Tag Archives: Politics

People wait to receive humanitarian aid in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on May 28, 2022. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Despite record public donations for Ukraine, four months since the start of the invasion by Russia, Swiss aid agencies have only been able to spend a small amount of the funds on humanitarian work. An investigationExternal link by the SonntagsZeitung newspaper published on July 10 has revealed that Swiss Solidarity, the Swiss Red...

France’s last-ditch bid to persaude Switzerland to buy its Rafale fighter jet looks to have failed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. France offered Switzerland a financial sweetener, worth an estimated CHF3.5 billion, to buy its Rafale fighter jets rather than US F-35A aircraft, according to a secret document seen by Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The document sheds light on background negotiations as Switzerland seeks to replace its ageing...

The Swiss press has praised Foreign Minister Cassis for organising the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano earlier this week. © Keystone/Alessandro Della Valle Newspaper editors in Switzerland offered praise mixed with criticism on the two-day international conference in Lugano to support war-torn Ukraine with its reconstruction efforts. The Wednesday edition of the Tages-Anzeiger and other TA Media group papers said the meeting, which ended on Tuesday, was a step...

Part II of II, by Claudio Grass, Hünenberg, Switzerland An astonishing acceleration Even though the downhill trajectory we saw over the last decades in terms of property rights was bad enough, nothing could have ever prepared us for what the covid crisis would bring. Even those of us who have read enough history to know that there’s really no line that the State will not cross in its fervent pursuit of absolute power were sincerely surprised; how could it be that the ruling...

Part II of II, by Claudio Grass, Hünenberg, Switzerland An astonishing acceleration Even though the downhill trajectory we saw over the last decades in terms of property rights was bad enough, nothing could have ever prepared us for what the covid crisis would bring. Even those of us who have read enough history to know that there’s really no line that the State will not cross in its fervent pursuit of absolute power were sincerely surprised; how could it be that...

Part I of II, by Claudio Grass, Hünenberg, Switzerland It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to argue that private property rights, as understood by classic liberal thinkers, by those who embrace Austrian economic theory and by all member of an enlightened society, are not only the cornerstone, but also the last defense of human civilization and the Western way of life in particular. Nothing stands a chance without this premise. No prosperity can ever come about or even maintained, none...

Part I of II, by Claudio Grass, Hünenberg, Switzerland It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to argue that private property rights, as understood by classic liberal thinkers, by those who embrace Austrian economic theory and by all member of an enlightened society, are not only the cornerstone, but also the last defense of human civilization and the Western way of life in particular. Nothing stands a chance without this premise. No prosperity can ever come...

Some Western countries plan to officially ban gold imports from Russia. In 2021, Russia dug up 314 tonnes of gold, nearly 10% of the metal mined globally. Ria Novosti An unexpected spike in Switzerland’s gold imports from Russia is under scrutiny as the leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations gear up to introduce a ban on the precious metal. The G7’s focus on gold, Russia’s second-largest export after energy, marks the latest effort by Western nations to ramp up...

When “whatever it takes” means confiscation of wealth One of the reasons people decide to buy gold bullion or add silver coins to their portfolio is because they cannot be devalued. No one can suddenly decide to print more gold or silver! Sadly, this is exactly what happens with currencies around the world. And the last two decades have been prime examples of this. As governments rush to patch up past mistakes, missed warnings and election cycles they resort to...

Ueli Maurer, Switzerland’s finance minister, is concerned about Switzerland’s finances after a recent round of decisions to substantially increase public spending. Swiss finance minister Ueli MaurerDuring June 2022, Switzerland’s parliament agreed to significant increases to spending on the army, healthcare and the environment. The situation is not sustainable Maurer told SRF. In June, parliament agreed to boost military spending by CHF 2 billion, raising it from CHF 5 to CHF 7 billion...