A spicy Swiss cheese hoping for mild judges in Brussels A debate strikes at the heart of the nation: what exactly does “neutrality” mean for us? Radioactive for eternity: Switzerland plans its nuclear waste disposal site DECEMBER 2022 Swiss Review The magazine for the Swiss Abroad
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Anyone wheeling out the hoary old cliches about Switzerland is bound sooner or later to talk about cheese. Probably Emmental. This cheese, with its large holes, has become a veritable Swiss icon. The only thing is that far more cheese labelled as “Emmental” is manufactured outside Switzerland than within the country. The Swiss cheese industry is thus seeking to protect the brand more strongly and has called on the jurisdiction of the European Union (page 10). This is not without a touch of irony: it would be the very same “foreign courts” so often warned about in Swiss farming circles coming to the aid of an agricultural product that could not be more Swiss. The outcome of the case remains uncertain. Young Emmental is mild. The cheese may be strong, spicy or sharp, depending on its age. If it is allowed to mature for a long period, its texture changes and salt crystals form in its holes. Emmental is thus synonymous with variety and is anything but a ‘neutral’ cheese. This, coincidentally, brings us to the topic of neutrality. Neutrality is currently the subject of some passionate debate in Switzerland. Is a nation that participates in sanctions against a warring Russia still neutral? Or is neutrality a set of values that actually requires compassion and action in the face of the horrors of war? Should we look more closely or look away? If we examine the question more closely, the meaning of neutrality has frequently changed in the past and is doing so again. Sometimes, the abstract concept also provides no clear answer as to what is to be done when war erupts across the continent. It is very likely that the Swiss people will be given the opportunity in the foreseeable future to express their opinion on neutrality at the ballot box (page 4). This is definitely a privilege, as neutrality does not constitute a solid fundamental value unless we all agree on what it means. Anyone looking to join the discussion now will furthermore observe to their amazement that neutrality is a topic that cannot be discussed neutrally at all. MARC LETTAU, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 4 Focus Switzerland is wrestling with its neutrality and debating its meaning 10 Economy Holey moly! Foreign producers are threatening Swiss Emmental 13 Nature and the environment Switzerland has decided how to dispose of its nuclear waste 16 Politics From 64 to 65: women in Switzerland now have to work a year longer 18 Society Education sector challenged: primary schools are short on teachers 20 Report Travelling on Switzerland’s railways, the densest rail network in the world 24 Images Swiss fashion photographer Peter Knapp bears witness to an era in Paris 26 Literature Author Jenö Marton just wanted to be Swiss like everyone else 28 Culture Jürgen Strauss sets new standards with his sound studio 32 Notes from the Federal Palace A new app for the community of the Swiss Abroad 35 SwissCommunity News 38 Discussion Our cheese, and our neutrality Cover photo: Emmental cheese. Foto StockFood / Michael Wissing, Cartoon Max Spring “Swiss Review”, the information magazine for the “Fifth Switzerland”, is published by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad. Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 3 Editorial Contents
Cartoon: Max Spring Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 4 Focus
5 THEODORA PETER Neutrality is as much a part of Switzerland’s identity as direct democracy is. Switzerland does not get involved in foreign conflicts, but helps out in humanitarian crises and acts as an intermediary. This understanding of its role met with a mixed reception on the international stage in the past. There were words of encouragement for its willingness and efforts to promote peace, and criticism for staying on the sidelines and profiteering – whether during the Second World War or during apartheid. Switzerland’s self-image as a non- partisan nation has been under the microscope once again since Russian troops marched into Ukraine in February this year. After initially hesitating, Switzerland also adopted the severe sanctions of the European Union (EU) to a hitherto unprecedented extent. “Playing into the hands of an aggressor is not being neutral,” argued Swiss Federal President Ignazio Cassis (FDP) as he explained the Federal Council’s position after war broke out, and referred to breaches of international humanitarian law by Russia. Conversely, the government expressly Switzerland has been practising neutrality for longer than virtually any other country. But is it in keeping with the times? The political debate on the issue was reignited by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sooner or later, the underlying question will be decided at the polls. ruled out supplying weapons to Ukraine. As a neutral country under the Hague Convention of 1907, Switzerland may not favour any specific warring party. ‘Cooperative’ and ‘active’ neutrality There have been various concepts and notions of neutrality for centuries, as historian Marco Jorio illustrates in his article (“Which neutrality?”, page 7). Recently, Federal President Cassis proclaimed ‘cooperative neutrality’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos in May. In a speech delivered to the international public, the foreign minister emphasised that Switzerland was campaigning as a neutral country both for the fundamental values it holds dear and for globally shared values. “Switzerland therefore stands alongside the nations that refuse to look on passively while the foundations of democracy are attacked.” In addition, Switzerland is also willing to commit to a ‘stable security architecture’, which must be multilateral in order to exist. Cassis thus argued for Switzerland’s role as As war rages in Europe, Switzerland is wrestling with its neutrality a neutral intermediary accepted by all sides. Former Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey (SP) had already coined the term ‘active neutrality’ during her term of office (2003–2011). The country has transitioned from a “neutrality born of necessity, dictated by its security requirements, to an active neutrality based on the rights of the people”, the federal minister wrote in her 2020 book “Die Neutralität: Zwischen Mythos und Vorbild” (“Neutrality: Between Myth and Role Model”). In this book, Calmy-Rey even describes Switzerland joining the United Nations in 2002 and its 2011 application (approved by the Swiss Federal Council) for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council as a paradigm shift. Switzerland will assume its seat on the Security Council in 2023/2024. Christoph Blocher launches neutrality initiative One party that stands in stark opposition to the active extension of Swiss neutrality is the Swiss People’s Party (SVP). In the view of the SVP, adopting the EU’s sanctions against Russia Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6
in particular is tantamount to a ‘breach of neutrality’. Switzerland joined the war itself out of ‘pure opportunism’ and thereby sacrificed its credibility as an intermediary, in the words of SVP doyen, Christoph Blocher. To prevent the country getting ‘sucked into wars’ in the future, Blocher and several fellow party members from the SVP launched a popular initiative designed not only to enshrine Switzerland’s ‘comprehensive, perpetual and armed neutrality’ in its Constitution, but also to codify the fact that Switzerland would neither impose sanctions on warring nations nor join any defence alliances. On 8 November, the collection of signatures for the initiative began. Until now, neutrality has been described in the Swiss Federal Constitution in only basic terms. The Parliament and Federal Council are bound, under the Constitution, to take “measures to protect the external security, independence and neutrality of Switzerland”. The Constitution dictates that Swiss foreign policy should be devoted to “alleviati[ng] need and poverty in the world and promot[ing] respect for human rights and democracy, the peaceful co-existence of peoples as well as the conservation of natural resources”. This phrasing leaves a lot of political room for manoeuvre, which is something that Blocher wants to restrict via an additional article on neutrality. Developing international collaboration It will be a few years yet until the public gets to vote on any additions to the Federal Constitution. However, now that the petition has been launched, the SVP has brought the issue of neutrality to the table in time for the next Swiss general election in 2023. The initiative is receiving active support from the Pro Schweiz (Pro Switzerland) organisation, which sees itself as carrying on the mission of the Campaign for an independent and neutral Switzerland (Auns) to reject any attempts to bring Switzerland closer to the EU. The remaining political parties see the SVP’s position on neutrality as outdated. The prevailing view is that more international collaboration is needed with regard to the war in Ukraine, instead of isolation. The Liberals (FDP) are not even ruling out a rapprochement with NATO. In addition, there are calls for a relaxation of the strict rules on exporting Swiss munitions. Supplying weapons directly to a warring party may be out of the question, but Swiss politicians view it as problematic if countries like Germany are unable to give Ukraine tank ammunition purchased from Switzerland. A commission from the Council of States is currently examining potential exceptions to this ‘ban on re-exports’. The conventional purpose of the ban is to prevent Swiss weapons from falling into the ‘wrong’ hands. Also a matter of solidarity The Federal Council is adhering to its traditional policy of neutrality, as it MARCO JORIO “No-one gets it anymore,” the moderator cried almost in despair during a political discussion programme on Swiss TV about neutrality, as the politicians around the table bandied about concepts of neutrality peppered with adjectives. In the public debate too, a confusing mix of terms like ‘integral’, ‘differential’ and ‘cooperative’ neutrality can be heard. The list of these so-called adjectival neutralities demonstrates that neutrality is not a fixed concept. “Neutrality changes its hue as events develop,” Swiss Foreign Minister Marcel Pilet-Golaz observed during the Second World War. Although an internationally recognised law of neutrality has existed since 1907, this law lays down only a few scant principles governing the rights and duties of neutral parties during war. The principle of neutrality developed from this law and has been applied autonomously by every neutral country in war and peace in order to lend credibility to national neutrality. This principle is often more overt than the law on neutrality. The various flavours of neutrality include ‘perpetual’ neutrality, as practised in Switzerland for 400 years, and ‘occasional’ neutrality, which arises only in one specific war and is applied by virtually all countries in virtually all wars. Neutrality can be armed (Switzerland, Austria) or unarmed (Costa Rica); it can be recognised by international law (Switzerland, Austria) or adopted by the country in question but not recognised by international law (Ireland). But even the perpetual, armed neutrality practised by Switzerland and recognised by international law (since 1815) has changed. Prior to the First World War, neutrality had exclusively military connotations. During the First World War, both sides waged a merciless economic war where even neutral parties found themWhat sort of neutrality? Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 6 Focus
“The Neutrality of Switzerland” Publication FDFA 2022 revue.link/neutrality “Neutralität: Zwischen Mythos und Vorbild”. Micheline Calmy-Rey. NZZ Libro (2020) selves dragged in against their will. Switzerland was forced to submit virtually all its foreign trading to the scrutiny of the two warring alliances. This gave rise to the concept of economic neutrality. After the war, Switzerland joined the League of Nations. However, Switzerland was not prepared to renounce its military neutrality. Some tough negotiations led to the London Declaration of 1920, where the country was allowed to accept economic sanctions, albeit not military ones. This variety of neutrality was then named ‘differential neutrality’. When it emerged in the 1930s that the League of Nations was in no position to safeguard world peace, Switzerland distanced itself from the League in 1938 with the slogan “Back to integral neutrality”. The League of Nations conceded that Switzerland was no longer bound by the League’s sanctions. This ‘integral neutrality’ was pursued by Switzerland during the Second World War and the Cold War, and this very inflexible and legally formalised position has become successively suppler since the 1960s. For example, Switzerland joined the European Council, pursued an idealistic human rights policy and participated actively in the negotiations at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE, today: OSCE). Since Switzerland joined the UN 20 years ago, it has returned to a type of ‘differential neutrality’. In contrast to 1920, however, Switzerland was not granted any formally neutral status when it joined the UN. Switzerland has nonetheless unilaterally declared that it intends to maintain its neutrality. Now, the UN charter restricts neutrality and requires Switzerland to adopt the sanctions imposed by the UN. In addition, however, Switzerland’s Law on Sanctions from 2002 states that the country will also follow the sanctions that the OSCE and its main trading partners apply. This has now happened with the EU sanctions against Russia following the latter’s military aggression. As to whether the concept of ‘cooperative neutrality’ introduced by Federal President Cassis will ever become a reality, only time will tell. Neutrality in the ‘Historical Dictionary of Switzerland’: revue.link/neutral Dr Marco Jorio is a historian (specialising in Recent History and Swiss History). He was a project manager and editor-in-chief of the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland for 30 years. He has recently authored a history of neutrality, which is to be published in the near future. affirmed once again this autumn. In particular, the government regards the recent adoption of EU sanctions against Russia as being compatible with neutrality. Furthermore, the Federal Council intends to cooperate more closely with foreign powers on security and defence issues, both with the EU and with NATO. Although Defence Minister Viola Amherd (The Centre) has categorically ruled out joining NATO, the Swiss Army should still be able to participate in the military alliance’s defence exercises. “We should be more than just freeloaders,” Amherd stressed in a newspaper interview. Switzerland needs partnerships if it is to be able to count on support from abroad in the event of an emergency. This type of cooperation is always ‘give and take’. Finally, it is also about contributing to solidarity and stability in Europe. Now that we are facing a war in Europe, former certainties about lasting peace and well-being are starting to wobble, even in Switzerland. The world is an unstable one, and Switzerland must find a new place in it. Cartoon: Max Spring Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 7
Kim de l’Horizon wins the German Book Prize One of the most prestigious literary awards, the German Book Prize, has gone to Switzerland this year: Kim de l’Horizon was awarded the prize for their debut novel “Blutbuch” (“Blood book”), which has thus now been recognised as the best German-language novel of the year. Kim de l’Horizon identifies as non-binary, and the protagonist of their prize-winning novel does not identify as a man or as a woman either. The jury felt the novel’s non-binary narrator “sought their own voice with tremendous creative energy”. The prizegiving ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair was also a sensation in the visual sense: as a gesture of solidarity with oppressed women in Iran, Kim l’Horizon shaved their head during their acceptance speech. (MUL) Ignazio Cassis visits Volodymyr Zelensky The Swiss federal president and foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, made a surprise trip to Ukraine on 20 October. According to Cassis himself, he wanted to form his own impression of the situation and discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. He was quoted as saying “We also want to support Ukraine’s efforts to rebuild itself innovatively.” The challenges posed by the coming winter were also reportedly discussed. Cassis’s visit took place only hours after numerous Ukrainian cities were bombarded with kamikaze drones, marking a further escalation of the war. (MUL) No referendum on fighter jet purchases The Swiss population will not get the chance to vote on the procurement of the F-35 stealth fighter jet. The initiators of the popular initiative, which has gathered over 100,000 signatures, have now withdrawn it. There was no point in offering a pseudo-referendum, said National Councillor Priska Seiler Graf (SP) on behalf of the petition committee. The actions of the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament in mid-September made a popular initiative entirely obsolete: in spite of the pending referendum, the decision was taken to purchase 36 fighter jets. Even a No vote at the polls would have been unable to stop the 6-billion-franc deal. (MUL) Swiss glaciers shrink considerably This year has been bleak for Swiss glaciers. According to glaciologists, glaciers shrank more rapidly this year than in any previous year since records began. Glaciers lost a total of 3.1 cubic kilometres of ice. This is more than six percent of the total volume of all glaciers. The Pizol (SG), Vadret dal Corvatsch (GR) and Schwarzbachfirn (UR) glaciers totally disappeared in 2022. The disappearance of the glaciers was exacerbated by a combination of unfavourable factors: low snowfall during winter, a heatwave as early as May and an extremely dry summer with virtually no precipitation. (MUL) Jean-Luc Godard In an emblematic scene from “Breathless” (1960), Jean-Paul Belmondo suddenly addresses the camera directly. “If you don’t like the sea, if you don’t like the mountains, if you don’t like the city... then you can go f*** yourself!” The first films produced by French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, who died on 22 September 2022, caused quite a sensation in the 1960s. The unknown actors, raw dialogue, spontaneous script writing, filming from the shoulder and using natural light, and jerky editing, with the soundtrack seeming to evolve on its own, were all elements of Godard’s filmmaking that constantly subverted cinematic conventions. And the radical changes he implemented have since spread like a wave throughout the industry and to such an extent that his legacy is now everywhere. His filmography is vast and multifaceted, including some 50 films and around ten documentaries. The director continued to create right up until he died, using every medium available, from smartphones and video to painting and collages. Godard was also well known for his pithy quips. “When you go to the cinema, you raise your head. When you watch television, you lower it,” he once remarked. The man loved tennis, but he also objected stridently to the way it was presented on TV. He came up with his own vision of documenting the sport. “I’d film some guy, any qualifier. He’s in Paris, doesn’t have much money, he’s looking for a cheap hotel. He takes the metro, he plays his match. And then he’s beaten. In the next round, I’d focus on the player who beat him, and then the winner of that match, which would inevitably take us to the final.” And that was Godard the star, commenting on life with his Vaudois accent – a quaint reminder of his roots to anyone with an ear to hear it. STÉPHANE HERZOG Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 8 Top pick News
9 THEODORA PETER Cold weather makes life difficult for anyone without a permanent roof over their head. In Ukraine, accommodation for people displaced from regions destroyed by bombing has been made winter-proof. The country currently has 7 million internally displaced persons, in addition to the estimated 4.4 million people who have fled to other countries in Europe since the war broke out. At the time of publication in late October, Switzerland had taken in around 66,000 Ukrainians. According to official estimates, this figure is expected to rise to 80,000-85,000 by the end of the year. The increase in refugee numbers does however depend significantly on how many can be accommodated in the countries neighbouring Ukraine. In an extreme case, up to 120,000 people may seek shelter in Switzerland. In parallel, the number of asylum seekers from other crisis regions worldwide is also rising. In September alone, 2,681 people from countries including Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea sought refuge in Switzerland. The last time so many applications for asylum were filed in a single month, according to the State Secretariat for Migration, was during the refugee crisis in 2015/2016. Now that the restrictions on travel imposed during the pandemic have ended, the number of refugees travelling to Europe is rising once again. Protection status S applies until revoked Refugees from other countries have to go through the conventional procedure for seeking asylum, but Ukrainians are granted ‘protection status S’ automatically. This allows these refugees to look for a job and to travel freely. This category of refugees, activated by the Federal Council in March 2022, was originally intended to last for one year only. Since then, however, Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) has made it clear that protection status S would continue to apply after spring 2023 – specifically, until it is revoked by the Federal Council. Keller-Sutter did specify that this status will not be revoked until the situation in Ukraine has returned to normal, e.g. if there is a ceasefire or if peacekeeping troops are posted to the country. At the time of going to press, around 5,000 Ukrainians had returned to their home country, of their own volition. The Left and Green parties in Switzerland consider it fundamentally Winter brings rising refugee numbers The war in Ukraine is continuing to drive people from their homes. Switzerland is expecting the number of people in need of protection – including those arriving from further removed crisis-hit regions – to rise sharply by the end of the year. Refugees arriving from Ukraine may once again be a common sight at Swiss railway stations this winter. The federal authorities are expecting refugee numbers to rise. Photo: Keystone problematic that people fleeing from other war zones should be discriminated against in favour of Ukrainians, whether on the job market or in terms of being allowed to bring their families over to join them. The Socialist Party, the Green Party and the Green Liberal Party have thus submitted motions in parliament to improve the situation of the people affected, who have been granted temporary admission in Switzerland. So far, the corresponding reforms have all failed for want of majority political support. For Swiss official information on the war in Ukraine revue.link/ukraine Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 News
DÖLF BARBEN Emmental cheese, with its large holes, is famous around the world. If something is full of holes, it is said – in many languages – to be like Swiss cheese. The Swiss product has been a resounding success. Today, Emmental cheese can still be made in around 100 dairies across Switzerland. The requirements are strict: the farms must be no more than 20 km from the dairy, the cows must be fed on grass and hay only (i.e. no silage), and the cheese must be made exclusively from unpasteurised milk and stored and aged for at least 120 days in its place of manufacture. Every dairy bears its own number, which is stamped every few centimetres on the top of each wheel of cheese. This means you can tell where even small portions of cheese have been made. For example, number 3206 stands for the Hüpfenboden dairy. In the midst of meadows and forests The Hüpfenboden dairy is located north of Langnau, at the heart of the Emmental valley, whose inhabitants lived the high life for many years from the 16th century onwards, thanks to the cheese trade. The Hard cheese: Emmental comes under pressure Two or three centuries ago, Emmental cheesemakers exported their know-how all around the world. This is now causing problems for Emmental: authentic Emmental cheese, an iconic traditional Swiss product, is under threat. More cheese labelled as ‘Emmental’ is produced outside Switzerland than within the country. Swiss cheese producers are appealing to the European courts for help. smart building rises up between two hills as though riding on a saddle, surrounded by fields and forests. Marlies Zaugg and Bernhard Meier live in Hüpfenboden together with their two children and an apprentice. In addition to Emmental cheese, they also make other specialities. They are masters of their craft. That said, they do not sound particularly optimistic when they talk about the future. They do want to “do something to maintain Switzerland’s great cheesemaking tradition”. However, if the authentic product is not afforded greater protection, this hardly seems possible. “We can’t keep up with all Marlies Zaugg does not sound optimistic when she talks about the future. In the absence of stricter protection, she believes the beloved tradition of cheesemaking could die out. Photos: Danielle Liniger Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 10 Economy
large and without any qualifications. Any other ‘Emmental’ cheeses would need to state their region of origin just as boldly as the name, such as Allgäuer Emmental. Just a cheese with holes? Unfortunately, the European Union has rejected this definition of the intellectual property behind the cheese. According to the EU, the term ‘Emmental’ is not a designation of origin but merely a commonly used name for a hard cheese with holes. This does not make any sense to the trade organisation, so it is appealing to the European Court. Recently, verbal negotiations took place. The verdict is expected in three to four months’ time, according to Rufer. “We think it’s going to go in our favour,” he says. If the verdict goes the way he hopes it will, it will open the doors for more Swiss Emmental to be sold in key markets such as Germany, France and the Benelux countries. The reason is obvious: customers who care about quality are more likely to pick the authentic product. The biggest customer of all is... Italy Exports of the cheese are already considerable: a little over 2,200 tonnes of Emmental was shipped to Germany alone in 2021, and just unthe cheap imitations,” Zaugg says. “The cheese as we know it today is set to gradually disappear,” her husband adds. ‘Foreign courts’ to the rescue? There is a genuine problem here. The presence of numerous imitators is a threat to authentic Swiss Emmental, which has borne the AOP protected designation of origin since 2006. However, the issue of trademark protection is now gaining momentum. The delicious irony here is that European courts are being asked to award the famous Swiss Emmental greater levels of protection. ‘Foreign courts’, so often the target of heartfelt mistrust and suspicion in Swiss farming circles, could be the very ones to come to the rescue of an agricultural product that could not be more Swiss. Alfred Rufer understands the background to this situation. He is the deputy director of Emmentaler Switzerland, a trade organisation responsible for positioning Swiss Emmental on the free market and protecting it from imitators. A lot of other countries now also manufacture cheese that bears the ‘Emmental’ name, he says – far more than is made in Switzerland itself. Switzerland is not even the largest manufacturer of Emmental in the world: France is. “These are facts that we just have to accept,” he says. According to Rufer, the battle was lost 200 to 300 years ago. This was the period when cheesemakers emigrated and began to make Emmental all over the world. The fight against freeloaders Today, the fight has taken on a different tone. In Rufer’s view, it is unfair that foreign manufacturers can profit from the noble reputation of Swiss Emmental. This is in spite of the fact that the cheap imitations cannot hold a candle to the original, as they do not meet the official requirements and the quality is not the same. “They are just freeloaders,” Rufer says. “No one should be able to ride someone else’s coattails.” The objective is clear: customers all over the world should be able to tell whether they have a Swiss Emmental cheese in their hands or not. Many people are prepared to pay more for Swiss quality, says Rufer. “However, if the origin is not clear, that means other people are getting rich off our efforts.” Swiss manufacturers know the benefits that legal protection would bring: only their cheeses would be allowed to be sold under the ‘Emmental’ label, writ The dairy in Hüpfenboden resembles an idyll from the past, surrounded by forests and meadows on a hill in the Emmental valley. The process of manufacturing Emmental begins in the copper- lined cheese kettles. Every two months, the dairy farmers are told how many cheeses they are allowed to produce. Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 11
der 770 tonnes to France. The biggest customer was Italy, with 5,500 tonnes – more Emmental than is eaten in the whole of Switzerland. Trademarks are very well protected in Switzerland’s southernly neighbour, however. Any break in the negative trend in Swiss Emmental would be a success in itself. Within the space of a decade, the quantity produced annually in Switzerland has fallen from over 25,000 tonnes to just under 17,000 tonnes, whereas the quantity of all cheese manufactured rose from 181,000 tonnes to 207,000 tonnes. Not all milk becomes Emmental Marlies Zaugg and Bernhard Meier have experienced this in their dairy as well. Every two months, they are told how much Emmental they are allowed to manufacture. “The quantity just keeps going down over time,” Zaugg says. Currently, they are allowed to devote 40 percent of the milk they receive from their suppliers to making the cheese. The remainder is used to make their own varieties of cheese. They then sell this cheese directly, to restaurants, via small regional shops or at local markets. There is a self-service cupboard in front of the dairy containing a wide range of their products. Sales are good. People who visit on foot or by bicycle are only too keen to take advantage of the offer. But if shifting their cheese is so easy, The wheels of cheese are hefty, often weighing in excess of 100 kg, and today are regularly turned by machine. That said, the daily routine still involves plenty of manual labour. Photo: Danielle Liniger what is the problem? Emmental made as tradition demands “is simply better”, Zaugg says. But that quality comes at a price. “Feeding the cows, manufacturing the cheeses by hand, regularly tending the wheels, the cellar used for ripening – everything costs more.” Enough people need to be aware of this and also think it matters, “otherwise there’s no point”. Finally, this traditional career needs new blood that is prepared to go the extra mile. This is a further source of concern for Marlies Zaugg. Her day begins at 5 am. Cheese is made seven days a week. “Cows produce milk at the weekends as well,” she says with a grin. At least she and her husband can take it in turns at the weekend, or hire a replacement in order to take time off. DÖLF BARBEN IS A JOURNALIST AT THE “DER BUND” AND “BERNER ZEITUNG” NEWSPAPERS. These large, striking holes are typical of Emmental. The taste and texture vary widely depending on its ripeness. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 12 Economy
MARC LET TAU In the rural municipality of Stadel, in the Zurich lowlands near the German border, everyday life has been pretty tranquil for the past few centuries. The landscape, sculpted by glaciers and bordered by wooded hills, is shaped by agriculture. Here, amidst the fields unspoiled by a single building, quarrying work has begun. Rich deposits of gravel, another legacy from previous ice ages, are being removed. After a period of relative peace and quiet, Stadel is now at the centre of a dynamic project set to last a millennium: it is to become the entrance to a massive underground disposal site for radioactive waste. The Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) spent almost 50 years looking for a site where this waste could be stored for good. In September 2022, it decided on Stadel, owing to the thick strata of stone lying deep beneath the ground there. The Opalinus clay found in Stadel offers the safest possible solution for containing radioacKeeping a lid on nuclear waste for eternity Switzerland produces nuclear energy. This process creates highly toxic, radioactive waste, which must be stored safely for thousands of years. After 50 years’ intensive searching, a decision has been taken as to where this hazardous waste should be buried. Plenty of questions nonetheless remain unanswered about this disposal site, which is scheduled to cost 20 billion Swiss francs. tive substances, Nagra experts argue. The director of Nagra, Matthias Braun, said that Stadel “offered the best safety reserves” of all the locations they had examined. He conspicuously failed to mention that alongside the site being the best for geological reasons, local political resistance to the project is also low. Thinking in unfathomable timespans Shafts up to 900 metres in depth are to be dug into the ground near Stadel. These shafts will provide access to the caverns that will be carved out of the thick Opalinus clay and used for storing radioactive waste. Nagra has to think in terms of unfathomable timespans: according to current knowledge, low- and medium-level radioactive waste needs to be stored safely for 30,000 years. As for highly radioactive waste, Nagra is working on the assumption that it will need to be stored for around 200,000 years. The safety reserves should be designed to prevent the raNagra has carried out test drilling, such as here in the vicinity of Stadel, into the deep layers of underground rock. The magic ingredient is Opalinus. It is currently believed to be suitable for storing radioactive waste. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 13 Nature and the environment
challenge involved: even though the impressive structure is only around 4,000 years old, its meaning and purpose have been lost to time. Researchers are therefore working on nuclear semiotics, a form of expression intended for the inhabitants of the distant future, in the knowledge that human society in its current form may no longer exist in 200,000 years, and numerous ice ages may have resulted in glaciers shearing layers off the surface of the land in Stadel and reshaping it completely. 2011 marked the decision to exit nuclear energy Compared to all the protests against Nagra, reactions to the site it chose have been relatively mild. Even fierce opponents to the use of nuclear energy – including the Green Party and Greenpeace – admit that Switzerland has no alternative if it is to meet its responsibility and store the radioactive waste it generates as safely as possible. Another reason for this position is that Switzerland’s gradual exit from nuclear power has now been decided. In the direct aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster (2011), the Swiss Federal Council voted not to approve the construction of any new nuclear power stations. The dismantling of the Mühleberg nuclear plant, commissioned in 1972, has already begun. Although the remaining four nuclear reactors of Beznau I (1969), Beznau II (1972), Gösgen (1979) and Leibstadt (1984) are still running, they are slowly but surely reaching the end of their lifespan. Against this backdrop, many see the final disposal site as an estimated 20-billion-franc final chapter in the history of nuclear energy use in Switzerland. Or will new nuclear power stations be built after all? Politicians from the FDP (The Liberals) and the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) have been openly pushing for a loosening of the de facto ban on building new nuclear power stations. The construction of the final disposal site has influenced this new debate: considering the enormous cost of such a site, the question of just how affordable nuclear energy is at the end of the day has returned to the spotlight. Nuclear power stations themselves would have to contribute the money for the site to a decommissioning fund, and, like it or not, pass on the expense in the form of higher energy prices. An argument that seems to spring more from short-term thinking is that new nuclear power stations could reduce energy dependence on belligerent Russia: Switzerland’s current nuclear power stations rely to a considerable degree on uranium, supplied by Russia. For more information, please see revue.link/nagra Nagra website: www.nagra.ch dioactive material being brought to the surface - by anyone or anything - for around one million years. Lid on in around a hundred years The search for a final disposal site for radioactive waste generated in Switzerland has proven to be decidedly difficult. In some places, such as in Ollon (Vaud), angry farmers chased away the Nagra survey teams with pitchforks. Communities and cantons in other potential locations held popular votes that rejected the proposal. Stadel and the canton of Zurich, on the other hand, have basically run out of options when it comes to fighting the decision on the site’s location. This is because, in light of the tremendous amount of resistance, legislation was passed to impose strict limitations on communities’ and cantons’ ability to intervene in the issue. Nevertheless, now that the long search has come to an end, there is still a lot to do. Nagra must first apply to the Swiss federal government for planning permission for the final disposal site. This is scheduled to take place in 2024. Only if the federal authorities conclude that safely storing nuclear waste in Stadel is possible at all will the official location have been decided. This is not expected to happen before 2029. Then, Swiss voters will also get to have their say on the final disposal site. In other words, construction will not begin until 2045 at the earliest. The first steel barrels containing radioactive waste will thus be ready for storage in 2050. 2115 will then be the year for putting the lid on: the final disposal site will be sealed. Nuclear semiotics: talking to distant posterity Until then, Nagra still needs to find the answer to the question of how we can warn future societies of the dangers lurking under the ground in Stadel. It is a difficult one, as any warning signs erected today will have disappeared without a trace in 100,000 or even 10,000 years. The English megaliths Stonehenge serve as an illustration of the Switzerland began transporting its nuclear waste, sealed in concrete-filled steel barrels, across Europe via goods train in 1969 and dropped it into the North Atlantic. It kept up this controversial practice until 1983. Two symbols that anyone today would understand. But how can we inform future civilisations of the dangers? Nuclear semiotics is now in search of the answers. Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 14 Nature and the environment
Controversial proposals mobilise voters The votes of 25 September saw the highest voter turnout in 2022, as more than half of the electorate – around 51 per cent – headed to the polls. Three of the four votes went the way of the Federal Council and parliament. OASI pension age for women now 65 Women will now receive their OASI state pensions one year later than before – at 65 instead of 64. A narrow majority of 50.5 per cent approved the change, with a margin of around 30,000 voters. The result reveals a divided country: French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland rejected the proposal while most German-speaking cantons favoured it. Emphatic approval also came from the “Fifth Switzerland”. (TP) No change to animal farming rules The popular initiative to end factory farming failed, with almost 63 per cent saying no. There will, therefore, be no change to animal farming rules. The authors of the initiative wanted to ban intensive, large-scale livestock farming. Opponents said the proposal was unnecessary, as Switzerland already has a stringent Animal Welfare Act. The “Fifth Switzerland” also rejected the initiative. (TP) VAT rises to fund OASI Swiss value-added tax on services and products is to increase by 0.4 per cent to 8.1 per cent. VAT on food, medicine, newspapers and books will climb from 2.5 to 2.6 per cent. In the hospitality industry VAT will increase from 3.7 to 3.8 per cent. The additional revenue from these increases will help to fund the old-age and survivors’ insurance (OASI) state pension. A clear majority of voters, 55 per cent, approved the proposal. (TP) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 67.3% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 49.8% Percentage of Yes votes for the factory farming initiative Percentage of Yes votes for AHV supplementary financing 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 61.3% Swiss Abroad Swiss Abroad Percentage of Yes votes for AHV 21 reform vote 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 55.0% No tax breaks for companies Withholding tax on interest income from Swiss bonds will not be abolished, after 52 per cent of voters rejected a change in the law. The left-wing parties successfully contested the proposal, which would have resulted in an annual tax shortfall of several hundred million francs. The Swiss Abroad were in favour – but ultimately in the minority. (TP) Swiss Abroad Swiss Abroad Percentage of Yes votes for the withholding tax law Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 15 Politics
DENISE LACHAT First there was anger. Tensions broke out on 26 September, the day after the vote on the OASI pension reforms, including in Bahnhofsplatz in Berne. National Councillor for the Socialist Party Tamara Funiciello proclaimed heatedly into the microphone, in front of several hundred female demonstrators, that the outcome of the vote was simply disgraceful. “Old, rich white men” had decided that women in Switzerland would have to work for one extra year in the future. Indeed, a majority of men had voted to raise the retirement age for women to 65, against the will of the majority of women. The disparity between the sexes was particularly marked during this vote: two thirds of the women who voted (63%) came out against the reform, whereas only around one third of men (37%) voted No. However, a majority of (largely urban) women also contributed to the exceedingly close outcome of the vote. These women also came under fire from Funiciello. The centre-rightnational and state councillors had, she said, done absolutely nothing for the cause, of equality aside from making empty promises. The exasperated reaction from urban politicians was not long in coming: in the days following the vote, pot shots were launched from both sides, and there was talk that women in Switzerland were divided. Improving women’s situation in old age Subsequently, further conciliatory opinions came to the fore. There is not one single definition of feminist Retirement age for women is rising to 65 The ‘vote of the year’ was a tense moment for women. They voted No by a large majority on the reforms to the old-age and survivors’ pension (OASI). However, they were narrowly defeated. Women will have to work for one more year before they are able to draw their pension. The reform of the occupational pension scheme is pending, and should see women better off. politics, and not all women have to be equal, the way not all men are, said Maya Graf in an comprehensive interview with the “Aargauer Zeitung” newspaper. Graf, the Green Party state councillor for Baden, has, together with Green Liberal National Councillor for Berne Kathrin Bertschy, co-chaired Alliance F, the umbrella organisation for women in Switzerland, since 2014. Alliance F had both a Yes and a No committee for the pension vote. Other questions were met “Dini Mueter isch hässig” (Your mother is furious): one of the slogans brandished by women protesting against the results of the OASI vote. Photo: Keystone Retirement age for women The retirement age for women was the focal point for debate in this reform of the old age and survivors’ pension (OASI), and not for the first time. In 1948, when the OASI was introduced, the retirement age was 65 for both men and women. The fact that parliament unilaterally reduced women’s pension age to 63 in 1957 and then to 62 in 1964 appears an expression of antiquated values today. Women are more prone to illness and their strength fails sooner – the arguments put forward by men in those days. The “Tages Anzeiger” called it a “patriarchal show of strength”, designed to ensure that women would be back to looking after the home a couple of years before their husbands’ retirement. Whatever the situation, the retirement age for women was progressively increased in 2001 and then in 2005, to 63 and then 64. Three additional attempts at securing equality were voted down or defeated in parliament. After the fourth attempt on 25 September 2022, the age has now returned to 65 for both genders. (DLA) Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 16 Politics
“Men decide that women will have to work one year longer” Tamara Funiciello, National Councillor, SP, Berne long term. An additional and complex long-term debate is when – and indeed whether – a ‘revision for women’ needs to take place at all. The allegation that the larger number of women in parliament since the 2019 elections have achieved nothing is dismissed by the co-chairs of Alliance F. They cite the example of the women’s session organised in autumn of 2021, which brought two dozen petitions before parliament. Furthermore, women argued that additional issues should be discussed in parliament, such as individual taxation, the financing of childcare, a review of the law on sexual offences, marriage equality including access to reproductive medicine and the financing of a programme to prevent domestic violence. The key bills are already in progress, Maya Graf says in the “Aargauer Zeitung”. This also includes reform of the OPA. with unanimity, such as equal pay for the same work and paid childcare. A crucial point to note in the wake of the debate on the retirement age for women is the observation that women of every political inclination are demanding that women’s situation must be improved when they retire. Old-age pensions for many women are unsatisfactory, but this is not primarily the OASi’s fault. Since the major OASI reforms in 1997, the first pillar of the old-age pensions has greatly improved for women: education and childcare credits were introduced, together with provisions for sharing the pension between spouses. This sharing scheme involves totalling up the income earned during marriage by both spouses and using it to calculate the pension by giving half to each spouse. Gaps in occupational pensions The greatest difference between the sexes is the yawning gap in the second pillar: mandatory occupational pensions (OPA). Because women often earn less than men, their wage contributions to their pension fund are lower. Anyone who works parttime or who works in an industry with low salaries undertakes voluntary care work or is simply paid less for doing the same work can expect their retirement assets to be scant. The pension based on these assets is correspondingly small, especially as wages that are not only poor but also fall under a certain annual income level (currently 21,510 Swiss francs) are not covered by compulsory insurance. The focus in the wake of the narrow Yes vote on OASI pension reform is now on revising OPA pensions. The core issue is putting those working low hours or with a low income in “Not all women have to be equal either” Maya Graf, Green Councillor of State, Basel Land a better position to be able to save privately for their retirement. However, the second pillar suffers from similar issues to the first one: long life expectancies have made it more challenging to finance pensions, and this problem has been exacerbated by low interest rates. The yields from pension funds are too low to be able to convert policyholders’ retirement assets into pensions that will remain at current levels over the The three pillars of old-age pensions The maximum OASI pension is currently CHF 2,390 per person per month, and the minimum pension in most cases is CHF 1,195. These OASI pensions alone are not enough to live on in Switzerland. Two further pillars are required. In addition to the State OASI pension and supplementary benefits (1st pillar), an occupational pension from the pension fund was created in 1985 (2nd pillar). Finally, legally regulated private pensions (3rd pillar) have existed since 1987. The aim of this 3-pillar system is to ensure people will be able to maintain their accustomed standard of living when they retire. (DLA) Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 17
MIREILLE GUGGENBÜHLER “We are good children and we try hard.” This is how one of the girls in Year 1 at Schötz elementary school (Schule Schötz) in the canton of Lucerne describes herself and her fellow classmates. She is speaking in a video that the head teacher uploaded to social media in spring 2021. The state school produced the clip in a desperate bid to find someone who could teach the children who had started school that year. The children themselves knew exactly the type of person they wanted. “Our teacher has to be good at football, kind, and not scold us.” At the end of 2022, the same children now have their dream teacher. From globetrotting to teaching Peter Bigler, the head teacher, is a happy man as he sits in his office. Some 100 people teach at his school. “Thanks to the video, we found someone who was travelling around the world when we interviewed them,” he says. Making the video was not something he had ever had to do before. Until recently, state schools in Switzerland have not had to worry too much about being able to recruit new staff. Swiss elementary schools have a good reputation – 95 per cent of all the country’s pupils attend state school while the remaining five per cent go to private school. Confidence in state schools is high compared to that in other countries. Domestic commentators often refer to education as Switzerland’s ‘most important’ or ‘sole’ resource. It used to be relatively easy for schools to find qualified teachers, but this has changed over the last two years. Few, if any, Any teachers? Although Switzerland’s state education system is generally well regarded, Swiss elementary schools are finding it increasingly hard to recruit trained teachers. Schule Schötz is one of them – but this particular school in the canton of Lucerne sees the teacher shortage as a chance to reinvent itself. A different kind of job interview: the kids of Year 1 talking on video link with their future teacher (who was still travelling around the world at the time). Photo provided by Schule Schötz. Swiss Review / December 2022 / No.6 18 Society
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