Economy minister Johann Schneider-Ammann re-elected
UDC now fighting for Calmy-Rey’s seat, its last chance to add a party member to the council
Doris Leuthard, first Swiss gov't member re-elected, by large majority, 14 December 2011
11:30 BERN, SWITZERLAND – The last of 7 seats on the federal council is the focus of a tough fight between the Socialists and UDC parties, with the UDC arguing that Switzerland’s balance of power calls for its candidate, Jean-François Rime, to be given the seat. In the first round of voting, Alain Berset took the lead with nearly twice as many votes as his opponents, but without the necessary majority. The 31-year-old economist from Fribourg is the youngest member of the upper house.
Doris Leuthard and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf were re-elected easily as the first two of seven seats for the ruling Federal Council, the Swiss government (also sometimes referred to as the cabinet) were assigned by parliament. Ueli Maurer, Didier Burkhalter and Simonetta Sommaruga were re-elected in the minutes that followed.
Leuthard, who is minister for the economy, had 216 votes (114 needed for an absolute majority) while Widmer-Schlumpf, finance minister, had 131 (absolute majority: 120). The latter’s split from the national UDC party angered it in 2007, when she was elected and leader Christoph Blocher was not, and her re-election today, with the two UDC candidates receiving far fewer votes.
The UDC is now attacking the final two seats with just one of its two official candidates, Jean-François Rime. Given the UDC’s strongly conservative stance on the economy and foreign affairs, the seats are hotly contested.
Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, who has been a member of the Federal Council for seven years, gave her farewell speech Wednesday morning. The 66-year-old Socialist is retiring from political office, although she told journalists two weeks ago that she has no intention of dropping off the political scene.
The Swiss presidency rotates among the council members, who serve in the role for one year.
The order of votes for the seven council seats are based on time in office:
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s energy minister, Doris Leuthard, Monday told a press conference that she is putting on hold all plans for new nuclear energy plants until safety norms can be reviewed. The norms would be reviewed by the Federal Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety in the light of findings concerning Japan’s nuclear power plants and their safety following the 11 March earthquake there.
There are fears that the core at a Fukushima plant in Japan may be melting, with little water remaining and specialists fighting since Friday to cool down reactors.
Switzerland has three nuclear power plants that are aging and need to be replaced: Beznau in Aargau, Goesgen in Solothurn and Muehleberg in Bern. Voters in Bern recently agreed, by a narrow vote, to rebuild their plant. Voters in other cantons also have a say, and in Jura and Vaud, citizens go to the polls 15 May, to support or not plans to rebuild the plants. Geneva and Valais are considering similar votes.
The earthquake in Japan was 8.9 on the Richter scale, and Switzerland is considered to be at risk for an earthquake of 7 at the most.
Links to other sites: TSR (Fr), Le Nouvelliste (Fr)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Back in 1993 someone told then-Swiss President Adolf Ogi that a group photo could do wonders for the popularity of the ruling seven-member Federal Council, Switzerland’s equivalent of a cabinet. And since then the ruling seven plus the chancellor, who oversees the administrative side of the government, have lined up every year for a photo. The 2011 version has a special look: for the first time in Swiss history, there are more women as councillors than men.
The seven members of the council are elected for four years and the one-year job of president rotates among them. Micheline Calmy-Rey, Socialist, is the 2011 president of the Swiss Confederation.
Left to right: Johann Schneider-Ammann, Didier Burkhalter, Doris Leuthard, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, lEveline Widmer-Schlumpf (vice-president), Ueli Maurer, Simonetta Sommaruga, Chancellor Corina Casanova
EU backs Germany on flight noise issue
Kloten International Airport, Zurich, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland and Germany are back on track as friends, if official words are to be believed, after the start of German President Christian Wulff’s two-day working visit to Switzerland, Wednesday and Thursday 8-9 September.
Swiss media are reporting with caution the efforts by the German president and Swiss President Doris Leuthard to improve relations between the two countries.
Wulff, on his first official visit to Switzerland told media that he has “a good feeling” about the double taxation treaty the two countries are working on, which he says is far along. Leuthard talked about a “return to normalcy.”
The intervention of the European Union Thursday 9 September on one hot issue could ease tensions, because the problem of noise and flights over Germany from Zurich’s Kloten Airport has now been decided by the European Tribunal.
The two countries have been at odds for several months over two affairs in particular, bank data stolen from Switzerland that was purchased by a German state, and Germany’s refusal to let planes from Zurich airport fly over southern Germany early in the morning and late at night due to noise.
Stolen data debate part of taxation treaty talks
The stolen data has been an issue in the double taxation treaty, with Switzerland insisting that it cannot honour requests for judicial assistance if the request is based on stolen data. The same problem has arisen with other countries, notably Italy and France.
The Swiss Federal Council approved an ordinance that goes into effect 1 October 2010, and that will soon become law, under which foreign requests for judicial assistance in suspected tax fraud cases will not be handled if stolen data lies behind the request. The rationale is that “good faith’ must be part of any such request.
European Tribunal: Germany’s refusal to allow Swiss flights not against transport agreement
Germany in 2003 announced flight restrictions over southern Germany from Zurich, and Switzerland took the case to the European Tribunal. Thursday 9 September the tribunal announced that Germany’s restrictions are not in conflict with a 1999 bilateral transport agreement, which Switzerland has argued.
For now the flight restrictions, 21:00-07:00 weekdays and 20:00-09:00 weekends, remain in effect, with the option of a political agreement dangling during the talks Thursday.
Leuthard with Wu Bangguo, Chairman of China's National People's Congress
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland is one of the few western countries to have a trade surplus with China, reports the Swiss Federal Department for Economic Affairs (FDEA) 5 August.
Swiss President Doris Leuthard will lead a high-level economic mission to China 10-14 August, where she will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao. She is to visit the Swiss Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 12 August.
Switzerland exported goods worth CHF 5.5 billion and imports Chinese goods totalling CHF 5.1bn in trade that is growing faster than overall growth in Swiss exports. China, including Hong Kong is thus Switzerland’s most important Asian trading partner.
P. Chappatte, and 8 Kenyan illustrators’ drawings of Swiss President Doris Leuthard.
Location: Morges, Vaud
Link out: http://www.morges-sous-rire.ch/salon.php
Start date: 1 Aug 2010
End date: 29 Aug 2010
Swiss President Doris Leuthard
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A hallmark of the Swiss political system, the “collegiality” of the Federal Council or ruling seven-member cabinet, is under pressure from politicians and Swiss media following disclosures about the handling of the recently resolved Libyan affair. Politicians have expressed concern about possible military involvement. Swiss military intervention abroad is strictly limited by the country’s neutrality. Media have been insisting the disclosures show a serious lack of communication within the Federal Council.
Tuesday 22 June a permanent parliamentary group issued a terse statement to say that it met Monday with the Federal Council to review the handling of the Libyan affair. The statement noted that it had been informed “relatively early” of plans by the Defense Department to stage a rescue of the businessmen, considered hostages, if the situation developed in such a way this would be called for. The statement provides no date, however, and it is unclear when the plans were developed by the Defense Department.
Le Temps and TSR question if the plans existed when then-President Hans-Rudolf Merz flew to Libya, without informing other Federal Council members, to apologize to Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi over his son’s arrest. Was Merz aware of such plans, they ask, but given the secrecy surrounding the plans, no explanations appear likely.
Doris Leuthard, Swiss president in 2010
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss President Doris Leuthard will join some 40 heads of state in Washington 12-13 April at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, in a nuclear security summit. The summit takes place just days after the US and Russia are scheduled to sign a new Start treaty to reduce their nuclear weapons stockpiles.
Leuthard will argue for nuclear security agreements to cover both civil and military use. Switzerland nevertheless wants to see unrestricted development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and nuclear security remaining the responsibility of individual states, Bern announced.
Brussels, Belgium (GenevaLunch) - Max Goeldi, Swiss businessman held in Libya for 19 months, should be allowed to go home, the European Union told Libyan officials Thursday 25 March. The office of Cecilia Malmström, European commissioner for security and internal affairs, Thursday 25 March praised Switzerland for making a gesture to resolve the impasse with Libya by saying it would lift a visa ban on some Libyans. Her spokesperson invited Libya to respond by “immediately freeing Max Goeldi.”
Which way in Davos for the world economy. © 2010 World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Photo by Michael Wuertenberg
Davos, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The World Economic Forum (WEF) runs from 27-31 January in the snowy Swiss resort of Davos, and, ostensibly, the leaders will be discussing the state of the world and ways to improve it. Behind the scenes, they will be networking.
It isn’t every day that so many movers and shakers come together in one place.
The WEF is dedicated to bringing together the “world’s business and political leaders. . . to discuss the issues facing the world today.” It aims to bridge cultures and countries, and bring the best minds and experts to “allow leaders to make decisions that can bring about change for the better,” the Geneva-based non-profit group says on its web site.
World Economic Forum facts and figures
Swiss Federal Council (cabinet), 2010
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s cabinet, the seven-member Swiss Federal Council, which governs as a body of equals, has published its official photo for 2010. Left to right: Didier Burkhalter, the chancellor for the Swiss Confederation Corina Casanova, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Ueli Maurer, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Hans-Rudolf Merz, Swiss President Doris Leuthard, Vice-president Moritz Leuenberger. The presidency is a one-year rotating position, while the chancellor’s job is to oversee the smooth functioning of the administrative side of the government.
Update 11:50 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The maximum number of days an unemployed person can receive state help could be reduced from 400 to 260 days for under-55s, while childless under-25s might see their entitlement reduced to 130 days of benefits, and job-seekers under 30 would be obliged to accept jobs for which they may be overqualified if measures voted by Switzerland’s lower house become law. These are some of the measures Switzerland’s lower house of parliament. The National Council voted for the measures Wednesday 9 December in an effort to slash the budget of the heavily indebted unemployment insurance agency by another CHF210 million after the upper house had already pared it by about CHF575m.
The measures need to be reconciled with the version previously voted by the Council of States before becoming law.
Doris Leuthard, Swiss president in 2010
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Doris Leuthard becomes president of Switzerland in 2010. The 46-year-old PDC (Christian Democrat) member was elected comfortably (153 of 187 votes) by parliament for the top job, a one-year post that is rotated among the seven cabinet members, the Swiss Federal Council. She is the only member of the council not to have yet held the post. She was in line for the job, as vice-president in 2009, but nevertheless needed the approval of the Federal Assembly, parliament’s two houses. Leuthard becomes the youngest president since 1934.
Leuthard is the third woman to serve as president of Switzerland: Ruth Dreifuss was the first, in 1999 and Micheline Calmy-Rey the second, in 2007.
