of friends” will “Wunderkammer”, displays their musical and linguistic versatility – 27 November 2005 concerning thrill us with their performances it is sung in English, French and German. The Dead Brothers have the moratorium on planting at the World Cup in , even unearthed an old Marlene Dietrich song (“Wenn ich mir was GM crops. Living at this distance as they did recently in Berne. wünschen dürfte”, 1936), which they have adapted in accomplished from Switzerland and at some Hopp Schwiiz! fashion and combined with a melody by Nino Rota. remove from internal media MARTIN STREBEL, CHAIRMAN OF www.voodoorhythm.com/dead.html ALAIN WEY coverage of the issues at stake, THE USSP, LA VARENNE il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. and after voting on the questions, ST-HILAIRE, I am really grateful to have such detailed follow-up coverage on

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An anthology of station life. In Switzerland there are pre- cisely 1,806 railway stations, large and small. Christoph Grünig, a photographer from Biel/Bienne, has captured every single one of them with his camera and, in a series of 2,200 pictures, he documents life in these stations: the archi- tecture, the waiting, the hurrying, the joyous reunions, fond farewells etc. Klaus Koch’s stories tell of fi ctitious and real people who have left their mark on the image of Switzerland and continue to do so today. il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No.

Bellevues 2005, Photo: Christoph Grünig SWISS REVIEW Apr bound, 286 pages, CHF 89.00 - ISBN 3952308501 8 THE FUTURE OF FARMING IN SWITZERLAND

Worried Swiss farmers (OECD), this fi gure is extremely high com- pared with other countries. No other branch of industry in this country of ours has Nearly CHF 4 billion of government aid in changed its structures as drastically as farming. Despite return for a contribution of just one percent to this, our farmers are constantly being criticised by the economy: this ratio is attracting a great deal of criticism. If the Swiss parliament decides to politicians and economists. But the farming tradition reduce state fi nance or if the World Trade Or- has the backing of the . By Rolf Ribi ganisation (WTO) targets global free trade, complaining Swiss farmers will be regarded as “trouble-makers”. Trade associations and econ- omists are demanding fewer subsidies and in- stead a rapid transformation of the farming in- This statistic is so incredible you have to read dustry into a structure consisting of larger it twice: Switzerland loses fi ve farms every day. farms that are able to hold their own in a mar- That amounts to nearly 2,000 farming busi- ket economy. “I have noticed a general trend in nesses a year in the Mittelland – the heartland Switzerland that increasingly challenges farm- of the country – and in the hills and mountains. ing’s special position within the economy”, says So, in other words, on any one day fi ve farming Professor Bernard Lehmann, head of the Insti- families have to give everything up and stand tute of Agricultural Economics at the Swiss by helplessly as their possessions, animals and Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in equipment are sold to the highest bidders. Zurich. Tears and sadness are etched on the faces of farmers, many of whose forefathers have run ... and pressure from outside the farms for generations. There is also very strong external pressure for As the trade association Economiesuisse re- structural change in the farming industry. If peatedly emphasises, structural changes in multilateral negotiations in the WTO or bilat- farming are “not quick enough and not bold Verena + Hans Stucki, cereal farmers, Schlosswil/BE eral free trade agreements with the USA or the enough”. The association argues that the cur- are on the agenda, then agri- rent agricultural industry is too small in struc- culture faces a gloomy future; because opening ture and not productive enough. It views the Switzerland. The “home-made” facts include borders to foreign agricultural produce, trim- creation of larger farms as a matter “of key im- the following: only three percent of the entire ming down domestic market support and mak- portance”, and regards a free trade agreement workforce is still employed in agriculture. ing exports cheaper will impact farming reve- with the European Union for all agricultural Through their efforts in the fi elds and on the nues. “All in all, the WTO measures will products as “the only way ahead”. farm, they contribute just one percent to eco- probably cost farming around CHF 2 billion”, The “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” newspaper nomic added value. Added to this is the value estimates Manfred Bötsch, Director of the made the sarcastic comment that “being a of socio-economic services as stipulated in the Federal Department of Agriculture. “Losses on farmer is not a matter of fate. Nobody is forced Swiss federal constitution, e.g. the security of this scale would ruin all the efforts that farm- to remain a farmer for ever.” the country’s food supply, the upkeep of the ing has made over the past decade”, says Jacques Probably no other branch of industry in our cultural landscape and the population of re- Bourgeois, Director of the Swiss Farmers’ Un- country has experienced such a radical struc- mote areas. Despite this, the Agricultural Re- ion. tural transformation as farming. The number port 2005 issued by the responsible federal of- The current WTO round is clearly the great- of farms has fallen from roughly 93,000 in 1990 fi ce states that “Farming is no longer one of the est challenge to farming. But fateful negotia- to 65,000 last year – a 30 percent drop. In the most important branches of industry”. tions are also on the agenda with the United same period, the number of people employed Yet in terms of government expenditure on States and the European Union. in farming has also plummeted from 253,000 agriculture and food, this sector ranks fi fth. Al- A free trade agreement with the USA would to around 190,000 – down some 25 percent. most CHF 4 billion or 7.8 percent of govern- encourage the export of Swiss-made industrial But that is not the end of it: because of the 2011 ment spending was ploughed into farming in goods. From a farming point of view, free trade agricultural reform programme, every day over 2004, compared with CHF 3 billion in 1990. with the USA would have “serious disadvan- the next few years fi ve to ten farming families The largest slice, some CHF 2.5 billion, went tages”, according to Hans Burger, former Di- will have to throw in the towel. According to on so-called direct payments i.e. compensation rector of the Federal Department of Agricul- Manfred Bötsch, Director of the Swiss Federal to farmers for the upkeep of the countryside ture: income in our farming industry would fall Offi ce for Agriculture, this would mean “that and for ecological cultivation. The state gave by CHF 1.2 billion, the geographically distant 15,000 to 20,000 farms will be abandoned in- just under CHF 0.8 billion in support for pro- American market coupled with US consumer side ten years.” His personal view on the mat- duction and sales in dairy and livestock farm- behaviour make marketing diffi cult, and US ter: “The pruning measures demanded by farm- ing as well as plant cultivation. A further CHF meat, which is produced with antibiotics and ing are higher than they have ever been in the 0.7 billion was allocated to export subsidies, in- hormones, is not wanted here. Nor are geneti- industry.” vestment loans, agricultural schools or family cally modifi ed products from the US. Jean- il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. allowances. And here’s another statistic: more Daniel Gerber, Swiss State Secretary for Eco- Pressure from within ... than 70 percent of farming income comes from nomic Affairs, sees things differently: “The Intense internal and external pressure is driving state coffers. According to the Organisation for American market comprises 270 million con- Photo: Reto Camenisch SWISS REVIEW Apr the sustained structural change in farming in Economic Cooperation and Development sumers. This would offer Swiss farmers new 9

sales opportunities, for cheese and biological annual income of a worker on a family farm in the border, state support for the market, products, for example.” 2004 was CHF 39,700. This corresponds to a cheaper exports and income support for farm- The opening of borders within Europe to monthly wage of CHF 3,300 (equivalent to the ers. agricultural products is viewed more positively. minimum wage of a cashier in a large supermar- In a market of 400 million people with high ket). The so-called comparative wage shows Expensive means of production purchasing power and similar consumer behav- that in the valley region 38 percent, in the hills Whether animal feed or seeds, tractors or iour, quality products have a good chance of 51 percent and in the mountains 60 percent of equipment, fertilisers or pesticides, fuel or vet- making decent prices and selling well thanks to workers on family farms earn less than in com- erinary care – Swiss farmers procure the bulk the healthy “Swiss quality” image. With free parable occupations in industry and the serv- of their means of production from outside the trade in agricultural goods, domestic produc- ice sector. In the mountains, in particular, many country. One quarter of these initial costs is tion costs and product prices are expected to farming families are among the “” spent on animal feed from domestic and for-

Leo Elleberger, biological-farmer, Günsberg, SOVerena Aebersold, vegetable farmer, Treiten/BE Jean-François Maye, wine-grower, Chamoson/VS

settle at the European level. This will improve – they do not earn enough to live on despite all eign mills. The Situation Report 2005 drawn export opportunities for Swiss products. The their hard work. up by the Swiss Farmers’ Union clearly shows opening of the European market will hit farm- The agricultural income per farm was around how much more our farmers are having to pay ing very hard, with income loss estimated at CHF 60,400 in 2004. The average over the for such feed than farmers elsewhere in Europe. CHF 1.5 billion. For Hansjörg Walter, President past three years was CHF 55,600. Annual in- Based on an EU price level of 100, Swiss farm- of the Swiss Farmers’ Union, one thing is cer- come fl uctuates with product sales and direct ers pay 300 for seed and planting stock, for fer- tain: “The liberalisation of world trade is un- payments received. Because almost 70 percent tilisers and soil improvers 140, for plant protec- stoppable.” of all farming families are no longer able to live tion products and pesticides 125, for animal off farming alone, they look to generate addi- feed 300, for veterinary care and medicinal Modest income for farmers tional earnings elsewhere – the husband works products 127, and for investments in infrastruc- Farmers are feeling mounting pressure from the ski lift in winter or performs forestry work ture 136. both within and outside. More than 10,000 of for the town council, while the wife teaches or According to Eduard Hofer, Vice-Director them marched through the streets of the Swiss works on the post offi ce counter in the village. of the Swiss Federal Department of Agricul- capital, Berne, on 17 November of last year car- An average of CHF 21,500 was generated this ture, the main reason for the differences in cost rying cow bells and banners. Led by the fl ags of way in extra earnings, producing an average to- is the behaviour of international suppliers, who cantonal organisations, the men and women tal income of CHF 82,000 per farm – which base their selling prices on the price level and made their way to Bundesplatz, in front of the breaks down into CHF 93,100 in the valleys, purchasing power in any given country. More- Houses of Parliament, with serious faces and CHF 76,900 in the hills and CHF 68,800 in al- over, their distribution plans also prevent Ger- measured footsteps. “Stop the money men and pine areas. man dealers, for example, from supplying goods politicians who are turning farming into a Agricultural income has an impact on the in- to Switzerland at German prices. There are scapegoat”, cried one woman. “No-one who crease or decrease in equity. In 2004, 27 per- also other reasons for the higher costs in Swit- slaves away all day without getting paid a de- cent of farms in the valleys, 28 percent in the zerland, such as the fact that the distribution cent wage can understand managers’ high sal- hills and 30 percent in the mountains posted network is denser and the market smaller. aries and neoliberal slogans”, complained one negative equity, i.e. a loss. This means that these These distinctly higher prices have also man. When, at the end, they raised their bells farming families are living off their reserves, caught the eye of price regulator Rudolf Strahm. in a loud staccato, the farmers’ parade became with no resources to invest in new equipment In his opinion, our farmers pay CHF 1 billion a powerful demonstration – or was it a desper- or replacements. The fi nancial position of per annum more than they should for their ate cry for help to the powers that be in parlia- around 40 percent of all farms is regarded as means of production. He recommends that il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. ment? “worrying”. farmers operate a “cost management” pro- The plight of agriculture is evident from the Political pressure on the farming sector calls gramme and believes that the responsible fed- income that farmers receive. According to the for drastic agricultural reforms governing pro- eral department should make sure that the Photo: Reto Camenisch SWISS REVIEW Apr research organisation Agroscope, the average duction costs, marketing, protective tariffs at farming community is given access to price 10 THE FUTURE OF FARMING IN SWITZERLAND

comparisons and alternative sourcing options. keted. “We can absorb the pressure of interna- direct from their farms. They are discovering In addition, the price watchdog calls for farm- tional competition by supplying top-quality niche markets for new products; they have ers to be permitted to import such materials as Swiss products”, declared Federal Councillor Scottish Highland cattle grazing on their land; plant protection products and veterinary med- Joseph Deiss. To promote sales, he added, the they are planting melons instead of potatoes; icines directly. “The need to reduce purchas- government “helps people to help themselves”. baking traditional farm bread and extracting ing costs is becoming a survival issue for farms.” The Minister of Economic Affairs believes that oil from sunfl owers; and inviting people to en- But farmers can also do quite a lot more for the prospects are good for ecologically sustai- joy a farmer’s breakfast and spend holidays on themselves – by sharing machinery and trac- nable products and goods with a clear geogra- the farm. tors or by merging neighbouring farms. phical origin: “Not just cured meat, but cured The Swiss Federal Department of Agricul- meat from or from Valais; not ordinary Protective tariffs, marketing ture works with different fi gures: if farmers cheese, but Gruyère cheese.” With products and export help elsewhere in Europe were to produce and sell like these “it is possible to get round the pro- The state has long protected Swiss farmers 15 comparable agricultural products, they blem of higher prices because they are based from foreign competition – with import tariffs would generate only 54 percent of the revenue on confi dence and reliability”. and volume-based quotas. The duties slapped of their Swiss counterparts (and just 47 percent Cheese exports are already proving success- on top of import prices are steep: 47 percent in America). However, the gap in producer ful. Switzerland already has a share of almost for cherries, 59 percent for white wine, 64 per- prices between Europe and Switzerland has one percent in the EU cheese market. This cent for hard cheese, 145 percent for apples, 170 narrowed by 28 percent in the last ten years. equates to a quarter of the milk yield in Swit- percent for sugar, 183 percent for tomatoes, 273 Have Swiss consumers benefi ted from this? zerland. Federal Councillor Deiss is “proud percent for fi llet of beef, 556 percent for butter Certainly not! They pay 25 percent more for a that today 45 percent of German consumers and an incredible 1019 percent for chicken legs. comparable food shopping basket. count Swiss cheese among the best in the The price of one third of all agricultural pro- The fact that consumers here do not benefi t world”. Free trade in cheese with the European ducts from abroad is artifi cially raised more from farmers’ sacrifi ces is due to the margins Union is set to come into force in June 2007. than 100 percent through the imposition of ta- of the processing industry and retail trade. “Market presence in Switzerland and the rest riffs. Certain foreign products such as fresh “Food prices tend not to be based on producer of Europe must be strengthened”, agrees milk can only be imported in small quantities. prices. The margins of downstream industry Jacques Bourgeois. And: “The marketing strat- And the import of caulifl ower, carrots, apples and bulk distributors are much higher than egy must be geared even more towards origin and pears is only approved if domestic supplies those abroad. This is where reform is needed”, and production methods.” Sales should be pro- are short. claims Bourgeois. moted using quality products and special labels, This “border control” in the form of tariffs for example for alpine produce. and quotas is the main instrument applied to Better marketing Many farmers have already taken the initia- support domestic meat and crop production. It is not only costs that are in need of reform, tive by selling fruit and vegetables, meat and Any dismantling of this border control would but also the way agricultural products are mar- cheese, milk and eggs, as well as wine and cider make imported products cheaper, make the sale

THE VALLEY a fi ve-day week and holidays. francs. Silvia has a second job in a one bull and 18 pigs. They receive FARMER (Source: «Beobachter») RR nursing home, taking the family’s direct payments of CHF 70,800 Ulrich Ineichen is a valley income to CHF 53,000. The fact from the state, a good third of farmer in Boswil in the canton of THE HILL that Gottfried Grünig does not re- the farm’s revenue. They gener- . His 112-hectare farm is FARMER ceive even so much as CHF 6 as an ate a total income of CHF 85,000 one of the largest in the country. Gottfried Grünig and his wife hourly wage despite working a 14- thanks to second jobs: he works The “Sentenhof” estate looks a lit- Silvia run a typical Swiss farm in hour day depresses him. He would the ski lift, she baby-sits in tle like the South Fork ranch in Säriswil in the canton of Berne, not want to become a farmer these hotels. The working day runs the cult US television series “Dal- where they keep 16 cows, 10 days, but he cannot sell his farm – from fi ve o’clock in the morning las”. The owner of this large farm calves and heifers, 8 sows, one otherwise he would have to pay until ten o’clock at night. Up on has two employees and six trac- boar, twelve chickens and a trac- CHF 100,000 in liquidation taxes. the high alpine pastures in sum- tors. Its state-of-the-art barn with tor on 17 hectares of land. He (Source: «Beobachter») RR mer they produce more than four open enclosure has room for 60 would not be able to keep his farm tons of alpine cheese (“Alpkäse“) cows and capacity for 400,000 ki- going without state aid of around THE MOUNTAIN and planing cheese (“Hobel- los of milk production per annum. CHF 36,000 a year: one fi fth of the FARMER käse“). The Hermanns cannot Milking is computer-controlled. farm’s income. He receives this di- Martin Herrmann and his wife imagine doing any other job. As Six years ago, Ineichen switched rect aid from the state for cultivat- Christine are mountain farmers far as they are concerned, it is to organic farming. He generates ing the soil, using the meadows in Lauenen in the Bernese Ober- only right that they receive direct CHF 700,000 in turnover, of which extensively, living in the hills, land. Here, on 21 hectares of aid from the state. “We look after CHF 170,000 comes from direct keeping animals in a manner ap- land, they run an exclusively the countryside, and if it weren’t payments for organic production propriate to their species, and dairy farm with ten cows, six for us farmers there would be no il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. and for cultivating the area. He looking after 107 ecologically val- heifers, three calves, seven ewes animals up there.” estimates his hourly wage at CHF uable high-trunk trees. This farm- and a small tractor. In summer, (Source: «Beobachter») RR 35. Ineichen is proud of his large ing family is in debt – conversion the farmers work on the alpine

SWISS REVIEW Apr farm’s productivity levels and is of the shed and liquid manure pit pastures for three months – last able to grant himself the luxury of cost them half a million Swiss summer with 77 cows and heifers, 11

of domestic produce more diffi cult and, as a re- good, farmers and their families receive ap- Farming is a cultural heritage sult, reduce the income from farming. Of proximately CHF 2.5 billion per annum: money “We want to keep production-independent di- course, this Swiss protectionism runs contrary which comes from general state funding. Of rect payments, and we will”, declared Federal to global free trade. this, CHF 2 billion is in the form of general di- Councillor Deiss. He also commented that the “Abolition of this border control will be in- rect payments for the use and upkeep of mead- structural change would have to be made in a evitable in the medium to long term”, says Fed- ows and fi elds, particularly in the hills and “socially compatible” way. He is aware that three eral Councillor Deiss. “I imagine that in the mountains. Ecological direct payments of CHF out of four farms, particularly in the hills and next 10 to 15 years the border protection for 0.5 billion are intended as an incentive for farm- mountains, would not survive without the wage Swiss agriculture will be reduced to the same ers to perform special environmental services, payments they receive from the state. level as in the European Union”, comments such as ecological cultivation, extensive grain The Federal Council has the backing of the ETH professor Bernard Lehmann. It is “an il- production, organic farming and the keeping people on this issue: according to a Univox sur-

Louis Suter, fruit farmer, Hünenberg/ZG Sepp Haas, suckler cow breeder, Ohmstal/LU Andreas Binswanger, pig breeder, Tägerwilen/TG

lusion to want to secure the competitiveness of of farm animals in a manner that is particularly vey, 91 percent of Swiss people consider the Swiss agriculture with the present border pro- appropriate to their species. preservation of the countryside important or tection”, declares Rudolf Walser of trade asso- Direct payments as a wage for farmers only very important, 97 percent are in favour of ec- ciation Economiesuisse. came into effect in 1992. Before then, agricul- ological farming, 87 percent want to see ani- The Swiss Federal Council is aiming for more tural policy in the Swiss Confederation had al- mals kept in an animal-friendly manner, and 70 market and more competition with its “Agri- ways been about nutrition and defence as well. percent want mountain farming to be given cultural Policy 2011”. The core element of the In the “Battle of the Crops” in the Second special support. Only 23 percent of those sur- strategy is the phased abolition of current mar- World War, farmers became heroes of inde- veyed (and the trend is downward) are willing ket subsidies and measures to make exports pendence. The “old” agricultural policy guar- to sacrifi ce some of the farms. Conversely, how- cheaper, combined with higher direct pay- anteed them prices, sales and income. However, ever, 51 percent of Swiss citizens believe that ments to farmers. For example, domestic mar- the pegging of producer prices led to surplus the agricultural policy is leading to excessive ket subsidies for butter will be halved and the production, rising costs and uneconomic struc- costs. subsidy for overseas cheese exports abolished. tures. It was not until 1996, with the clear ac- Another answer produced by this survey is The removal of market support and the aboli- ceptance of the constitutional article by the that three out of four Swiss consider the “pres- tion of measures to make exports cheaper will people, that the “new” agricultural policy be- ervation of the farming way of life” important. free up roughly CHF 600 million, which will came possible. From this point onwards, the This is practically a declaration of love for the go to farmers in the form of direct payments. production of food also included the upkeep of farming community and its traditions. Col- The “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” is not at all happy the public environment. umnist Frank A. Meyer even holds the view about this: “The right answer to the losses is Of course, a bill that runs to “CHF 2.5 bil- that “the farmers we know and love make Swit- rapid structural change, rather than even more lion in direct payments to 65,000 farms” will zerland rich. The question of farming’s future money from state coffers.” not escape criticism. The arguments raised are: is the question of Switzerland’s future.” the constitutional objective of decentralising DOCUMENTATION: Agricultural Report 2005 (and previous reports) by the Swiss State wage for farmers the population cannot be achieved by farming Federal Department of Agriculture (www.blw.admin.ch), Situation Report 2005 The most important instrument of the Swiss alone; there is no clear mandate associated with (and previous reports) by the Swiss Farmers’ Union (www.bauernverband.ch), Main Report 2004 by Agroscope FAT Tänikon (www.fat.ch), Agricultural Informa- Agricultural Policy is the so-called direct pay- many of the direct payments; payments are tied tion Centre – LID (www.lid.ch), newspapers and magazines: Zug Documentation Centre (www.doku-zug.ch) ments to farmers, as compensation for per- to land area and not to yield; the threshold for forming the tasks required by Article 104 of the receiving direct payments needs to be raised Swiss federal constitution: securing the supply (which would affect many small farmers in il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. of food to the nation, conservation of natural the mountains and those involved in organic resources, preservation of the cultural land- farming: the direct payments prevent struc- scape and population of remote areas. tural change and lead to excessive checks on the Photo: Reto Camenisch SWISS REVIEW Apr For these “public” services for the common farms. 12 WWW.BUURERADIO.CH – A SUCCESS STORY

Nostalgic tunes from a Swiss cow byre Swiss Abroad. Within just days of Swiss Radio International‘s fi nal broadcast, „Nostalgic tunes When the Internet radio station buureradio.ch went „on the from a Swiss cow byre“ quickly became an in- air“ in late December last year, the network overloaded just a sider‘s tip among emigrants. The fi rst well- few minutes into the broadcast. And the success goes on: Up wisher was from Ságújfalu, Hungary („Finally something down-to-earth from Switzerland“). to 20,000 listeners are registered every day, and guestbook Listeners in Holland, Thailand („It‘s great be- entries show that buureradio.ch draws listeners from all over ing so close to home when we‘re so far away“), the world. By Peter Amstutz India, Canada and Australia as well as Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania in the USA were the next to discover this excellent source of Swiss folk music. Within 48 hours, hundreds of com- pliments like „Huärä guät“ or „This is great“ started pouring in from every continent and piling up on Brunner‘s desk. This down-to-earth musical programme is „made“ with the help of state-of-the art Inter- net and streaming technology provided by Dig- ital Media Distribution AG (DMD2) in Ueten- dorf near Thun. There, tens of thousands of tracks from every conceivable category are stored on music servers in top stereo quality. Of these, around 6,000 are folk music tracks specially digitalised for „buureradio.“ An aver- age of 20,000 listeners receive the broadcasts every day, one in eight from abroad. The homepage features the latest news in text form. Toni Brunner, Editor-in-Chief and Federal Councillor Despite the fact that it has no studio and broad- „Buureradio? What‘s that?“ That‘s the all too urban and rural audiences. Broadcasts include casts in online sessions, this radio station has frequent response if you ask Swiss about the lat- up-to-date topics such as lonely hearts ads for obviously discovered a hole in the market. As est and probably most unusual „radio station“ to farmers or tips from grandma‘s kitchen. Brunner says, „People are showing such an in- start broadcasting in their country. This virtual Thanks to sponsors and advertising organ- terest in us because traditional stations hardly station has been sending its programmes ised by a volunteer editorial staff of two dozen ever broadcast anything folksy. We‘re over- throughout the whole world via the Internet working with an annual budget of CHF whelmed!“ But Toni Brunner has merely turned (www.buureradio.ch) since 28 December 2005: 500,000, more than a million broadband Inter- a vision suggested by his father Johannes into a Traditional music, yodelling, folk, brass band and net users with an access line of at least 200 kbps reality. A farmer from Toggenburg, his father country sounds 24 hours a day, interspersed with (equivalent to ADSL) in Switzerland and missed listening to „traditional music with in- approximately 20-minute talk shows (agricul- around the globe can tune in to „buureradio. formation“ while working in the byre. Appar- tural and market news, advice, federal politics, ch“ in CD quality. Financing for operation of ently others did, too. Thanks to Internet radio, agricultural technology, Swiss wrestling, coun- the station has been secured for the fi rst three the national anthem plays at noon and church try kids, barn talk with „Buureradio“ founder, years. bells from home ring out at the stroke of mid- editor-in-chief and National Councillor Toni It had hardly even begun broadcasting when night. The next day always starts off with „En Brunner [see box] and a special guest) for both the fi rst e-mails started arriving from excited gschänktä Tag“ by Adolf Stähli.

THE BRAINS Weigelt (50) from St. Gallen, man- Appenzell, travel, sports and play- Tanja Gutmann (29) of Lucerne, BEHIND THE IDEA ager. This economic and commu- ing Jass. trained SBB operations clerk and SVP National Councillor Toni nications advisor has been on the Renzo Blumenthal (30) from 1998, presents Brunner (32) of Ebnat-Kappel National Council for eleven years. Vella (GR), master farmer, presents the special Swiss Abroad request (SG), editor-in-chief and manager. Before that he served on St. Gal- the special request show. Blumen- show (requests can be made via As a young 21-year-old farmer, len‘s Municipal Council (1988-90) thal became an overnight celeb- www.buureradio.ch). As an actress, Toni Brunner moved into Berne‘s and Cantonal Council (1990-96). rity on 30 April 2005 when he tri- model and presenter, Tanja Gut- parliamentary building in 1995 as Former SVP National Council- umphed over 15 other candidates mann leads a relatively chaotic life Switzerland‘s youngest MP. Work- lor Jakob Freund (60) from Bühler to win the title of Mister Switzer- divided between Switzerland and ing from his barn on the Hund- (AR), President of the Swiss Folk land. Together with his parents, Germany. And could this social ed- srücken, he presents his “Barn Music Association, is in charge of Renzo manages an organic farm in ucation worker, trained actress and Talk” show featuring special the folk music show. From 1995 to Lugnez. He considers himself speaker of fi ve languages imagine a guests from town and country. 2003 this down-to-earth member “natural and down-to-earth.” The future at Buureradio? “My grand- il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. “My aim is to have a lot of fun with of parliament served on the Na- fl ip side: He loves pop and rock. parents and my father were farm- buureradio.ch and put smiles on a tional Council. His hobbies: surf- His favourite city is Barcelona and ers, plus I spent the fi rst ten years great many faces.” ing the Internet, playing the dul- his preferred holiday destinations of my life on a farm,” is Tanja‘s ex- Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW Apr FDP National Councillor Peter cimer, string music from are Rhodes and Cyprus planation for this affi nity. POLITICS / SESSION / REFERENDUM 13

Re-integration before benefi ts ers of sick pay insurance to register sick persons with the IV. The Swiss invalidity insurance scheme (IV) is deeply in debt If there is any possibility of the affected per- due to the sharp rise in benefi t claims in recent years. son returning to work in the near future, the IV The National Council has now approved a reform aimed at would contact the employer to discuss early in- tervention measures. These could take the re-integrating claimants back into the job market and tight- form of modifying the person‘s workplace or ening up screening. The Left is opposed to the project. changing his or her function within the com- By René Lenzin pany. In more serious cases the IV could order measures aimed at re-integration, for example medical treatment, psychotherapy or retrain- ing. Such measures would last no longer than one year. Affected persons have a duty to co- specialised physicians, the number of new operate. If they refuse, the IV may reduce their claimants dropped in 2004 and 2005. Yet the sick pay. While the IV will need to hire extra benefi t burden is still increasing because the staff to cope with these new tasks, the Federal number of people receiving benefi ts still ex- Council is assuming that savings will exceed ceeds the number leaving the scheme. One ma- such expenditures in the medium term. jor concern is that more and more young peo- ple are claiming benefi ts for psychological No decision yet on paying off the debt disorders. Against this backdrop, the Federal These efforts to improve the integration of dis- Council recently submitted the fi fth IV reform abled persons in the job market are accom- to parliament. The National Council was the panied by tougher criteria for entitlement to Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin expresses his fi rst chamber to debate the issue in the spring invalidity benefi ts. Only persons who cannot views during the debate on IV reforms in March. session of parliament. be considered for integration measures would be entitled to benefi ts. In a move to reduce the In 2005 the number of persons receiving Swiss Early identifi cation and integration IV debt even further, the National Council has invalidity (IV) benefi ts totalled 290,000: The Federal Council has set itself the target of concurred with the Federal Council‘s proposal 125,000 or 75 percent more than in 1990. Every reducing the annual number of new claimants to introduce cost-cutting measures. It has abol- year the invalidity insurance scheme records a to at least 20 percent below the record year, ished permanent supplementary benefi ts for defi cit of around CHF 2 billion. And by the end 2003. To this end the principle of “re-integra- spouses as well as the career allowance: a per- of 2005 the debt had mounted to almost CHF tion before benefi ts” – which has long been a centage hike in benefi ts for persons who be- 8 billion. Had the government not transferred theoretical objective – is fi nally to be put into come disabled before the age of 45. The Left surplus funds from the income compensation practice. The aim is to set up a system for early voted against the law since it believed these fund on two occasions, the debt would have identifi cation of persons who are regularly off proposals went too far, especially since the been even four billion francs higher. These def- work sick and exhibit a tendency to chronic ill- Council is not in favour of introducing a quota icits are threatening the Old Age and Survivors‘ ness, so that in the best case they can keep their to oblige employers to hire disabled people. Pension (AHV) since invalidity benefi ts are jobs or, at second-best, can be treated or re- The question of how to pay off the debt is paid from the same fund: Unless action is taken trained to make them once more employable. still to be resolved. The Federal Council had now, the AHV will run out of cash in a few years‘ At present persons with long-term illnesses of- proposed offsetting the IV defi cit by increas- time. ten contact the invalidity insurance only after ing salary contributions by 0.1 percent and Parliament has already attempted to respond a year, by which time they are so sick that a re- VAT by 0.8 percent, but the centre-right ma- to this negative trend by introducing a fourth turn to the job market is virtually impossible. jority in the National Council wants to discuss IV reform. Thanks to tougher screening and This early identifi cation system would also al- additional measures only once the contents of stricter examination of medical certifi cates by low relatives, employers, doctors and provid- the reform are approved.

REFERENDUM PREVIEW On 21 May Swiss voters and can- ernment only subsidiary author- obligations, duration of educa- The proposed constitutional tons will vote on a constitutional ity, i.e. it may step in and issue tion and objectives for individ- article is virtually unopposed. article on Switzerland‘s educa- decrees only if the cantons do ual school levels, as well as mu- The National Council approved tional framework (see also not implement the jointly agreed tual recognition of school- the proposal by 176 votes to 3, “Swiss Review” 1/06). The Fed- objectives voluntarily. leaving certifi cates. For univer- and the Council of States by eral Council and parliament pro- The new regulations govern- sities the federal government 44 to 1. While the cantons were pose a standardised educational ing obligatory schooling provide and cantons must create joint not involved in formulating the system from Grade 1 of elemen- for a standardised starting date bodies responsible for harmonis- proposal, they expressly wel- tary school to graduation from to the school year, a standard ing study levels, transfers and come it. 22 out of 26 cantons il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. university. This harmonisation age at which all children recognition of degrees. In addi- voted in favour of the wording gives due consideration to can- throughout Switzerland must tion, the federal government of the new constitutional tonal sovereignty to the extent commence their education, may defi ne new principles gov- article. (RL) Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW Apr that it grants the federal gov- universally applicable schooling erning further education. 14 OFFICIAL DFA INFORMATION

2005 Swiss Abroad Swiss citizens Please note that certain Biometric infor- in EU countries cantons provide special enve- statistics have been France: 169,437 lopes. mation in Swiss published Germany: 71,115 If the reply envelope is also passports as of Italy: 46,327 to be used as proof of your September 2006 The “Fifth Switzerland” is : 26,441 eligibility to vote, it must be growing steadily. For the very Spain: 22,041 signed before you return it. In addition to the Swiss Model fi rst time, more than 100,000 : 13,207 If the reply envelope is not 03 passport, an electronically- voters exercised their political Netherlands: 6,856 to be used as proof of your readable passport (“Model rights. Belgium: 6,787 eligibility to vote, your consti- 06”) will be issued from Sweden: 4,435 tuency will send you a separate September 2006 at the earliest. 634,216 Swiss nationals were reg- Greece: 3,145 voter’s ID in addition to the It will cost CHF 250 and will istered with Swiss embassies and Denmark: 2,801 reply envelope. Include this be valid for only fi ve years. consulates at the end of Decem- Portugal: 2,767 in the reply envelope and mail ber 2005. Compared with De- Hungary: 1,651 it back to your constituency Passports with electronically- cember 2004, the number of : 1,423 together with your completed readable information (“Model Swiss citizens living abroad has Ireland: 1,339 ballot. 06”) will be issued as part of a increased by 11,159 or 1.8 percent. Czech Republic: 1,091 Different cantons and muni- federal pilot project with a maxi- The Swiss emigrant community Luxembourg: 956 cipalities have different voting mum duration of fi ve years. Ex- has grown by around 180,000 Poland: 563 arrangements: ternally it will be virtually indis- since 1990. 451,534 Swiss abroad Cyprus: 433 tinguishable from the Model 03 (71.2 percent) have dual citizen- Slovenia: 289 If you received an offi cial passport. The only difference will ship. Slovak Republic: 210 neutral ballot envelope from be an internationally recognised Their preferred countries of Malta: 149 your constituency, insert your symbol for electronically-reada- residence are those in the - Estonia: 35 ballot in the offi cial ballot enve- ble data located on the front pean Union (383,548 or just Lithuania: 23 lope, seal this in the offi cial reply cover – and the fact that the about 60.5 percent, see table). Latvia: 27 envelope and return it; cover itself will be thicker and France is home to the largest Total: 383,548 If you did not receive an offi - harder, due to a chip embedded group of Swiss emigrants cial neutral ballot envelope from in the page which contains all the (169,437) while other large colo- your constituency, insert your information printed in the pass- nies can be found in Germany ballot directly in the reply enve- port, including a photograph of (71,115), Italy (46,327), the UK statistics, go to www.eda.admin. lope, seal it and mail it to your the passport holder in a conven- (26,441), Spain (22,041) and Aus- ch/asd under the heading constituency; tional digital fi le format (jpeg). tria (13,207). “Publikationen”. In some cantons you can Providing that the required elec- Outside of Europe, the great- use a neutral envelope if tronic key is present, special scan- est concentration of Swiss Voting made easy! your municipality does not pro- ners will be able to read this in- Abroad is in the USA (71,773). vide an offi cial neutral ballot formation at a short distance. Statistics also show that women Before the referendum or elec- envelope. If expressly required, You need a Model 06 passport account for around 59 percent or tion date, your political constitu- label this envelope “Ballot Enve- if you wish to visit or transit the 283,105 of Swiss nationals living ency will send your election doc- lope” (“Stimmkuvert”). Seal this USA after 26 October 2006 (the abroad, while the men number umentation in the offi cial in the offi cial reply envelope biometric deadline) and do not 201,999 (41.65 percent). 145,504 language requested. These con- and mail it back to your constit- yet have a Model 03 model is- (23 percent) are under the age sist in principle of: uency. sued before this date. If you do of 18. explanations provided by the not yet have a Model 03 passport Of the 485,104 Swiss abroad Federal Council concerning the Voting arrangements are but still want to apply for one eligible to vote, 105,212 (21.69 individual referendum proposals, governed by cantonal law; there before the deadline, we advise percent) have registered at depending on the applicable are 26 different sets of rules! that you do so as soon as possible. Swiss representations to exercise cantonal law, a neutral offi cial We therefore recommend that Swiss Abroad must submit ap- their voting and electoral rights. ballot envelope from the constit- you read through the instruc- plications to their local Swiss This is a striking increase of uency, tions provided by your constitu- representation (embassy or con- around 10,000 (more than an offi cial reply envelope, ency very carefully so that you sulate) for both these and the 10 percent) compared to the election ballots for the indi- can make sure your vote counts electronically-readable Model end of 2004. To view these vidual proposals. in full. If you have any questions 06 passport which will be issued on election procedures, please from September 2006 at the ear- contact your constituency liest. In future, the fi rst part of Swiss Abroad around the world directly. the fee – CHF 200 – will be pay- EuropaEurope: 395,397 395 397 If you change your address, able at your Swiss representation. il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. Oceania:Ozea 27,229 please report this to the local In order to obtain a Model 06 Africa:Afr 18,017 Swiss representation (embassy passport, you must then visit America:Amerika 163,122163 122 or consulate) where you are one of the eight biometric data

SWISS REVIEW Apr Asia:A sie 30,451 registered. registration centres located 15

of appeal, whereby associations would be prohibited from ap- pealing on matters related to the environment and zoning if deci- sions have already been reached on such issues by referendum or parliament. The idea behind prohibiting association’s rights to appeal is to stimulate Swiss economic growth and both create and pro- tect jobs. You still have time until 16 May 2006 to sign this initiative.

PEOPLE’S INITIATIVES The following people‘s initiatives have been submitted since the last issue: ”For sensible fi nancing of the healthcare policy”; until 24 July 2007 ”Tax non-renewable energy, not work”; until 24 July 2007 ”Against animal cruelty and for better legal rights for animals These devices will be able to read the new electronic passport „Pass 06“. (animal protection lawyers‘ initi- ative)” until 31 July 2007 abroad (or in Switzerland). Out- (e.g. register of births, marriages, – [email protected] Signature forms for pending side Switzerland, you must do etc.), so before submitting an – www.schweizerpass.ch initiatives can be downloaded this at least one and at most 30 application for a new ID, make – Hotline: +41 800 820 008 from www.admin.ch/ch/d/ working days after submitting sure that all changes in your civil pore/vi/vis10.html your application . Swiss repre- status (e.g. name change as a re- Promoting Swiss sentations that serve as registra- sult of a marriage) are or have VOTING: tion centres abroad are located been reported in good time to economic growth Federal Referendum in Paris, Frankfurt, London, To- your local Swiss representation. The initiative committee “For an of 21 May 2006 ronto, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, It could take several months for end to obstructionist policy – Federal decision of 16 December Sydney and Mexico City (upon entries in Swiss civil registers to more growth for Switzerland” of 2005 on the amendment of the re-evaluation it was decided to be updated and this may cause a the FDP in the canton of Zurich constitutional articles gover- replace the centre designated for considerable delay in the issu- has launched a people’s initiative ning education New York by one in Mexico ance of your ID. entitled “Associations’ right of Forthcoming referenda 2006: City; see issue 4/05 of the “Swiss The Federal Offi ce of Police appeal: For an end to obstruc- 24 September/26 November Review” for more information which is responsible for this task tionist policy – more growth for about registration centres). is planning to publish a leafl et Switzerland!” If you are registered at one of with all the important informa- The people’s initiative calls for RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OFFICIAL these representations, please tion about the “electronically- incorporation in the Swiss fed- DFA INFORMATION PAGES: contact them in good time be- readable Model 06 passport.” eral constitution of a new article GABRIELA BRODBECK SERVICE FOR fore going to register your bio- This will probably be available as 30a governing associations’ right THE SWISS ABROAD/DFA metric data. There you will be of April and can be ordered free photographed and the remaining of charge from:

CHF 50 of the passport fee will Federal Offi ce for Construc- Advertisement be due for payment. Your Model tion and Logistics (BBL), 06 passport will be sent to you Publications, CH-3003 Berne 60 days later or you can pick it Fax: +41 (0)31 325 50 58 up from your representation. www.bbl.admin.ch/bundes il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. Important passport and ID publikationen. card information: The data in Additional information about your ID is based on the data re- the Model 06 passport is availa- Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW Apr corded in the Swiss civil registers ble at: 16 THE NEW SWISS FILM

Winkelried – The Swiss “Braveheart” Michael Steiner, winner of the Swiss Film Prize and director of Switzerland’s third biggest box offi ce money-spinner (“Mein Name ist Eugen”, 2005), has now released a new hit: “Grounding – The End of Swissair”. The pace and fascination of the fi lm inspire optimism about the future of fi lms made in Switzerland. By Alain Wey

Director Michael Steiner – shooting star of Swiss cinema

Is Swiss fi lm-making alive and well? Since the history of Swiss cinema.” The Zurich-based di- his partner David Keller.” Sauter’s record in- beginning of the new millennium, we can an- rector can congratulate himself. He has found cludes the scripts of “Ready, Steady, Charlie!” swer with confi dence “Yes– more so than ever.” the recipe for a Swiss fi lm that is a success at (which sold 560,514 tickets), “Mein Name ist Swiss fi lms are pulling in Swiss cinema audi- home. Michael Steiner works at his fi lm studio, Eugen” and “Grounding”, the biggest Swiss ences to even better effect than some major Kontraproduktion AG in Zurich, together with cinema hits of recent years. American productions. Michael Steiner is one scriptwriters, technicians and musicians. An The box-offi ce success of a Swiss fi lm in of the new generation of directors making at- encounter with a “self-taught director with his Switzerland depends on its ability to spark en- tractive, popular and profi table Swiss fi lms for roots in pop culture”: thusiasm in local citizens. “The most important the cinema. In January, his third venture “Mein Journalist, press photographer, then director thing fi rst of all is to be successful in the local Name ist Eugen“ [“My Name is Eugen”], won at Condor Film in Zurich, Michael Steiner, market and to prove that people go to the pic- him the Swiss Film Prize, presented in conjunc- now 36 years old, made his fi rst cinema fi lm in tures when you make a good fi lm. The subject tion with the Solothurn Film Festival. He took 1991 at the age of 22. “The new generation of matter is of paramount importance. ‘Eugen’ this opportunity to announce his next project: Swiss fi lm-makers works with different media, and ‘Grounding’ are clearly aimed at the Swiss “Grounding – The End of Swissair” – a swift- different contents and different narrative market. Both subjects have a fi rm hold on Swiss paced, exciting business thriller. Attracting modes, in terms of scripts as well as images and memories: the Swissair crisis and the story of il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. over 200,000 cinema-goers within the space of scenes,” explains the successful director. “It’s Eugen. The latter is based on a book that Ger- four weeks, this fi lm has been a resounding hit. my impression that successful fi lming depends man-speaking Swiss people read at school. It’s In view of the explosive subject matter, it has more on script-writers than on directors – in about people like themselves, they can identify Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW Apr even been called “the most daring work in the other words, on people like Michael Sauter and with it.“ The Swiss clichés used in “Mein Name 17

ist Eugen” make people laugh at themselves. “MEIN NAME IST “As far as ‘Grounding’ is concerned,” and here EUGEN” Michael Steiner is amazed, “the fi lm has an- The adaptation of Klaus gered every fi lm-goer I’ve met. It rekindled the Schädelin‘s book “Mein rage people felt at the loss of Swissair. Every- Name ist Eugen“ was Michael body wanted to keep the national airline...” Steiner’s third project aimed This analysis also applies to Switzerland’s at cinema audiences. It tells two biggest ever box-offi ce hits: “The Swiss- the story of four little boys makers” (940,103, viewers, 1978) and “Ready, in Switzerland in the 1950s. Steady, Charlie!” (560,514 viewers, 2003). “ Endless pranks and parent ‘The Swissmakers’ dealt with immigration: an trouble make Eugen and important issue for the Swiss. Not as a drama, Wrigley turn their backs on which wouldn’t have worked, but as a comedy. Berne and leave for Zurich ‘Ready, Steady, Charlie!’ took off for different to hunt for treasure, with a “GROUNDING – “I REALLY WOULD LOVE reasons. That one was the fi rst real comedy in secret card in their pockets. THE END OF SWISSAIR” TO MAKE A FILM WITH Swiss German and made for a young audience. Wrigley found the card in Based on the book “Swiss- AL PACINO” It is crucial for the local market to make fi lms the cellar, and wants to fi nd air, Mythos & Grounding” What are your cinematic in Swiss German.” its owner: Fritzli Bühler, who [“Swissair, Myth & Ground- infl uences? “Very broad. Steiner is happy about the revival of Swiss is thought to live in Zurich. ing”] by Bilanz editor-in- When I made ‘Grounding’ I fi lm-making: success with the public is worth On the way, the boys have chief René Lüchinger and a was undoubtedly infl uenced just as much as the best fi nancial backing from a chance encounter with a survey of eye-witnesses con- by Michael Mann, but with state and industry. For “Mein Name ist Eugen”, group of boy scouts, and join ducted by Michael Steiner, ‘Eugen’ my inspiration came Michael Steiner’s team achieved a fi rst by hav- them on their trip to . „Grounding“ maps out the last more from Jaco Van Dormael ing the support of a strong partner from pri- They then escape by bicycle, days of the debt-burdened (‘Toto the Hero’, ‘The Eighth vate industry as co-producer – the insurance taking their friends Eduard national Swiss airline, which Day’) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet company Mobiliar Versicherung. “Without and the somewhat reluctant became insolvent and was (‘Amélie’).” them, we wouldn‘t have been able to fi nance Bäschteli with them. Their fi nally nailed to the fl oor by Which genres do you partic- the fi lm (budget: CHF 6 million), the state parents soon discover the creditors on 2nd October ularly like? “Mafi a fi lms. If I grants wouldn’t have been enough.” Searching group’s fl ight, and set out 2001. The docudrama com- had the material I would like for private investors is typical of Steiner’s ap- immediately to fetch the bines real people with fi c- to make one set in Switzer- proach: in addition to the Swiss Department runaways back. Told like a tional fi gures, archive docu- land. ‘Scarface’ with a Zurich of Culture, the canton, the city of Zurich and fairy tale, but packed with ments from German Swiss accent, for example.” the Swiss television station DRS, more than 30 modern gags, “Mein Name ist television with elements of Is there one director who is other sponsors fi nanced “Grounding”, includ- Eugen” brought more than soap opera. “A dramatic sto- your particular idol? ing Swiss companies Amag, Migrol and Bally 538,000 people fl ocking to ryline simply had to be built “Probably Michael Mann, who as well as the Japanese enterprise Sharp and the the cinemas. The fi lm was into it as a background for made the ‘Miami Vice’ series. US company Reebok. third on the Swiss box offi ce showing the grounding’s His best fi lm was ‘Heat’. But A fi lm about a Swiss historical event? Steiner hit list in 2005, after “Mada- victims,” explains Michael ‘The Insider’ was great too. has already toyed with the idea. “I would like gascar” (686,027 tickets Steiner. “I wouldn’t have However, I am also a fan of to make a fi lm about Winkelried – the soldier sold) and “Harry Potter” made the fi lm if I hadn’t Francis Ford Coppola, Sergio who threw himself onto the enemy lances at (612,000). been so outraged myself Leone (‘Once Upon A Time the Battle of Sempach (1386) to breach the www.eugen-fi lm.ch about this debacle. By 2002, In The West’, ‘Once Upon A Austrian ranks. That is my most ambitious I still just couldn’t believe Time In America’) and project for Switzerland. The story would start that Swissair had gone. Martin Scorsese for his with the Battle of Morgarten and end with the I thought it would rise again. Mafi a fi lms.” Battle of Sempach. Sort of ‚Braveheart‘ style – They couldn’t just let the What fi lm would you like to that would be great. But it would take huge world’s best airline disappear make? amounts of money, and I don’t see myself be- off the face of the earth. I “I would like to make a fi lm ing able to do it for another ten years or so. I didn’t think it was possible – of the life of Wernher von estimate the budget at around CHF 30 million. and I reckon most other Braun. It has never been It would have to be an international produc- Swiss people felt the same done. The man who invented tion, because it would be nonsensical to make way.” the rocket for Germany and such a lavish fi lm for the Swiss cinema. I would www.groundingfi lm.ch developed the moon rocket need foreign partners who would guarantee for the Americans. His biog- right from the start that the fi lm would show raphy is fascinating: as a all over Europe and in America.” On behalf of child he wanted to explore fi lm fans all over the world, and especially in the moon – and ultimately il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. Above: Switzerland, let us hope that this big project Hanspeter Müller-Drossaart as he realised that dream.” will come off one day. Mario Corti in “Grounding” Which actor would you like www.kontra.ch, www.procinema.ch to make a fi lm with?

EINE PRODUKTION DER KONTRAPRODUKTION AG IN KOPRODUKTION MIT C-FILMS AG SOWIE SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN DRS TELECLUB UND IMPULS HOME ENTERTAINMENT "MEIN NAME IST EUGEN" MANUEL HÄBERLI JANIC HALIOUA DOMINIC HÄNNI ALEX NIEDERHÄUSER Left: Box offi ce hit BEAT SCHLATTER MIKE MÜLLER MONIKA NIGGELER PATRICK FREY SABINA SCHNEEBELI JÜRG LÖW STEPHANIE JAPP STEFAN GUBSER CASTING SIMONE HÄBERLING RUTH HIRSCHFELD PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG MERET NORA BURGER MASKE JAKOB PEIER KOSTÜME PASCALE SUTER SZENENBILD GERALD DAMOVSKY MONICA ROTTMEYER SCHNITT TOBIAS FUETER GISELA WEIBEL TON HUGO POLETTI MUSIK ADRIAN FRUTIGER KAMERA PASCAL WALDER DREHBUCH MICHAEL SAUTER CHRISTOPH FREY MICHAEL STEINER NACH DEM GLEICHNAMIGEN BUCH VON KLAUS SCHÄDELIN (THEOLOGISCHER VERLAG ZÜRICH) KOPRODUZENT PETER-CHRISTIAN FUETER PRODUZENT ANDI HUBER REGIE MICHAEL STEINER MIT UNTERSTÜTZUNG VON BUNDESAMT FÜR KULTUR STADT & KANTON ZÜRICH STADT & KANTON KULTURFONDS SUISSIMAGE Photo: Kontra/Procinema SWISS REVIEW Apr “Mein Name ist Eugen” “Al Pacino.” 18 POVERTY IN SWITZERLAND

“There‘s a lack of political will to fi ght poverty.” Whether How has the defi nition of poverty changed as a result of economic development? the number of poor in Switzerland is a million or a mere 80 years ago, poverty in Switzerland was still 600,000, poverty is increasing every year and is becoming defi ned based on caloric requirements, i.e. it a growing problem for the country. In an interview with was determined how many calories a person needed every day to survive. Nowadays, how- the “Swiss Review”, Walter Schmid, President of the Swiss ever, basic needs include a telephone and pos- Conference for Social Welfare, explained how poverty should sibly even a washing machine. In America, with be fought on a political level. Interview by Heinz Eckert its great distances, that even includes a car. Ba- sic needs differ from country to country and from society to society. What hasn‘t changed, however, is that poverty is equated with living „Swiss Review“: The fi gures published by a very simple life. Caritas were quite alarming: Are there really a million poor people in Switzer- How has poverty developed in Switzer- land? land? Walter Schmid: It‘s impossible to pro- The topology of poverty depends vide a precise mathematical defi nition greatly on how a society deals with it. of what poor means in Switzerland. I Until World War II, poverty among the think one million is too high; that fi gure elderly was a big problem both here and also includes recipients of supplemen- in other countries. Since the introduc- tary benefi ts who, while they may live tion of old age and survivors‘ insurance simple lives, are not actually poor. (AHV) and the supplementary benefi ts 600,000 is a much more realistic in particular, we have, to a great extent, number. But the fi gures aren‘t really all been able to eliminate old-age poverty that important. The question of whether in Switzerland. AHV and the supple- there are 500,000 or one million is sec- mentary benefi ts currently prevent hun- ondary. What matters is that poverty dreds of thousands of people from slip- has become a topical subject in this ping into poverty in their old age. Thus, country. even elderly people without money can spend their twilight years in a nursing How are these fi gures calculated? home that could potentially cost CHF Generally you take a country‘s aver- 7,000 a month. Those are huge socio-po- age income and divide it in half. Any- litical achievements that are hopefully body earning this amount or less is clas- here to stay. sifi ed as poor. Using this calculation we arrive at a minimum of CHF 2,500 for Today‘s poverty is caused by unemploy- a single individual to live above the pov- ment. What can be done to fi ght it? erty line and CHF 4,500 for a family of The real question is: How can a coun- four. Walter Schmid, President of the Swiss Conference for Social Welfare try deal with the possibility that thou- sands of people of working age might no Is it suspected that a large number of cases go un- thing to do with the fact that welfare services are longer be able to fi nd gainful employment and reported? controlled by the municipalities and that each be unable to provide for themselves fi nancially? Since social services are regulated very dif- trip to the welfare offi ce – especially in rural ar- One thing is certain: the tools we currently ferently from canton to canton, it‘s extremely eas – is subject to strong social pressures. The have at our disposal are insuffi cient for resolv- diffi cult to come up with a statistical assess- number of welfare recipients under a nationwide ing this problem. The government, for exam- ment of the whole country. Not only that, but social security system would probably be higher, ple, isn‘t allowed to interfere with wage struc- there has not been any great interest in a statis- which is why the number of unreported cases is tures or provide any jobs that might compete tical survey of poverty at a federal level in a long probably larger here than it is elsewhere. with commercial businesses. time. That‘s about to change. Welfare statistics are due to be published sometime this year. Is poverty still considered shameful in Switzer- Is there a lack of socio-political commitment in And as far as the unreported cases are con- land? Switzerland? cerned, the assumption is that around 40 per- Being poor in a country as affl uent as Swit- There‘s a lack of political will to fi ght pov- cent of potential welfare recipients are not zerland is pretty stigmatising. Being poor in a erty. We may have a great many social institu- claiming benefi ts and trying to keep themselves country with more poverty is easier since the tions but each of these is regarded individually afl oat without public assistance. poor there can talk about their fate with so and the aim of most changes is usually to cut many others. Here, poverty is still equated with expenses or maintain current levels of assist- il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. Is this a particularly Swiss phenomenon? personal failure, an attitude that is also making ance. Nobody asks, however, whether the meas- It could be that the Swiss have a greater fear it diffi cult to combat. The fact is that most peo- ures taken as a whole are actually suitable for of going to the welfare offi ce than people in ple did not become poor through any fault of fi ghting poverty and establishing some sort of Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW Apr other countries. That, however, also has some- their own. social balance. And that‘s precisely the ques- 19

tion that we should be focusing on. Let‘s look may not be to blame, they accelerate poverty‘s people in the workforce, not at all. The fi rst at an example: The objective of disability insur- emergence. step would have to be to implement sensible ance is not only to pay a pension to people who employment models. are disabled, it should also be integrated into a Is Switzerland‘s poverty a problem or a normal work process wherever possible. Discussions phenomenon? What are your socio-political priorities? What nearly always revolve around whether more or Of course poverty is a problem for Switzer- really has to be tackled fi rst and what measures less money should be involved. Hardly a word land, particularly because it keeps growing. have to be implemented? is mentioned about the socio-political objec- And while it may not be growing as quickly as The introduction of supplementary benefi ts tives that this money should achieve. was the case over the past few years, more and for low-income families would take top prior- more people are still falling into this category ity. There, just a little money would have a huge Why is this kind of comprehensive commitment every year despite increasing affl uence. While positive impact. There shouldn‘t be any at- missing? Isn‘t there enough pressure yet? the rich are earning more and more money, the tempt to get to the bottom of all the mistakes The regulatory framework of our extremely bedrock of poverty continues to grow. The di- the recipients made, however. Instead, the fo- free market economy makes it very diffi cult to vide between the rich and the poor keeps on cus should be on helping them so that their chil- achieve certain socio-political objectives. We widening, pressure shifts from the top to the dren can be raised properly. Another change have an extremely diffi cult time fi nding ways to bottom and there is a growing trend toward ex- should come in the area of education benefi ts, put people with limited abilities to work in such clusion. which are presently very low, in order to boost a way that is benefi cial and profi table for both these children‘s chances of a successful career. society and the economy. And that‘s what the And is the shrinking job market coupled with ris- The next step would be to create more job op- problem boils down to. Politics is stuck in the ing corporate profi ts to blame? portunities not only for young people, but ideological quagmire of not being allowed to im- One important cause certainly lies in the lack older people, as well. Finally, supplementary pose additional conditions on industry and, on of jobs. Another factor, however, is that we benefi ts should be introduced for the working the other hand, not being able to permit the don‘t have a family policy in place that is capa- poor whose wages leave them below the sub- government to compete against free enterprise. ble of counteracting this. We need a family pol- sistence level. But that‘s not all. There‘s international compe- icy that helps families with small and very small tition to consider, as well. You can‘t even start incomes to raise and educate their children. In Why is it so diffi cult for these demands to be im- any kind of experimentation in this area with- Switzerland, the lion‘s share of public expendi- plemented? out running the risk of jobs being shifted abroad. tures goes toward old-age benefi ts. Other coun- Our country is not the only one to suffer That leaves very little room for manoeuvre tries do just the opposite and invest more in from an intellectual straightjacket, particularly when it comes to domestic social policy. their family policy. when it comes to economic and social policy. The laws governing our economic regulations If poverty continues to grow, then it will certainly What is our social policy suffering from? are viewed as God-given rules. In reality, how- become a political problem as well, won‘t it? Politics is caught up in a way of thinking that ever, they are simply one possible way to con- This has been repeatedly predicted by cer- makes it nearly impossible to rethink. Take the fi gure our economic and social life. This one- tain groups who maintain that, at some point, debate on whether to raise the retirement age, dimensional way of thinking prevents the the situation will explode. I don‘t think it will. for example. How will that help? As long as development of progressive, modern and effec- Switzerland is so rich that this explosion just there‘s no way to meaningfully deploy older tive solutions to many urgent problems. isn‘t going to happen. Even in poor countries like Romania, poverty doesn‘t lead to revolu- tion and what we‘ve got here is still far removed CARITAS: are poor and for pensioners lines for Providing Welfare from the situation there. ONE MILLION POOR the number is 200,000. When Support“ in the sixties. PEOPLE children, pensioners and all Among experts these quickly To what extent are people to blame for their own ■ The number of poor re- those in between are counted became an authoritative poverty? ported by Caritas at the be- together we arrive at the esti- standard for developing and That‘s a multi-faceted question. In our so- ginning of the year caused mated fi gure of one million calculating social welfare. As ciety, consumerism is a status symbol that quite a stir. According to Cari- poor people. More details will a professional association, tempts young people, in particular, to build up tas, there are one million poor be available this year when SKOS depends on the experi- debt. On the other hand, it‘s easy for these people in Switzerland. Caritas the Swiss Federal Statistical ence and active participation young people to get into debt. Many of them arrived at this projection Offi ce publishes its fi rst com- by people working in the area are so far into debt that they will never be in a based on the poverty guide- prehensive fi gures regarding of social welfare. For this rea- position to pay it all off. People also frequently lines set by the Swiss Confer- welfare recipients throughout son, people from community get into debt with a view to avoiding the need ence for Social Welfare (SKOS) all of Switzerland. Ec. and municipal authorities for welfare assistance. These debts, however, and fi gures provided by the make up a vital portion of its endanger their social networks as well since Swiss Federal Statistical Offi ce TASKS PERFORMED membership and one of the people who have borrowed money from fam- which estimates (based on BY SKOS association‘s current corner- ily and friends avoid all contact with them. the number of working poor ■ SKOS started out as the stones is providing opportuni- The result is a complete loss of social stability. households in 2003) that „Conference on Poverty Re- ties for their further develop- il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. This is why it‘s so important to work with these around 230,000 children are lief“ in 1905. That forum then ment. SKOS guidelines help young people, in particular, and repeatedly affected by poverty. Accord- developed into the „Swiss establish uniform practices in point out the dangers associated with increas- ing to Caritas, 600,000 people Conference for Public Welfare“ how social welfare is handled

SWISS REVIEW Apr ing indebtedness. While simpler small loans between the ages of 19 and 64 which issued its fi rst „Guide- throughout Switzerland. 20 OSA NEWS

84th Congress of lishment of such renowned insti- the Swiss Abroad attending Sat- well as competent, experienced tutions we know today as the urday morning‘s plenary meet- management. For 14 years the Swiss Abroad: Museum of Art, the Tinguely ing. In the afternoon a choice of Brigitte Fuchs, Project Leader at A congress with a Museum, the Beyeler Founda- locations such as the Schaulager, the Stapferhaus, looked for fami- cultural infl uence tion Art Museum and the the Beyeler Foundation Art Mu- lies in Switzerland who were Schaulager, where artists can ex- seum, the Museum of Culture, willing to accommodate guests. Between 18 and 20 August, the hibit their works in buildings de- the Museum of Art and the Mu- Her work matching up hosts and Congress Centre Basle will host signed by star architects like seum of Antiquities is on the suitable guests from all over the the 84th Congress of the Swiss Herzog & De Meuron or Renzo agenda. The evening will be re- world has resulted in the forma- Abroad. Since Basle enjoys a Piano. Not only does Basle have served entirely for the banquet tion of some long-term friend- long tradition of close links the greatest concentration of at the Messe Basle banquet hall. ships. between culture and business, museums for a city of its size, but In keeping with the theme of this Swiss Ping Pong has also had the OSA has chosen the follow- also the highest number of mul- congress, Sunday will be given to cope with a new surge of visi- ing enduring theme for this tinationals. Business and culture over to museum visits. You can tors since the introduction of year‘s congress: Partnership share a long tradition of partner- fi nd more information about the study opportunities for young between business and culture. ship in Basle which will be illus- 84th Congress for the Swiss Swiss Abroad. These young peo- trated through enriching mu- Abroad at www.aso.ch. ple attend a language course, get “Look, then talk” is the motto for seum visits and interesting a taste of university life or take this year‘s congress which is speakers. Wanted: Host part in a seminar. largely dedicated to the discov- The Congress for the Swiss For the past six years they ery of those locations to which Abroad kicks off on Friday 18 families have also been placed with Swiss Basle owes its international fame: August, with the meeting of the Over the past 14 years more families and, while the number its museums and its industry. Council for the Swiss Abroad in than a thousand Swiss Abroad of young people taking advan- The two have always been inex- the town hall between 9 a.m. and have had the opportunity to tage of these offers and looking tricably linked on the banks of noon. The session will continue enjoy the hospitality of a Swiss for accommodation continues the Rhine. The major pharma- after lunch until 5 p.m. The family. Host families and visi- to grow, they appreciate the ceutical companies, thanks to evening will then be dedicated to tors were sought, placed and opportunity to gain an insight which Basle‘s industry is thriving, the offi cial opening of the con- cared for by Swiss Ping Pong. into Swiss family life, and the soon recognized that their pres- gress in the Congress Centre, At the end of 2006, the Swiss host families thoroughly enjoy tige also depended on support of with the performance of the mu- Ping Pong exchange project the breath of fresh air their the numerous institutions in this sical tale “Mountains Don‘t will come to an end. The OSA foreign visitor brings into their stronghold of European culture. Move.” Federal Councillor thanks all those involved and homes. Private funding led to the estab- Christoph Blocher will speak to aims to continue the project in The Stapferhaus Lenzburg has a new format. made a strategic decision to dis- continue the Swiss Ping Pong This project was initially project. As a cultural institution launched on the occasion of the whose activities are focused on 700th anniversary of the Swiss the organisation of exhibitions Confederation in 1991. The idea both in Switzerland and abroad was to invite as many Swiss as well as educational services in Abroad as possible to participate the fi elds of cultural promotion in the event‘s festivities. Wom- and management and socio-cul- en‘s organisations were per- ture, the Stapferhaus Lenzburg suaded to implement the idea, feels that Swiss Ping Pong no which would simultaneously en- longer fi ts its concept. able encounters between Swiss The OSA is ready to take over Loved by locals and visitors alike: The Tinguely Fountain in Basle nationals at home and abroad. the baton and, from October These ladies were willing to take 2006 onward, assume responsi- 84TH CONGRESS OF THE SWISS ABROAD, BASLE Swiss Abroad into their own bility for the youth-related ac- Please send me the information package for the 84th Congress of the homes with room and board pro- tivities of Swiss Ping Pong. Swiss Abroad (please use block capitals) vided by the hosts. Moreover, we are aiming to ex- Surname: First name: This one-time event sparked tend the project‘s offers for Street/no.: Postcode/city: off an exciting project. Even af- young people to the French- Country: Tel: ter the big anniversary, Swiss speaking part of Switzerland. Fax: E-mail: Abroad continued to take advan- With this in mind, we are seeking tage of this opportunity to visit partners and host families in that Please return the completed coupon to the following address by 30 May 2006: Organisation Switzerland and get to know region. The OSA hopes that, of il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. of the Swiss Abroad, Congress, Alpenstrasse 26, P.O. Box, CH-3006 Berne, e-mail: [email protected]. Since this year‘s deadlines have been shortened for organisational rea- Swiss citizens on a personal level. the enormous network built up sons, the end of June will mark the deadline for Congress of the Swiss Abroad registrations. Thus Swiss Ping Pong was born. over the years, it can keep as The registration form is included in the congress information package which can be ordered using the above coupon. You can also order the congress information package electronically The Stapferhaus Lenzburg pro- many friends of Swiss Ping Pong Photo: Basel Tourismus SWISS REVIEW Apr at: [email protected]. Please do not forget to include your full postal address. vided a home for this project as as possible on its fi les. 21

Young Swiss ered the countryside and the more impressed my young guest Abroad meet in became. While it may not have Switzerland been very noticeable in the well- This summer, the OSA’s Youth heated double-decker train from Service once again offers a Zurich Airport to Lucerne, as wide range of recreational and soon as we were sitting in the educational holidays in Switzer- small Brünig-Hasliberg train it land. We want to establish ties: was obvious that I was travelling Ties to our country, ties to with a boy from warmer climes. Swiss people living in Switzer- Shivering from head to toe, he land and ties to those living and I pulled out gloves and a all over the world. scarf from the huge suitcase we had parked in the entry area of This summer the Youth Service the train. He didn‘t really seem is expecting around 160 young Fantastic weather at the New Year‘s camp on the Hasliberg to know what to do with these Swiss Abroad to attend the two odd pieces of (hand-knitted) summer camps alone. We organ- dress the relationship between burst with excitement. “Is this clothing so I helped him get ise unforgettable, action-packed business and culture using Basle snow?” he asked me without tak- them on. A good two and a half holidays with participants from as an example. You will also at- ing his eyes off that fascinating hours later we fi nally arrived at over 40 countries We offer them tend the Federal Youth Session sight. When you watch a child‘s the camp‘s deserted main build- the opportunity to learn new where you can experience Swit- very fi rst experience with snow, ing. Everybody had already hit sports and get to know the zerland‘s direct democracy fi rst it‘s something you‘ll never for- the slopes. breathtaking mountains of the hand. Our open-minded host get. You could tell from his wide It didn‘t take him long to get Bernese Oberland. And since families are eagerly awaiting eyes that he could barely believe settled in and then take his fi rst not everybody feels the same you and will let you join in on what he was seeing and the same twenty spills in the snow while urge to get out into the open air, everyday Swiss life. was true with the plentiful graf- trying to master the art of con- our camps offer alternative As always, information on fi ti so colourfully covering trolling two very uncooperative workshops where kids can join in these offers can be requested at: nearly every conceivable surface boards strapped to his feet. His on artistic, electronic or musical Organisation for the Swiss Abroad, near the tracks. big eyes with their dark lashes activities. Our goal is to have fun Youth Service, Alpenstr. 26, 3006 The train took us farther and and the way they sparkled when with others of the same age. Berne, Tel.: ++41 (0)31 356 61 00 farther into Switzerland‘s winter they spied snow are something Fax.: ++41 (0)31 356 61 01 wonderland. The closer we I‘ll remember for a long time to Dates: [email protected], www.aso.ch came to our destination in come. Summer camp 1 in Kandersteg: Hasliberg, the more snow cov- 16 – 28 July 2006 Have you ever seen Summer camp 2 in Kandersteg: Advertisement 30 July – 11 August 2006 snow? Mobile in Switzerland – up in On day two of our winter camp the mountains of the Valais: in Hasliberg (27 Dec. - 5 Jan. 21 – 27 August 2006 2006) I picked up a twelve-year- old Bolivian boy from Zurich Plan your future during Kloten airport who had missed the holidays? his connecting fl ight in Miami Our “Training in Switzerland” and, despite the 24-hour delay, program is geared toward young still wanted to make it to camp people who are interested in ob- to join the other forty-seven taining an education in Switzer- campers. As soon as I had liber- land or who would simply like to ated him from the UM (unac- take a peek at a Swiss university companied minor) counter, we or training opportunities in tackled the challenging task of some branch of the Swiss indus- weaving our way through the try. We offer you one-on-one airport‘s teeming masses with counselling and give you tips on his luggage to reach our train‘s educational opportunities in departure platform. Once we The World & Swiss leader in corporate and adult English language training Switzerland. had emerged from the artifi - is now offering English speaking business professionals cially lit underworld of the air- Swiss Franchise Opportunities il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. Take an educational holiday port‘s train station, my Bolivian With 11 centres already open since 1986, we are ready to develop Zurich, Swiss Abroad can learn German companion discovered the thin Basel, Bern, Luzern and Wallis from September 2006. An existing centre or French in two-week language dusting of white snow that cov- in the Swiss French region is also available. Interested parties should contact [email protected] SWISS REVIEW Apr Photo: zvg courses. Our workshop will ad- ered everything. He practically 22 AVIATION

Switzerland is becoming the Mecca of low-cost airlines peak fi gures recorded before Swissair was grounded, when 3.8 million passengers would Low-cost airlines are taking Switzerland by storm. At the air- fl y out of Basle. easyJet in particular is contrib- ports in Basle and Geneva, around 30 percent of all passen- uting to this meteoric growth. This budget air- gers are already boarding cheap fl ights. In European travel, line from England has stationed three of its or- ange planes at the EuroAirport since 2004, the airline Swiss is responding to competition from budget with another set to join them in the spring. airlines by offering rock-bottom prices. By Lorenzo Vasella The industry leader also runs a hub at Ge- neva International Airport. There, as many as 35 percent of the airport‘s ten million passen- gers take the low-cost option. The Genevans have even allocated air travel discounters their own special terminal, which only provides a ba- sic essential service, so that the airport tax can be forced down to less than CHF 20 per pas- senger. Spokesman Philippe Roy indicated that Geneva International Airport also has plans to renovate the current charter building, which dates back to 1949, but the project is currently being blocked by Air France. Traditional airlines like Swiss fear competi- tion from the budget airlines. Swiss, Switzer- land’s largest carrier – now a subsidiary of Ger- many’s Lufthansa – is no longer safe even in its own home, Zurich-Kloten Airport. While it succeeded in expelling easyJet to the Rhine two years ago, Helvetic Airways already serves easyJet and other low-cost airlines are making life diffi cult for Swiss. around 20 destinations from Zurich, with a fur- ther fi ve due to be added in the spring. Swiss Never in the history of civil aviation has it been fi lled by budget airlines. The second event was responded with a new tariff structure. Like its so cheap to fl y. If you book early you can jet all the Bilateral Air Transport Agreement be- competitors from the budget segment, it now around Europe at absolutely rock-bottom tween Switzerland and the European Union, offers fl exible prices: the earlier you book, the prices - all thanks to low-cost airlines. From which came into force in June 2002 and imme- cheaper your fl ight. Swiss tickets are now avail- Switzerland, aeroplanes run by easyJet and diately enabled foreign companies to fl y from able on special offer for under CHF 100. Helvetic Airways alone fl y to more than 50 hol- Switzerland not only to their native countries Will this strategy work for Swiss? Aviation iday and business destinations. Five years ago but to others as well. expert Sepp Moser has his doubts. In his view, there were scarcely a dozen. The number of The EuroAirport in Basle/Mulhouse is ben- unlike the low-cost airlines, Swiss will lose budget airlines that are fl ying from bases efi ting tremendously from this up-and-coming money on these low prices because “carriers abroad to Swiss airports is also on the in- sector. Almost 30 percent of its 3.3 million pas- like easyJet fl y with far lower costs than tradi- crease. sengers fl ew with a low-cost airline in the past tional airlines as they limit themselves to sup- Low-cost airlines have two events in par- year. The latter are described by airport spokes- plying just the basic product – transport from ticular to thank for this dramatic upturn. The person Vivienne Gaskell as “one part of the A to B.” Swiss spokesman Dominik Werner, fi rst was the grounding of Swissair in October overall strategy.” She states that low-cost air- however, is able to see a positive side to the 2001 – this created a void in the Swiss airspace. lines are an “important growth driver” for the competition from budget airlines: “The low- Swiss International Airlines, the successor to EuroAirport and that, in 2005 alone, passenger cost airlines attract a clientele that would never the stranded pride of the nation, has withdrawn numbers rose by 30 percent. As a result, the tri- have fl own before.” And these people too may from many locations. The vacuum is being national airport is once again approaching the decide they want more comfort at some point.

MONEY OR NATIONAL PRIDE? prior to the grounding of Swissair, more than 20 percent of interview- ■ Traditionally, the sight of tail-fi ns bearing the Swiss cross at air- ees said that they did not pay particular attention to the price. Two ports abroad would always make the hearts of Swiss travellers beat years later and this fi gure had fallen to just under seven percent. Last faster. It seemed that here was a piece of home within their grasp. But year, again almost twelve percent said that they regarded the price as what about now? Do Swiss people still care whether or not they fl y with “not important”. a Swiss airline, or are they more interested in saving money? “Swiss ■ While price sensitivity has increased since the grounding, choice of Review” decided to get to the root of the matter with the help of a sur- airline has become less important. In 2000, a good 50 percent of all vey conducted by the industry magazine “Schweizer Touristik” (ST). those surveyed still looked at the tail-fi n. Five years later, only 37.5 ■ Every summer for more than a decade now, the ST has been inter- percent still felt that it was important which airline carried them to il 2006 / No. 2 il 2006 / No. viewing over 1,000 package holidaymakers at Zurich airport about their destination. It is therefore apparent that Swiss air passengers are their travel habits, with questions including the cost of the journey tending more and more to switch their attention from the service pro- and the choice of airline. The survey reveals that price has always vider to their wallets. LOV Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW Apr played an important role. One point of note, however, is that in 2001, NEWS IN BRIEF 23

World Economic Forum of chocolate. With this in mind, in Davos she has asked the French archi- What drives people to go to the tect and designer of the Expo.02 World Economic Forum WEF)? monolith, Jean Nouvel, to mod- “Sex and China”, says “Le Temps” ernise the product design. Nestlé newspaper. Of the 240 debates Switzerland’s long-term aim is to on offer, it was the round table bring out at least twelve new on “Sex and Business” that was Cailler products every year. the most popular. Apart from a few exceptions, the leading poli- Spiralling fi gures ticians were conspicuous by It‘s one record after another at their absence. Consequently, the UBS. Compared with 2004, WEF fi lled the front pages of the Switzerland’s largest bank has daily newspapers with invited managed to post a 75% rise in net stars: singers Bono (U2) and profi t to CHF 14,029 billion. Peter Gabriel, as well as actors The Credit Suisse Group has Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and also announced record results, Michael Douglas. reporting net profi t of CHF 5,850 billion, up 4% on last year. FIFA punishes Huggel downhill. Ambrosi Hoffmann Public fi nances In the wake of the incidents dur- Bird fl u from Graubunden won a bronze Switzerland’s accounts make for ing the match between Switzer- Swiss poultry have been cooped medal in the super-G. In freestyle surprising viewing. In 2005, the land and Turkey in Istanbul on up since the middle of February. skiing, the acrobatics of Evelyne government had to contend with 16 November last year, FIFA’s Following on from the directives Leu earned her the gold. In the a defi cit of just CHF 100 million disciplinary committee ruled passed back in October 2005, skeleton, the women’s event was instead of the 1.8 billion budg- that the Turkish national team the Federal Council has adopted won by Maya Pedersen-Bieri eted. This improvement was must play its next six home new directives to protect poultry from Berne, with Gregor Stähli thanks to a fall in spending of games “behind closed doors” on against bird fl u. They must now achieving bronze in the men’s more than CHF 1.1 billion and a neutral territory. It has also im- be kept in covered enclosures so competition. Tanja Frieden from rise in income of CHF 600 mil- posed a six-game ban on Swit- that no wild birds can get in. The Berne took gold in a new Olym- lion. And this does not even in- zerland’s Benjamin Huggel and H5N1 virus has been detected in pic discipline, the snowboard clude the exceptional income: Turkey’s Alpay and Emre Beloz- France, about a hundred kilome- cross. Snowboarder Philipp proceeds of CHF 7 billion from oglu. As a consequence of this tres from the Swiss border. Fur- Schoch managed to beat his gold sales decision, the Swiss international ther dead wild birds and carriers brother Simon to the gold in the and CHF 1.4 billion from the player will not be allowed to take of the virus have been found in men’s parallel giant slalom, with sale of Swisscom shares. As a re- part in the World Cup. Italy, Germany and Greece. A Daniela Meuli winning the wom- sult, the budget is expected to be threat is also posed by migratory en’s contest. Stéphane Lambiel balanced again by 2007. Euro 2008 and security birds from Africa that will reach put in a wonderful performance The security costs that the Swiss Switzerland in the spring. to earn the silver medal in fi gure Air pollution record authorities will have to pay for skating. In the two-man bob, the During the course of January staging the 2008 European Foot- Fax from Egypt duo Martin Annen and Beat and February, concentrations of ball Championship have esca- The publication of a confi dential Hefti came away with the bronze dangerous fi ne dust particles in lated from CHF 10 million to Swiss intelligence document in medal. And the silver medal in the air reached unprecedented more than CHF 60 million. the press has caused an uproar in curling was won by the Swiss levels for Switzerland. The NA- Switzerland’s Minister for De- the Swiss parliament. The elec- team skipped by Mirjam Ott. BEL monitoring network con- fence and Sport, Samuel Schmid, tronic surveillance system oper- tinuously measures air pollution, explained that the initial esti- ated by the Swiss Ministry of Swissmetal with the limit set at 50 micro- mate was made before the at- Defence intercepted a fax sent In Reconvilier (JU), the employ- grams per cubic metre of air. In tacks on New York and that the by the Egyptian foreign ministry ees of Swissmetal are on strike Switzerland’s major cities, this new security standards have not to its London embassy, mention- for the second time in just over a permitted threshold was at times been relaxed since then. ing the existence of secret CIA year. They are protesting against exceeded up to fourfold. Follow- prisons in Europe. But the au- the restructuring measures ing an appeal by the Swiss Envi- New look for Cailler thenticity of the document has planned by management. More ronment Minister, Moritz Faced with strong competition, not been proven. than 10,000 people from all over Leuenberger, twelve cantons in- Nestlé Switzerland is seeking to the “Arc Jurassien” region have troduced a speed limit of 80 km/ rejuvenate its brands. Nestlé Medal haul for Switzerland demonstrated in support of the h on their motorways. The re-

2006 / No. 2 2006 / No. boss Nelly Wenger, former di- The Olympic Games in Turin 300 or more strikers. Joseph De- cent wind and change in the rector of the Swiss national exhi- were kind to the Swiss athletes. iss, Minister of Economic Affairs, weather have “cleared” the air, bition Expo.02, has ordered this Bruno Kernen and Martina has appealed to the management but preventive measures will still rejuvenation programme, which Schild came away with bronze of Swissmetal and the trade un- be taken. ALAIN WEY Photo: Keystone SWISS REVIEW April will begin with the Cailler brand and silver respectively in the ion Unia to open negotiations. www.bgcom.ch

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