Swiss Review 3/2018

3 Swiss Review / May 2018 / No.3 There has been some bad news for the Swiss Abroad. When Tim Guldimann stepped down from the Na- tional Council in March, the Swiss Abroad lost their most powerful voice in Parliament. The SP politician was the first Swiss Abroad ever to be elected to the Na- tional Council, but he is now standing down after just two and a half years in the middle of the legislative term. Themain reason? It has been too difficult to “live in one place and conduct politics in another”. Living in Berlin and being a pol- itician in Berne clearly did not work out. Guldimann’s departure adds fuel to the fire in an emotionally charged debate. Should a Swiss Abroad even be allowed to enter political life in Swit- zerland? How can somebody living in Berlin have a feel for what is best for Switzerland? And those who would like to take things a step further in this debatemaymake their voices heard after Guldimann’s decision to step down. Should the Swiss Abroad even have the right to vote in Switzerland? Should someone who has spent decades living in Tasmania or Taiwan be able to in- fluence life in their far-away homeland? Especially as they don’t generally even have to live with the consequences? Such arguments are understandable, whether you support them or not. On the other hand, shouldn’t Swiss citizens be allowed to vote on Swiss is- sues regardless of where they live? They too have fundamental rights, includ- ing the right to vote. Many of them are only living abroad temporarily. They are working and living in the Swiss community abroad before returning to Switzerland. In that case, they definitely have to live with the outcome of ref- erenda and elections. Some ballots also concern the Swiss Abroad directly. It is a contentious issue. Fortunately, the debate has been very restrained thus far following Guldimann’s premature departure. Instead of question- ing the rights of the Swiss Abroad, most Swiss people have acknowledged the departure of the SP National Councillor with regret or at least with a shrug of the shoulders. Let’s hope this remains the case and that sleeping dogs con- tinue to lie. I too would like to take the opportunity to say goodbye to you in this is- sue of “Swiss Review”. After an intensive period as editor-in-chief of thismag- azine, I am returning tomy native Basel to embark on a new challenge inmy career. Thank you all for your faith in me! MARKO LEHTINEN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Editorial 5 Mailbag 6 Focus Kosovo celebrates its 10th Independ- ence Day – Switzerland joins in the festivities 10 Politics Focus on the media – results of the referendums held on 4 March 13 Society Rental bikes are taking over Swiss cities Local radio stations receive a boost from digital technology 17 Literature series Adolf Muschg’s wanderlust took him to Japan News from around the world 18 Culture A Grammy for Switzerland – a profile of the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja 20 Sport Vladimir Petkovic, Switzerland’s head coach, looks ahead to the World Cup 22 OSA news 26 news.admin.ch 28 Images 30 Books/Sounds 32 This and that/News in brief Contents Let sleeping dogs continue to lie Cover photo: The violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Photo: Julia Wesely