by Zurich’s Kunsthaus, where the Bührle collection is a reminder of the moral hazards of neutrality. © Keystone / Walter Bieri Sanctions imposed on Russia have focused debate over the country’s long-cherished economic haven status. In the gleaming new Chipperfield extension of the Zurich Kunsthaus, all polished limestone and gold, is a room dedicated to expiating the moral debits of economic neutrality. The Bührle collection is one of the greatest privately-amassed troves of modern European art, and the pride of the new building. It was assembled by Emil Bührle, the Swiss industrialist and arms maker who coined his millions selling weapons. To the Nazis. And to the Allies. Now, of course, the Bührle legacy needs some deft explaining. A museum within the museum – that
Topics:
Swissinfo considers the following as important: 3) Swiss Markets and News, 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy, Featured, newsletter, Politics
This could be interesting, too:
Investec writes Federal parliament approves abolition of imputed rent
Nachrichten Ticker - www.finanzen.ch writes Krypto-Ausblick 2025: Stehen Bitcoin, Ethereum & Co. vor einem Boom oder Einbruch?
Connor O'Keeffe writes The Establishment’s “Principles” Are Fake
Per Bylund writes Bitcoiners’ Guide to Austrian Economics
Zurich’s Kunsthaus, where the Bührle collection is a reminder of the moral hazards of neutrality. © Keystone / Walter Bieri
Sanctions imposed on Russia have focused debate over the country’s long-cherished economic haven status.
In the gleaming new Chipperfield extension of the Zurich Kunsthaus, all polished limestone and gold, is a room dedicated to expiating the moral debits of economic neutrality. The Bührle collection is one of the greatest privately-amassed troves of modern European art, and the pride of the new building.
It was assembled by Emil Bührle, the Swiss industrialist and arms maker who coined his millions selling weapons. To the Nazis. And to the Allies. Now, of course, the Bührle legacy needs some deft explaining. A museum within the museum – that room – does so.
Four months into the biggest war waged on European soil since Bührle’s shells rolled east and west, Switzerland is no longer the kind of place for a businessman to profit so easily from a warring world beyond the 26 cantons. But there is still some explaining to do.
In a move that has surprised many allies – and indeed, many Swiss – Bern has mirrored almost all of the EU’s sanctions against Russia.
This is no small matter: it entails asset freezes on more than 1,100 individuals with close ties to the Putin regime, hundreds of whom do business with Switzerland’s banks. And far more significantly, it involves curbs on the trading of Russian natural resources – the bulk of which are handled through the great commodity houses of Zug and Geneva. Bern insists this does not mean there has been any change to Switzerland’s long-cherished neutrality.
Others, particularly the country’s largest political bloc, the populist Swiss People’s party (SVP), disagree. Neutrality, in the SVP book, is also synonymous with trade free from political interference. Bern’s willingness to saddle up to Brussels and Washington is a betrayal of Swiss values, the SVP argues. And as faction leader Thomas Aeschi thundered in parliament earlier this month, there is no evidence sanctions are doing anything to change Russia’s course, only damage Swiss economic interests. In the words often attributed to the 19th century diplomat Talleyrand: they are worse than a crime, they are a mistake.
Aeschi has a point. Switzerland stands to lose more than western peers by imposing sanctions on Russia. There are, of course, many reasons to do business in Switzerland. But put aside the highly-educated workforce, the tax regime, the stability and the rule of law, and there is also, for a lot of people who come to the country, the appeal of Switzerland’s staunch independence. Its neutrality.
Many businesses base themselves in Switzerland precisely because they perceive the country to be a haven from regulatory, judicial and political over-reach from the US and EU.
Bankers now fret about what Chinese clients may think of conducting their business with a Swiss bank so recently ordered to freeze the assets of Russian clients. What would happen in Switzerland if tensions rise over Taiwan?
And what of a company like Syngenta, Chinese-owned, based here, and a repository of highly valuable IP? If the US imposed sanctions on the Chinese economy, would Bern move against one of its biggest corporate success stories?
Much has been made of the political ZeitenwendeExternal link, a turning point, that has rocked Germany – how the war in Ukraine has forced a rethink of the country’s long-held commitment to pacifism. One might venture that Switzerland is, on a smaller scale, beginning to confront a similar shift, but in economic terms. Or at least, to contemplate its outlines.
The question is, can any western economy, so deeply integrated now with the economies that surround it and the western financial system, afford to stand apart in the multiplying geopolitical crises that are confronting the west?
It is not a new issue. The crisis in Ukraine has simply brought it into focus. For years Switzerland has been in agonising negotiations with the EU over the limits to its economic freedoms.
For Thomas Borer, a former Swiss diplomat who not only drafted much of the current official policy on neutrality but also presided over the landmark Swiss inquiry into assets looted by the Nazis and stashed in Swiss banks, the whole debate over business or economic “neutrality” is a facile one.
Neutrality, he says, is an instrument of foreign policy, not the goal of it. The goal is to defend Switzerland’s national interests as strongly as possible.
The time when Switzerland could economically bury its head in the sand, he says, is over. “We have to understand who our friends are and who shares our values. Switzerland has to make choices.” Swiss businesses – and those who do business here – will have to as well.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022
You Might Also Like
Swiss block re-export of armoured vehicles to Ukraine
2022-06-02
The Swiss authorities have vetoed Denmark’s request to send Swiss-made armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) recently rejected Denmark’s bid to provide about 20 Piranha III infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, Swiss public television, SRF, said on Wednesday.
Swiss seek cooperation with US on cyber security defence
2022-05-16
Defence Minister Viola Amherd has held talks with United States government representatives on international security cooperation.
‘Swiss neutrality is one of the foundations of our partnership with NATO’
2022-03-20
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the Swiss ambassador to NATO, Philippe Brandt, explains the importance of Switzerland’s partnership with the alliance, which he views as perfectly compatible with Swiss neutrality.
Stay or go? Western consumer brands wrestle with Russian dilemma
2022-03-12
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has led to an exodus of well-known western brands from Russia, but not every company has joined the rush.
Switzerland simplifies process of employing foreign workers
2022-03-04
Companies will no longer have to prove there are no Swiss job candidates in some sectors. Moves to cut red tape for non-EU foreign workers in Switzerland will not necessarily lead to more work visas being issued.
On Friday, the government announced measuresExternal link to make it easier to hire skilled workers from such countries as India, Britain, China and the United States.By making it simpler to award B and L work permits, Switzerland hopes that the “innovative power of the economy can be strengthened.”Companies are usually obliged to prove that there are no Swiss people who could fill a position before it is offered to a candidate
Finance minister says global corporate tax to come into force in 2024
2022-01-14
The Swiss government has pledged to implement from 2024 the minimum tax rate for large multinational companies under a global tax deal.
Omicron forces WEF to postpone flagship event again
2021-12-22
The Covid-19 pandemic has severely disrupted plans to hold the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) main annual meeting in Davos for a second year in a row.
Pension reform passes in parliament but set to be challenged to vote
2021-12-18
Parliament has approved a major reform of the Swiss pension system, including a controversial rise in the retirement age for women. The overhaul also foresees financial compensation – staggered over nine years for women directly affected by the change – as well as an increase in value-added tax.
Tags: Featured,newsletter,Politics