Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Switzerland may bid to host the 2038 Winter Olympics—despite a long record of public resistance, reports SRF. Voters rejected Olympic projects in cantonal referendums in 2013, 2017 and 2018—Graubunden twice then Valais. This time, however, the proposal is being advanced without a vote. The bid is being prepared by Swiss Olympic, which argues that past rejections are a poor guide. Earlier proposals centred on a single host region that would also shoulder most of the costs. The new concept, dubbed “Games à la Suisse”, would be decentralised, rely largely on existing infrastructure and spread responsibilities across the country. All previous…

On March 8, voters in Aargau will decide whether to reduce social assistance for people who have relied on welfare for more than two years, reports SRF. The proposal, launched by the youth wing of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), reflects a broader debate over how far social aid should go—and how hard it should push recipients back into work. The popular initiative, titled Work must pay, would lower the basic welfare allowance by at least 5% for long-term recipients. Exemptions would apply to children, parents of infants under four months, and people aged 55 and over—but only if they…

Most cantonal governments oppose Switzerland’s proposed shift to individual taxation, warning that it would be costly, administratively burdensome and unnecessarily centralising, reports SRF. Their resistance is strong enough that the Conference of Cantonal Governments has issued a rare joint statement urging voters to reject the reform in a referendum scheduled for March 8th. The change is too fundamental, said Markus Dieth, president of the conference and a member of Aargau’s cantonal government. Cantons accept that the so-called marriage penalty in the direct federal tax should be corrected. But they argue that replacing joint taxation with a fully individualised system goes…

The number of fare evaders caught on Switzerland’s public-transport network is increasing steadily. In 2024, 1.17m passengers were found travelling without a valid ticket, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Alliance SwissPass. That is well above the one-million mark crossed for the first time the previous year. The data, reported by various media source including bluewin.ch, have been collected since 2019 through a centralised information system shared by transport operators. Over the past six years, the number of passengers caught without a ticket—or with only a partially valid one—has risen without interruption. Switzerland does not publish a single…

Switzerland’s annual test of its civil-defence sirens was largely successful. Nearly 99% of the country’s roughly 5,000 alarms functioned properly during the nationwide drill on Wednesday, according to the Federal Office of Civil Protection. The figure is broadly unchanged from last year. Cantons and municipalities have been instructed to repair or replace faulty equipment without delay. Several cantons also tested mobile sirens, which are used in sparsely populated areas and can serve as a back-up if fixed installations fail. The sirens are sounded each year on the first Wednesday in February. But the system has limits. Some people—particularly those in…

Switzerland’s labour market weakened further at the start of 2026. The unemployment rate rose to 3.2% in January, up 0.1 percentage points from December, marking a second consecutive monthly increase after stagnating in November, according to data released by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The number of people registered with regional employment offices climbed by 3.4% over the month to 152,280. At 3.2%, the jobless rate is at its highest level since October 2020, when a series of increases eventually pushed unemployment to 3.7% in January 2021 before a gradual decline set in later that year. Adjusted for…

With four federal proposals heading to a vote on March 8th, opinion polls suggest one contest remains finely balanced, while voters appear to have made up their minds on the other three. According to a mid-January survey commissioned by SRG, the initiative targeting the public broadcaster is deadlocked. By contrast, individual taxation commands broad support, the climate fund looks headed for defeat, and the cash initiative will hinge on a tie-breaker. The most uncertain contest concerns the so-called SRG initiative, which proposes cutting the household media fee, which effectively all households must pay, to CHF 200 and abolishing it altogether…

Internal migration across Switzerland’s linguistic borders sometimes tests local integration. In the canton of Fribourg, growing numbers of French-speakers are settling in German-speaking municipalities, drawn by cheaper housing and proximity to the canton’s capital. The shift is quietly reshaping local administration, schools and civic life, reports SRF. In villages such as Giffers and Tentlingen, construction has boomed in recent years. Many newcomers come from the French-speaking part of the canton. Municipal offices have adapted pragmatically: in Tentlingen, around half of staff speak French. Requests for documents in French are increasingly common, though the authorities insist the commune remains German-speaking. Confusion…

Switzerland’s largest party, the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), wants to curb the number of pupils in primary school classes who do not speak the language of instruction, arguing that rising immigration is undermining primary education, reported SRF. Meeting in Näfels in the canton of Glarus, party delegates approved a set of demands billed as an effort to save primary school. According to the UDC/SVP, schools are increasingly failing to teach basic skills such as reading, writing and arithmetic. Benjamin Fischer, a member of the National Council, said teaching becomes difficult when a fifth of pupils in a class speak a…

Swiss exports hit a new high in 2025, buoyed by strong demand for chemicals and pharmaceuticals, despite a tariff dispute with the United States under Donald Trump. Exports rose by 1.4% to CHF 287bn, according to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security. Shipments to the United States increased by 3.9% to CHF 54.7bn, even as imports from America fell by 5.7% to CHF 13.3bn. Exports to the US were 19% of the total. Imports overall climbed by 4.5% to CHF 232.7bn, the second-highest level on record. As a result, Switzerland’s trade surplus narrowed to CHF 54.3bn, down from…