Swiss Review 2/2021

Swiss Review / April 2021 / No.2 18 Interview INTERVIEW: SUSANNE WENGER Peter Schneider is a busy man – our video call with him took place on a Sunday in February. Switzerland was still in its second nationwide lock- down, after restaurants, shops, and cultural and leisure venues had shut in mid-January. Months of govern- ment prevarication had preceded the restrictions, which ended up being less strict than those in neighbouring countries. Ski resorts and mountain railways remained open to everyone, including tourists. The biggest vacci- nation campaign that the country has ever seen had also begun. Case num- bers were falling, but infections from new variants of the virus were in- creasing – a source of anxiety for the authorities. Despite this, centre-right and right-wing politicians were clam- ouring for an end to the lockdown and trying to force the government’s hand on the issue. There had been almost 9,000 Covid deaths by February, mostly as a result of the second wave. Zurich-based psychoanalyst Peter Schneider, 63, is a university lecturer, book author, satirist, and columnist known in Switzerland for hitting a nerve. He smoked a cigar during the interview. “As much as it pains me to say it, you cannot negotiate with a virus” The Covid-19 pandemic began a year ago. Time to set the record straight on the Swiss response. Psychoanalyst Peter Schneider tells us about his misguided belief in Switzerland’s invincibility, lost confidence, and his own form of Covid fatigue. Peter Schneider on Switzerland’s “middle course” during the pandemic: “ We certainly saw the worst aspects of federalism come to the fore, but we cannot blame federalism for everything.” Photo: Ursula Markus