Swiss Review 4/2020

Swiss Review / July 2020 / No.4 23 Many new dads want more days off Switzerland has been discussing the introduction of paternity leave for almost two decades. Parliament has always stood in the way, but the mood is now changing. Voters could make a landmark decision in September. has learned from the 2014 debacle: back then, aviation specialists called the Gripen ‘half-baked’. The defence minister at the time, UeliMaurer (SVP), came under fire as boardroom infight- ing spilled over into the public do- main. It therefore came as no surprise when the electorate said no. Amherd has widespread support Another difference is that the current defence minister, Viola Amherd, is very popular in the opinion polls. The fact that she is well liked makes it eas- ier for her to fight the Swiss Air Force’s corner beyond the usual conservative and centre-right spheres. And her messages seem to be working: a 2019 survey by ETHZurich suggested that a majority of Swiss regard the armed forces as a necessity and believe that only just enoughor even too little is be- ing spent on defence. Amherd’s military-sceptic oppo- nents could have their work cut out this time, it appears. Referendum committee member Lewin Lempert disagrees, insisting that there is a very strong case for voting no. “The govern- ment is going into this venture blindly because it doesn’t know the aircraft model,” he says. The new fighter jets could also cost around 24 billion francs over their entire lifespan, he adds, claiming that figures fromother countries back up this estimate. Fur- thermore, Lempert believes that it is hard to justify spending six billion francs on fighter jets during the cur- rent coronavirus crisis. Whose arguments will hold sway? We will see in autumn. MIREILLE GUGGENBÜHLER Hauke Krenz received just one day of paid leave from his employer for the birth of his first child. That was five years ago. Afterwards, he would have had to return to work and leave his wife and newborn on their own. But Krenz was having none of it. “I would have felt bad otherwise,” says Krenz who lives in the Geneva suburb of Lancy. “I wanted to be a part of the family from the start. That means taking responsibility and building a close relationshipwithmy child. One day of paid leave often isn’t even enough to be properly involved in the birth.” Krenz, who is a qualified business economist, consequently used his an- nual holiday entitlement to be with his wife and child in the weeks fol- lowing the birth. At the same time, he protested “in the strongest possible terms” to his employer about being unable to take any extended pater- nity leave. The same employer has since changed its family policy, hav- ing allowed Krenz to take ten days of paternity leave when his second child was born two years ago. Attitudes are evidently changing. Young professionals want attractive leave schemes Krenz is by no means alone. Many young families in Switzerland now advocate the view that fathers also have an important postnatal role to play. Consequently, a growing num- ber of Swiss companies are offering paternity leave in order to remain at- Hauke Krenz and his two children. The stay-at-home dad epitomises the change in society. Photo provided