Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
No trains in Glarus for a fortnight, Swiss government launches English X account, and other news from around Switzerland on Wednesday.
No trains in the whole canton of Glarus for two weeks
From October 23rd to November 5th there will be no trains running from Ziegelbrücke to Linthal, SBB has announced.
The reason behind the closure is SBB’s construction work in the area which started in August 2023 and will now see the company renew the tracks between Nieder- and Oberurnen and Ziegelbrücke at the end of October.
Travellers in Glarus will instead have to hop on replacement rail buses and expect longer journey times and different stops before travel resumes normally from November 5th.
The routes to the replacement train stops – which will not always be at railway stations to save travel times - are signalled on site and can be seen in the online timetable.
Zurich urged to consider increased daycare costs
The tariffs of the 12 city-owned daycare centres are cheaper than the average prices of private daycare centres in Zurich, ZüriToday reports.
Local councillors Mélissa Dufournet (FDP.The Liberals) and David Ondraschek (The Centre) are now demanding that the price structures be adjusted and brought to a uniform level.
Parents who place their child in a municipal daycare centre pay a maximum of 120 Swiss francs per day whether their child is an infant or an older toddler. In private daycare centres, however, a parent will pay a different daily sum depending on their child’s age which – on average – is above 125 Swiss francs.
The two councillors justify the initiative by saying that private daycare centres are coming under pressure due to the cheaper tariffs of city daycare.
Additionally, families who do not need financial support could benefit as the city does not check the financial circumstances when admitting a child to a daycare centres.
“This results in unequal treatment between those receiving services from private and municipal daycare centres,” says the postulate submitted by the two politicians.
Swiss government introduces a dedicated English-language account on X
Thus far, as Federal Council spokesman, the Vice Chancellor has been running an account on X (formerly Twitter), which was aimed at a Swiss audience and therefore run in Switzerland’s national languages.
The Swiss Federal Government has now introduced an English language account on X to supplement its original channel to ensure Switzerland's interests are better represented abroad in transactions and decisions with an international dimension.
See its first post:
Thank you for visiting the Swiss Federal Government’s newest social media account. Our homepage is also a good source of information. https://t.co/hOb7AFvBQP
— Swiss Federal Government (@SwissGov) October 17, 2023
The new account is mainly aimed primarily at media professionals and employees of international and supranational organisations and will feature content tailored to a global audience.
Switzerland gets ready to vote in parliamentary elections
On Sunday, the Swiss will elect 246 members their Federal Assembly — that is, the higher and lower chamber of the parliament. Though as a foreign resident, you will not be able to cast your vote in this election - as only Swiss citizens can do so – who wins a seat in parliament will still affect you.
The ‘mood’ in the parliament, as well as specific actions, are largely determined by which political party has the majority of seats.
After the previous election, in 2019, the populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has been the dominant one. As experience has shown, when right-wingers are in control, many pro-immigrant motions and proposals are vetoed.
Generally speaking, the left-leaning or moderate majority is better for foreign nationals living in the country than the populist or centre-right one.
For the upcoming election, the SVP wants to maintain its position as the dominant party in the parliament, though the Social Democrats and Greens are eager to gain ground.
The new composition of the parliament from October 22nd will give a good indication about which way the wind will blow — in terms of foreigner-friendly policies.
Read more on what is at stake for foreigners living and working in Switzerland in our article on the issue here.
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No trains in the whole canton of Glarus for two weeks
From October 23rd to November 5th there will be no trains running from Ziegelbrücke to Linthal, SBB has announced.
The reason behind the closure is SBB’s construction work in the area which started in August 2023 and will now see the company renew the tracks between Nieder- and Oberurnen and Ziegelbrücke at the end of October.
Travellers in Glarus will instead have to hop on replacement rail buses and expect longer journey times and different stops before travel resumes normally from November 5th.
The routes to the replacement train stops – which will not always be at railway stations to save travel times - are signalled on site and can be seen in the online timetable.
Zurich urged to consider increased daycare costs
The tariffs of the 12 city-owned daycare centres are cheaper than the average prices of private daycare centres in Zurich, ZüriToday reports.
Local councillors Mélissa Dufournet (FDP.The Liberals) and David Ondraschek (The Centre) are now demanding that the price structures be adjusted and brought to a uniform level.
Parents who place their child in a municipal daycare centre pay a maximum of 120 Swiss francs per day whether their child is an infant or an older toddler. In private daycare centres, however, a parent will pay a different daily sum depending on their child’s age which – on average – is above 125 Swiss francs.
The two councillors justify the initiative by saying that private daycare centres are coming under pressure due to the cheaper tariffs of city daycare.
Additionally, families who do not need financial support could benefit as the city does not check the financial circumstances when admitting a child to a daycare centres.
“This results in unequal treatment between those receiving services from private and municipal daycare centres,” says the postulate submitted by the two politicians.
Swiss government introduces a dedicated English-language account on X
Thus far, as Federal Council spokesman, the Vice Chancellor has been running an account on X (formerly Twitter), which was aimed at a Swiss audience and therefore run in Switzerland’s national languages.
The Swiss Federal Government has now introduced an English language account on X to supplement its original channel to ensure Switzerland's interests are better represented abroad in transactions and decisions with an international dimension.
See its first post:
Thank you for visiting the Swiss Federal Government’s newest social media account. Our homepage is also a good source of information. https://t.co/hOb7AFvBQP
— Swiss Federal Government (@SwissGov) October 17, 2023
The new account is mainly aimed primarily at media professionals and employees of international and supranational organisations and will feature content tailored to a global audience.
Switzerland gets ready to vote in parliamentary elections
On Sunday, the Swiss will elect 246 members their Federal Assembly — that is, the higher and lower chamber of the parliament. Though as a foreign resident, you will not be able to cast your vote in this election - as only Swiss citizens can do so – who wins a seat in parliament will still affect you.
The ‘mood’ in the parliament, as well as specific actions, are largely determined by which political party has the majority of seats.
After the previous election, in 2019, the populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has been the dominant one. As experience has shown, when right-wingers are in control, many pro-immigrant motions and proposals are vetoed.
Generally speaking, the left-leaning or moderate majority is better for foreign nationals living in the country than the populist or centre-right one.
For the upcoming election, the SVP wants to maintain its position as the dominant party in the parliament, though the Social Democrats and Greens are eager to gain ground.
The new composition of the parliament from October 22nd will give a good indication about which way the wind will blow — in terms of foreigner-friendly policies.
Read more on what is at stake for foreigners living and working in Switzerland in our article on the issue here.
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