Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron have built a new extension to their original Tate Mode design. In a rare interview, the duo spoke to Swiss public television about their work. (SRF/RTS, swissinfo.ch)
In 2000, the Herzog & de Meuron architecture firm converted the former Bankside Power Station in London into what is now known as the Tate Mode museum. With 4.7 million visitors in 2015 it’s one of the most visited contemporary art museums in the world.
In June 2016, the extension was opened by the new mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
The “Switch House”, as it’s known, is a ten-storey tower clad with brick in the form of a twisting pyramid, and takes the name from part of the former power station that the new wing of the Tate Mode museum occupies.
The unique façade of the new building reinterprets the power station’s brickwork through 336,000 lattice bricks that allow the light to filter in pattes during the day and makes the building glow in the dark.
Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have built up their architecture firm to become one of the most renowned in the world, recently designing the Beijing Olympics’ Bird’s Nest, among other iconic buildings.
Swissquote is keen not to get its fingers bued again
(Keystone)
Banks and professional traders are lining up to take advantage of volatility created by Britain’s vote on EU membership. Amateur investors are also looking to cash in during the June 23 vote, but this has made some online platforms wary of the losses they could rack up.
Swissquote, one of Switzerland’s largest online brokers with more than 230,000 client accounts, understands better than most the risks of “armchair investors” getting in over their heads. Last year it had to write off CHF25 million ($26 million) in bad debts when account holders were caught out by the central bank’s abandonment of the franc-euro peg.
With the Brexit vote looming, Swissquote is now determined to limit the size of clients’ bets by raising margin rates on certain foreign exchange trades from 1% to 5%. This means that traders using its platform must now put up five times more capital to cover the risk of trades going sour.
Using CHF50,000 of their own money, Swissquote users can now speculate on currency exchange rates to the tune of CHF1 million – instead of the normal CHF5 million ceiling.
Other online brokers have followed suit, including Coér Bank’s platform Coér Trader, the Geneva-based IG Bank and the Swiss branches of Saxo Bank.
The June 23 referendum in Britain represents the perfect conditions for traders: a planned event with a highly uncertain outcome (opinion polls are still divided on the result) that could bring big swings in market prices either way depending on the way votes are cast.
Volatile exchange rates
The British pound has already lost 7% of its value against the Swiss franc since January. Some analysts believe the sterling could plunge 20% against the US dollar if the Brexit “Leave” campaign wins.
On top of that, Britain leaving the European Union would almost certainly depress the trading value of the euro. The franc recently hit six-month highs against the euro.
Alteately, a “Remain” vote would likely rally the British pound and reverse much of the downward pressure it has faced in the past few weeks of uncertainty.
In addition to foreign exchange trades, the bond and derivatives markets are also bound to see winners and losers come June 23. Professional traders, particularly in London, which is home to most of Europe’s investment bankers, are talking about Brexit as one of the most highly anticipated events in recent times.
Several media have pointed out that teams of traders in all major investment banks have been ordered to work through the night on Thursday. It is expected that results of the referendum will start drifting in at around 10pm Swiss time.
Swiss private banks have also been quietly enjoying some of the benefits of the pre-referendum uncertainty. Those investors who lack the risk appetite of investment bankers or day traders have been pulling their assets into safe havens, such as the Swiss franc.
Should Brexit become reality, Swiss private bankers expect the flow to expand into a flood of cash escaping the volatility.
“If you see major corrections, clients try to protect their assets first,” UBS head of wealth management Jürg Zeltner recently told Reuters. “A lot of clients sit on 30-plus per cent cash. So what they are going to do is just move that into what they will consider a safe haven.”
Swiss private banks are looking to capitalise on global banks' retreat from Southeast Asia, pushing deeper into the region as they seek to extend their range beyond Singapore to tap wealthy clients in less developed markets.
Bordier & Cie is the latest wealth manager seeking partnerships with regional banks in markets including Vietnam, on the heels of a similar tie-up in Thailand between Lombard Odier and a local bank. Credit Suisse, too, is targeting rich Thais, setting up a team of relationship managers in Bangkok.
Geneva-based Bordier & Cie said it is in talks with at least three regional institutions about setting up partnerships under a strategy aimed at increasing profits in Asia without raising its fixed costs.
Many banks have struggled to make sustainable profits from the rise of Asia's super-rich in the face of rising regulatory costs, particularly in relation to preventing money laundering.
In the past two years, both Barclays and Société Générale have sold their Asian private banking operations to regional banks. In April, JPMorgan cut 20% of its Asia private bank relationship managers as it refocused on a smaller pool of richer clients.
Under its proposed partnerships, Bordier & Cie will train regional banks and help them set up wealth management units. The Swiss group will charge for the service, which would include sharing specialist knowledge and training in Singapore and Switzerland, and hopes in tu to be introduced to clients who wish to bank in Singapore.
Evrard Bordier, managing partner at Bordier & Cie in Singapore, said: "We do not have the strength to be in every country."
The aim is to boost profits without shouldering increased costs of office rental, IT and staffing in the region, Bordier said. "We don't try to step on their toes and set up a business in the same country," he said. "You forge alliances."
Bordier & Cie, which opened a Singapore operation in 2011 and now has 35 staff in the city-state, is one of a number of Swiss banks of varying sizes targeting the region. It had CHF10.5 billion ($10.9 billion) in assets under management last year.
Lombard Odier, a mid-sized Swiss bank with CHF160 billion in assets under management, has also sought to extend its reach in Asia, linking up with local banks in Thailand, Japan, Australia and South Korea.
Part of Lombard Odier's deal with Thailand's Kasikobank includes referring wealthy Thai clients to the Swiss company, which provides training for the Thai bank's relationship managers.
Credit Suisse is adding a team of six relationship managers in Bangkok and aims to doubling that number by the end of the year, while Julius Baer said in April it is hiring at least 50 more relationship managers in Asia.
But expansion in Asia can also pose reputational risk relating to the sources of some client wealth. Swiss bank BSI, which grew rapidly in Singapore over the past seven years, is facing criminal proceedings after an investigation by Switzerland's financial supervisor Finma found it was "in serious breach" of money laundering regulations connected to the scandal surrounding Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB.
BSI has said it is cooperating with authorities in Switzerland and Singapore and has taken steps to improve management and compliance.
A drawing of the October 3, 2013 tragedy by a Lampedusa school child.
Three years after the migrant boat tragedy in Lampedusa, in which 366 people drowned, relatives are still trying to identify dead bodies to conduct a dignified burial. It’s a difficult but important process which is being supported by the Swiss Red Cross.
“We told them several times that they shouldn’t set out, but they didn’t listen. One day they got into a boat heading for Europe. We haven’t heard from them since,” says Bila Bila Barre from Somalia, recounting the story of her two nephews Hussene (20) und Maxamud (19). They wanted to travel to Italy via Libya.
Barre is certain that the young men perished with other migrants in the terrible shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa on October 3, 2015, in which at least 366 people died. Ironically, it was one of the few refugee tragedies in which most of the dead were recovered.
See in other languages: 9
“The dates coincide, even if none of the 155 survivors can confirm they saw the two on board. But as long as we haven’t seen any bodies there’s still doubt. Are they being held somewhere? Were they killed by criminal gangs specialising in the trafficking of human organs? You hear so many stories,” says Barre, who arrived in Switzerland as a refugee in the 1990s and now holds Swiss citizenship.
At the request of her sister, she contacted the Swiss Red Cross to try to find the two young men, or at least their remains. The Swiss Red Cross receives requests on a daily basis from families who have been separated by conflict or exile. It helped convince other Red Cross Societies to register migrants missing at sea.
Italy took a further important step following the 2015 Lampedusa tragedies, but without European Union support. At the Labanof laboratory in the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Milan, the victims' post-mortem data, such as DNA samples, is analysed. In addition, so-called “Ante-mortem data” are collected – everything from personal belonging and photographs to scars or tattoos.
Such information can help with the identification of victims, explains Vittorio Piscitelli, who has been the Italian govement’s Special Commissioner for Missing Persons since December 2013.
Searching for a name
With the support of the Swiss Red Cross, last autumn Barre travelled to Milan hoping to identify her nephews. Other family members who live in Switzerland came as well to search for information about three additional migrants who went missing at sea.
“At the Labanof lab, they showed me an album with photos of the bodies which they had found in the sea. I had taken a recent photo of my nephews and I tried to look for similarities with the bodies which had been deformed by the water. But it was so difficult . . .”
Using photos is often the only option for identifying the bodies. For DNA tests to be reliable, there needs to be a direct family link, between parents and children or between brothers and sisters, for example. But sometimes victims’ families still live in conflict-ridden countries like Syria or Eritrea, and cannot request help from their govements or even leave the country.
Thus, despite huge efforts from various organisations helping migrants as well as the Italian authorities, many victims who drowned at Lampedusa have been buried in Sicily. A simple ID number is placed on their coffin. More than eight months after her trip to Milan, Barre is still awaiting a reply from the laboratory.
Proper mouing
Nicole Windlin is responsible for the Swiss Red Cross tracing service. She is convinced of the importance of identifying victims of shipwrecks. The aim is not just to give dignity back to the dead but also to those still living.
“To mou properly, it’s essential that people can be sure that the person has actually died,” she explains. “Finding a body makes it possible to have a proper burial, according to the rites of each culture.”
There is also a legal and administrative aspect, she adds: “For widows, orphans and parents, when there is no document confirming the death, many questions cannot be answered. For example, a partner cannot remarry or inherit the assets of the missing person.”
According to Nicole Windlin, even 20 years after the conflict in the former Yugoslavia around 100 people in Switzerland are still hoping to find the bodies of their loved ones.
However, the case of people who drown in the Mediterranean is much more complex, she adds: “In Bosnia some families were able to remember what their relatives were wearing on the day they disappeared. Migrants, however, are often on the road for months, even years, and the only information we get are photos published on social media, posed pictures. That’s why it’s harder to recognise people.” In addition, there is no European database that catalogues migrants who have disappeared at sea.
A big challenge
With the arrival of spring, the number of boats packed with people leaving Libya for Italy has increased – as well as the number of boats sinking. According to UNHCR, from the beginning of 2016 on average 15.8 people have died every day crossing the Mediterranean. Most bodies are recovered months later.
Another boat tragedy that occurred on April 18, 2015, is a good example of the challenges. An estimated 700 refugees are thought to have died on that ship. Until now, the Italian navy has only managed to find 169 bodies located near the shipwreck. It is estimated that 200-400 skeletons are still trapped in the sunken hull, says Piscitelli. Attempts to raise the wreckage started recently – more than a year after the accident.
Piscitelli is frank. “The EU is afraid of the management of the migration phenomenon and of the bodies fished from the sea. It has left Italy with the responsibility of financing and managing the identification programme. It has tued its back on us.”
A flood tide of refugees
The total number of refugees and inteally displaced people worldwide rose to a record 65.3 million at the end of 2015, UNHCR said Monday. On average, 34,000 people a day were displaced last year, marking a 50% increase just since the Syria war began in 2011. More than one million people fled to Europe last year, wreaking political havoc in the European Union.
You can contact the author on Twitter at @stesummi
What should be done to prevent these tragedies in the Mediterranean? Give us your view in the Idea below.
Here are the stories we’re following the week of June 20:
Monday
Almost three years after a shipwreck off the coast of Italy that killed 366 people fleeing conflict for better lives in Europe, the victims' families are still trying to identify the bodies so that they can hold a dignified burial. Here, swissinfo.ch looks at the difficult process the families are going through with help from the Swiss Red Cross.
Wednesday
One town is marking the time a century ago when Switzerland welcomed tens of thousands of prisoners of the First World War. In videotaped testimony, descendants told swissinfo.ch how emotional it is to visit Châteux d’Oex in southweste Switzerland, a main centre for inteed British soldiers.
Wednesday
In Zurich, the non-profit Switzerland Global Enterprise is holding discussions of booming Asian markets, and what a global shift of purchasing power to the new middle class holds in store for developing economies.
Thursday
Bruno Kaufmann, a frequent contributor to swissinfo.ch and an expert on direct democracy, offers his views on the meaning of separatism – seceding from larger groups by drawing lines of culture, ethnicity, religion, race or gender – in light of the looming Brexit vote.
Friday
Results from Britain’s vote on whether or not to remain in the European Union, with swissinfo.ch examining the multiple underlying issues and possible consequences for Switzerland.
A strange creature called “Steinbockovich” has been spotted around Switzerland. His mission? Exploring the biology of the Alpine ibex, and the animal’s place in Swiss culture.
The man behind this “manibex” is Boston artist Edward Monovich, who’s doing an interdisciplinary project with Zurich evolutionary biologist Lukas Keller.
What other kinds of animals would you like to hear about? Contact the producer of this podcast on Twitter @SMisicka or on WordPress.
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Bruno Weber (1931-2011) left behind a legacy of the largest sculpture park of any individual artist. swissinfo.ch took a look inside with his widow, Maria Anna Weber.
The future of the Bruno Weber park outside Dietikon, near Zurich, is now secure. It’s pegged to become a listed heritage site about ten years from now.
A new board has taken a close look at the park and created a concept which charts its development, redevelopment and expansion phases in three, seven and 21-year periods.
Parallel to the industrialisation of the Limmat valley, Weber dedicated half a century to creating a work of art that reflects the relationship between people, nature and habitat. As the rapid development of the Limmat valley took shape, the oasis took on an enchanting nature – 15,000 m2 of buildings, sculptures, woodland and water gardens. In 2004 it was adopted as a certified protected site.
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The cartoon of the week is a new series at swissinfo.ch. Cartoonist Marina Lutz has worked with different Swiss media as a caricaturist, including the Nebelspalter satirical magazine. Lutz has won several awards for her work, notably during the Fumetto inteational cartoon festival.
Brexit – yes or no? If the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union, would it work out a series of bilateral agreements, similar to the ones between the EU and Switzerland?
Some Brits believe Switzerland has benefited from the bilateral approach. The Swiss-EU treaties give Switzerland direct access to the best parts of the EU: trade, transport and science projects – plus visa-less travel around Europe.
One thing the UK has in common with Switzerland since Brexit is coming to a vote: using direct democracy to determine its working relationship with the EU. Britons will decide on June 23 on whether or not to remain an EU member.
Many German-speaking cantons prefer to teach English first
(Keystone)
Will canton Zurich go down the controversial one-language route for pupils in primary schools, as in canton Thurgau? If so, would it be French or English?
“We realised that for most primary school pupils leaing two foreign languages does very little good. You just have two lessons a week for each language, English and French, and that isn’t intense enough to lea a language,” former Zurich cantonal politician Hanspeter Amstutz told swissinfo.ch.
Amstutz is helping to spearhead a local people’s initiative calling for only one language to be taught in the canton’s primary schools.
It comes at a time of increased debate in German-speaking Switzerland on the issue of how many languages should be taught to young pupils. Also raising emotions: whether inteational language English should take preference over national language French, which has been traditionally taught for reasons of country cohesion.
Amstutz, himself a former teacher, says the best pupils manage two languages, but a majority struggle. There is also a burden on teachers and other subjects suffer from lack of attention, he argued.
Currently pupils lea English from age 7 and French from age 11. The initiative “more quality – one foreign language at primary school” does not dispute that two languages should be leaed during a school career, he added, just when this should be.
He and the other backers, which includes several cantonal teachers’ associations, say that if one foreign language has been carefully introduced at primary level, a second one will be leaed faster in secondary school than if two had been introduced in primary school.
The text does not, however, stipulate which language should be leaed in primary schools.
Why a people’s initiative?
But why is a people’s initiative needed? The answer is that any change to the number of foreign languages taught at primary school - normally a decision made by the cantonal education board - necessitates a change of cantonal law. A people’s initiative has the power to challenge laws.
“We simply felt that education policy was not moving any more and the whole issue of foreign languages has become a matter of prestige for education politicians including the Cantonal Directors of Education… we think it needs a political discussion and we wanted to give our opponents a ‘hosenlupf’ [trouser lift to unbalance your opponent] like you do in Swiss wrestling,” said Amstutz.
This is not the first time that citizens in canton Zurich have been called upon to vote on the issue. In November 2006, a similar initiative was rejected by 59%.
Amstutz thinks the situation is different this time because “we have 9-10 years’ experience and people are disillusioned”.
But Martin Wendelspiess, head of the canton’s Office of Elementary Education when the initiative was handed in, is convinced the current two-language solution is the correct one.
“We are convinced that most children benefit from it. That a few individuals are overburdened by it, well, you can say this for any subject. Some are overburdened by sports lessons but we don’t cancel them,” he said in an interview shortly before his retirement at the end of May.
“We are convinced that that if the cantons can’t come to an agreement then it will come to a centralised solution from the govement.”
French or English or both?
This is a key issue. Discussions about whether one or two languages should be taught in primary schools and which one first have been raging in other German-speaking cantons, such as Thurgau, Lucee and Graubünden.
Thurgau has gone it alone and in April decided to teach English only in primary schools from mid 2018, with French in secondary school. This caused much uproar from French-speaking cantons which have accused it of damaging Swiss cohesion by prioritising inteational English over a Swiss national language. For many years, French was automatically taught first in German-speaking schools. German is still taught first in French-speaking Switzerland.
Around the cantons
There are moves towards one language at primary school in other cantons. In Lucee, a similar initiative to the Zurich one has been declared invalid by the cantonal govement but valid by parliament, Graubünden’s initiative backers challenged the cantonal parliament’s decision that their text was invalid in the cantonal administrative court in May and won. What happens next is still unclear. The issue is or has been under discussion in cantons Aargau, Basel Country, Schaffhausen and St Gallen. But in canton Nidwalden, in central Switzerland, an initiative for one language at primary school was roundly defeated at the ballot box in 2015.
A study mandated by the Conference of Central Swiss Education Directors found that primary pupils leaed English well but there were deficits in French by the age 14 (end of eighth grade). But education bosses decided they would still like to keep early French lessons and improvements are being planned
Currently there is a “typical Swiss compromise” as Wendelspiess puts it. “Central and easte cantons start with English and begin French later on and the cantons which border French-speaking cantons start with French and take on English later.”
The federal constitution states that primary school is the responsibility of cantons and that the cantons have to harmonise their school systems. If this doesn’t happen, the federal govement can step in and implement a federal solution, he explained.
Interior Minister Alain Berset has already indicated that he would be prepared to intervene should French be struck out of the primary curriculum.
The controversial nature of which language first is why the Zurich initiative has left this decision to the Zurich cantonal education board. Amstutz would prefer French, only because with music and computers children have a greater exposure to English later, which makes leaing it easier.
Wendelspiess says English is by far the more popular choice in the canton for parents and children.
In any case, the text first has to go through the cantonal govement, which can recommend whether to support or reject it, before it goes to parliament. It may not come to vote for two years, Wendelspiess said.
For now, the debate in Zurich - and in other cantons - continues.
Can two second languages be taught effectively at primary school? Give us your view.
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An EU official hangs the Union Jack next to the European Union flag at the European Commission HQ in Brussels on 16 February, 2016
(Keystone)
With a week to go before Britain votes whether or not to remain in the European Union, swissinfo.ch rounds up the arguments for and against and the multiple underlying issues surrounding the vote on June 23.
The opinion polls are still showing that voters’ intentions are neck and neck. Bookmakers, who stand to make a pile of money for getting their forecasts right, have for weeks had the Remain camp as favourites, but the Leave odds have shortened in recent days.
One of the most intriguing things about the Brexit vote is that it is just as difficult to determine the possible consequences of a Brexit as the result itself. A report by the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce in March found that half of the 185 companies surveyed thought they would be worse off if Britain left the EU. Only 13.5% of the Swiss and British firms said prospects would improve.
But a separate survey of Swiss finance chiefs in May, by Deloitte, found an overwhelming number of respondents completely underwhelmed by any thought of negative consequences for their businesses.
Companies and trade groups are also split on how things would look in Brexitland. UBS bank, which has 5,500 workers in Britain, thinks the chances of Brexit are slim and that the effect on the Swiss franc negligible even if it does occur. The Swiss Business Federation also thinks life will go on as normal even if Britain exits the EU.
However, other business lobby groups and trade organisations, such as the Switzerland Global Enterprise have waed of dire consequences for Swiss exporters.
Swiss model
Thoughts of Britain copying Switzerland’s model if it did leave the EU were pretty much quashed by a meeting of politicians, business people and joualists in Geneva in May. But the meeting was divided on what the impact would be for British nationals living in Switzerland and the Swiss resident in Britain.
Some swissinfo.ch users have expressed their anxiety at the possible consequences of Brexit. Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to nail down the exact implications as no country has ever left the EU before.
In the meantime, Switzerland is waiting somewhat impatiently in the wings for the result to be known. This is because Switzerland has its own problems with the EU and negotiations have been put on ice until the Brexit issue is resolved.
Switzerland’s entire future relationship hinges on how Be negotiates a solution with Brussels. In the meantime, students and researchers remain frozen out of the EU’s Erasmus+ student exchange programme and its Horizon 2020 science research projects.
And all this uncertainty is playing havoc with the Swiss franc, only making life more difficult for the Swiss National Bank’s efforts to stop it from appreciating too much against the euro.
For many people in both Britain and Switzerland, June 23 cannot come quickly enough. At least then, people would have a clearer picture of what awaits them.
While the eurozone struggles to manage public deficits, Switzerland has presented several plans to save every possible centime
(Keystone)
Public debt in non-EU Switzerland corresponds to barely 33% of gross domestic product (GDP), while the EU average is more than 85%. Yet almost every year the Swiss govement comes up with new ways to cut public spending. Financial prudence or a savings mania?
“Switzerland is heading towards bankruptcy,” declared the weekly magazine Facts in 1997 after a series of deficits in the state coffers running into the billions. The magazine folded a few years later, while the Swiss public accounts are today in good shape.
Actually they are in excellent shape. Along with Norway – where income from oil boosts revenue – Switzerland is the only European country to have reduced its public debt since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis in 2007.
What’s more, it did this without renouncing the implementation of costly infrastructure, such as the new Gotthard Rail Tunnel – the longest in the world – which was officially opened on June 1.
Having remained outside the European Union, Switzerland belongs to those very few European countries that have fulfilled, from the start, the Maastricht Treaty’s “convergence criteria”, designed in 1992 to ensure that a member state’s economy is sufficiently prepared for economic and monetary union and the adoption of a single currency, the euro. In order to adhere to monetary union, candidate countries had to strive above all to keep public debt below 60% of GDP.
Since then, Swiss public finances have been able to benefit from an unexpected economic robustness which has enabled the govement to maintain sound fiscal revenue.
The Swiss economy, which experienced a downtu only in 2009, rapidly came out of the inteational crisis: consumption has held up, exports haven’t collapsed despite weakening demand from EU markets, and the unemployment rate has remained between 3%-4%.
A real advantage for Switzerland has been the fact that the ratio of public spending to GDP has traditionally been low compared with other European countries:
However, a determining factor in guaranteeing the good health of the public coffers has been the “debt brake”, a mechanism introduced by the govement in 2003 to avoid structural imbalances in state finances and prevent debt growth, as happened in the 1990s.
The debt brake has enabled the rapid rebalancing of public finances.
The financial balancing is shared among all political forces, given that the agreed aim is not only to reduce expenses destined for paying off interest on debt but also to strengthen Switzerland’s resistance to new crises. But for some parties – and some economists – the policy of saving is now excessive: in the past decade the govement has reported surpluses even in years when the economy has slowed down.
In spite of these advantages, every year the govement presents new plans to cut public spending. According to the political left, state finances should be spent mainly on reinforcing the welfare state, supporting the economy and creating jobs in economic downtus. For those in the centre and on the right, the economy doesn’t need state support but rather further tax relief.
Despite the positive trend of the federal finances, fiscal policy has been one of the most fiercely debated issues in parliament for years. This year, within the framework of the new reforms on company taxation, the majority of those in the centre and on the right approved a series of relief measures worth billions of francs for companies. These reforms represent an attack on the state coffers, say those on the left, who intend to launch a referendum.
At the same time, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer from the conservative right Swiss People’s Party has already announced three savings schemes for next year. These will affect in particular social security, education and foreign aid. Untouched, on the other hand, will be national defence, agriculture and road transport. These plans, too, are subject to heavy fighting between the parties.
Like the other countries in Europe, Switzerland has to tackle – and soon – two factors which threaten to weigh heavily on public spending: an ageing population and the explosion in health costs. Over the next 30 years, some CHF150 billion ($155 billion) will be needed to cover the costs connected to the changing demographics, says a new report from the finance ministry on the long-term prospects of the country’s public finances. Without savings measures or increasing tax revenue, public debt will increase to 59% of GDP by 2045.
Do you think state finances should be spent on supporting the economy and creating jobs as the political left argue, or does the economy need tax relief as the political right say?
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Translated from Italian by Thomas Stephens, swissinfo.ch
Europe’s premiere art fair for contemporary and mode works has been getting underway in Basel this week against the backdrop of an uncertain economic climate.
Collectors at Art Basel, with an estimated CHF3.25 billion ($3.4 billion) of work on view, have been snatching up high-priced canvases despite an inteational slowdown in art sales. Major auctions in London and New York recently saw their sales levels fall sharply from previous years.
Some of the world’s biggest galleries nonetheless shipped dozens of art works to Art Basel that are valued into the tens of millions, such as Jackson Pollock’s drip painting Number 21, 1949 (1949), listed at $25 million, and Gerhard Richter’s abstract canvas Prag 1883, offered for $20 million.
Dealers often save some of their best works for the fair, which emphasises sales and marketing. Representatives from some 300 public and private museums confirmed their attendance.
The overcrowded fair attracts billionaires, socialites and curious onlookers from around the world. Last year’s drew 98,000 visitors.
Art Basel’s 47th edition is open to the public from Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19.
Stereotypes of India as a backward country are still prevalent, according to Prateek Khare whose job involves promoting the country as a destination for Swiss startups. In this article he explains what India has to offer to entrepreneurs.
By Prateek Khare
During my business trips to Switzerland and the UK, I had the opportunity to meet and work with people from nearly 35 nationalities, many of whom were highly qualified and well-travelled. A friendly disposition combined with the instincts of an Indian upbringing prompted me to invite many of my new friends to India. Some of them innocently asked me if there are cows, snakes and elephants on India’s roads. It is not the individuals who are to blame for this image of India, but traditional media (Indian and inteational) that often highlights stories of all that is not good in and with India.
In the early 2000s, India attained inteational renown for being an outsourcing hub for business processes, knowledge processes and software development. While India has gained expertise and excellence in several other domains such as design thinking, social impact, medical technology, space research, hyperlocal deliveries, digital wallets and so on, and many Indians have gone on to become CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, a large majority of the world still thinks of India as an outsourcing hub. It’s time we looked beyond these clichés.
Growth and opportunities
Yes, India has its fair share of problems and chaos, as is the case with every developing country. But India and its people know how to manage the chaos and function effectively. Many experts from the west have arrived in India with the intention of teaching weste efficiency to Indians. But many of them have retued much wiser, having leat lessons of patience, managing uncertainty, giving up control, building and managing relationship and trust with business partners and employees, etc. that one automatically leas from everyday life in India.
With the advent of technology, there are no inteational borders in the virtual world. Access to information is no longer a competitive advantage and Generation Z is always connected. The education and social structure in India imparts at least one core skill in every Indian student - ‘competitiveness’. This is reflected in India’s recently reported GDP growth hitting 7.3% in 2015, which is predicted to rise as high as 7.6% in 2016, making India the fastest growing economy in the world.
Among its 1.2+ billion people, India arguably has supreme intellectual capital in its young workforce and world’s second largest English speaking talent that is flexible and trainable. Most of the Fortune 500 companies have CXOs (Chief X Officers such as CEOs/COOs/CTOs, etc.) of Indian origin and this is now becoming a normal global norm. India has unsaturated market opportunities in high-tech and social entrepreneurship. The country also has the world's third-largest number of billionaires and a 250 million strong middle class with good purchasing power, inteational exposure, tastes and experiences.
Conducting business and living in India is cost effective compared to the West. The current govement’s focus on ‘Startup India’ and grassroots innovation, has created an upbeat mood in the nation with respect to trade and commerce. As a result, India’s and specifically the southe Indian city of Bangalore’s rank in the global startup ecosystem moves up a few notches every year (currently 15th). In response, big companies, education and R&D, support organisation, service providers, investors, innovators are slowly but steadily improving infrastructure - India has arrived!
Khare’s “India for beginners”
- Come with an open mind: Don’t let general opinion and preconceived notions about India crowd your thoughts.
- Get info online: If you can, try not to refer to the old travel guide books. Go local, and go digital. Ask your questions in advance directly to real people at question-and-answer websites like Quora.
- Understand scale and diversity: Diversity is a core part of India. For ease, you could compare the size and scale of India with that of entire Europe. India witnesses all four seasons, is one of the top biodiverse countries and offers global cuisines within its over 3.287 million km² inteational boundaries. While there are over 100 billionaires in India, there are also many at the bottom of the pyramid. Everyone and everything co-exists in India.
- Trust and relationships rule: Indians have lived this motto forever. When in India, give up your obsessiveness with planning, control and processes. Trust the system, people and the results. Build relationships, not only mandates - Indians will do beyond your mandates if you build good relationship with them.
- Respect and curiosity will be rewarded: Immerse in local experiences, show respect to local culture and traditions as you would expect to be shown back in your country. Look beyond the superficial and obvious.
- Time is second priority: When in India, lea to be flexible with time. Generally, time is not the most important element in the everyday life of an Indian, but a good relationship is.
- Look at the bigger picture: Don't assume that wherever you're standing in India is representative of the entire country. Even moving a few kilometres in any direction within a single city will show you something completely different. So keep an open mind and look at the aggregate of your Indian experiences, not necessarily individual events and people.
- India is a testing ground: Don’t think that it is easy to conduct business in India. It's very hard but “if you win in India - you can win everywhere”, says the title of one book written by the man who helped build India into Microsoft's second-largest presence in the world and one of its fastest growing markets.
- You can have an opinion: Do realise that not everybody is made for liking and loving India or that India is meant for everybody. It comes with its own advantages and disadvantages - you always have a choice.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of swissinfo.ch.
Opinion series
swissinfo.ch publishes op-ed articles by contributors writing on a wide range of topics – Swiss issues or those that impact Switzerland. The selection of articles presents a diversity of opinions designed to enrich the debate on the issues discussed.
While the eurozone struggles to manage public deficits, Switzerland has presented several plans to save every possible centime
(Keystone)
Public debt in non-EU Switzerland corresponds to barely 33% of gross domestic product (GDP), while the EU average is more than 85%. Yet almost every year the Swiss govement comes up with new ways to cut public spending. Financial prudence or a savings mania?
“Switzerland is heading towards bankruptcy,” declared the weekly magazine Facts in 1997 after a series of deficits in the state coffers running into the billions. The magazine folded a few years later, while the Swiss public accounts are today in good shape.
Actually they are in excellent shape. Along with Norway – where income from oil boosts revenue – Switzerland is the only European country to have reduced its public debt since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis in 2007.
What’s more, it did this without renouncing the implementation of costly infrastructure, such as the new Gotthard Rail Tunnel – the longest in the world – which was officially opened on June 1.
Having remained outside the European Union, Switzerland belongs to those very few European countries that have fulfilled, from the start, the Maastricht Treaty’s “convergence criteria”, designed in 1992 to ensure that a member state’s economy is sufficiently prepared for economic and monetary union and the adoption of a single currency, the euro. In order to adhere to monetary union, candidate countries had to strive above all to keep public debt below 60% of GDP.
Since then, Swiss public finances have been able to benefit from an unexpected economic robustness which has enabled the govement to maintain sound fiscal revenue.
The Swiss economy, which experienced a downtu only in 2009, rapidly came out of the inteational crisis: consumption has held up, exports haven’t collapsed despite weakening demand from EU markets, and the unemployment rate has remained between 3%-4%.
A real advantage for Switzerland has been the fact that the ratio of public spending to GDP has traditionally been low compared with other European countries:
However, a determining factor in guaranteeing the good health of the public coffers has been the “debt brake”, a mechanism introduced by the govement in 2003 to avoid structural imbalances in state finances and prevent debt growth, as happened in the 1990s.
The debt brake has enabled the rapid rebalancing of public finances.
The financial balancing is shared among all political forces, given that the agreed aim is not only to reduce expenses destined for paying off interest on debt but also to strengthen Switzerland’s resistance to new crises. But for some parties – and some economists – the policy of saving is now excessive: in the past decade the govement has reported surpluses even in years when the economy has slowed down.
In spite of these advantages, every year the govement presents new plans to cut public spending. According to the political left, state finances should be spent mainly on reinforcing the welfare state, supporting the economy and creating jobs in economic downtus. For those in the centre and on the right, the economy doesn’t need state support but rather further tax relief.
Despite the positive trend of the federal finances, fiscal policy has been one of the most fiercely debated issues in parliament for years. This year, within the framework of the new reforms on company taxation, the majority of those in the centre and on the right approved a series of relief measures worth billions of francs for companies. These reforms represent an attack on the state coffers, say those on the left, who intend to launch a referendum.
At the same time, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer from the conservative right Swiss People’s Party has already announced three savings schemes for next year. These will affect in particular social security, education and foreign aid. Untouched, on the other hand, will be national defence, agriculture and road transport. These plans, too, are subject to heavy fighting between the parties.
Like the other countries in Europe, Switzerland has to tackle – and soon – two factors which threaten to weigh heavily on public spending: an ageing population and the explosion in health costs. Over the next 30 years, some CHF150 billion ($155 billion) will be needed to cover the costs connected to the changing demographics, says a new report from the finance ministry on the long-term prospects of the country’s public finances. Without savings measures or increasing tax revenue, public debt will increase to 59% of GDP by 2045.
Do you think state finances should be spent on supporting the economy and creating jobs as the political left argue, or does the economy need tax relief as the political right say?
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Translated from Italian by Thomas Stephens, swissinfo.ch
“If it’s a woman’s will, everything will stand still” was the slogan of the nationwide women’s strike 25 years ago that brought around half a million women out onto the streets.
They were calling for more action, ten years after equality between men and women had been enshrined in the constitution.
The women were workers, graduates, civil servants, mothers and housewives from all over the country and from all language regions. The issues: the slow implementation of the equality article in the constitution and the need for an equality law. The strike was loud, colourful and full of imagination and took place in the same year that Switzerland celebrated the 700th anniversary of its founding. It is considered a key moment in Swiss history.
The equality law came into force in 1996, following an acrimonious debate in parliament. But women still ea on average 15% less than men. So they still protest and demand their rights every June 14, even if the numbers are not as high as in 1991.
On Tuesday, women will once again protest against the status quo. In several Swiss cities they are organising “events and extended lunches”.
“We’re hitting the streets with a clear message: salary controls – now more than ever!” said Regula Bühlmann, secretary of the Swiss Trade Union Federation.
The Swiss Pavilion with an installation by Swiss artist Pamela Rosenkranz entitled "Our Product". It is filled with a monochrome liquid matching a standardised northe European skin-tone.
(Keystone)
The appointment of Philipp Kaiser as curator of the Swiss pavilion for the 2017 Venice Art Biennale is seen as a move to reenergise Switzerland’s century-old participation in the event. The Swiss-bo, Los Angeles-based 44-year-old is one of the most sought-after curators today.
Tall, with an easy elegance and an engaging smile, Kaiser exudes a juvenile enthusiasm that belies his standing as a major figure in the world of contemporary art.
One day in Los Angeles, the following in Switzerland and the week after in New York, catching up with him is like chasing the wind. But when our interview finally takes place across several time zones, he gives it his undivided attention.
Venice Art Biennale
- Founded in 1895, the Venice Art Biennale continues to be most prestigious showcase for artists from around the globe. It takes place from June to November biannually and is curated by a different artistic director each time. The central exhibition is surrounded by satellite presentations by participating nations and their own artists. A record 80 nations took part in the Biennale in 2015. It alteates every other year with the Venice Architecture Biennale
- The biennale is entirely non-commercial and is not to be confused with art markets like Art Basel. A limited budget does however imply that invited artists often rely on their galleries to fund their presence in Venice.
Kaiser began his career in his homeland as a curator for mode and contemporary art at Basel’s progressive Museum für Gegenwartskunst, but was lured away afer six years in 2007 to join the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles.
The energy of Califoia galvanised him. “Europe has an extraordinary institutional landscape, but LA is booming, it’s the wild west. Everything is very fast on every level.”
It wasn’t an easy time though, as MOCA was entering a crisis period that would last several years and worsened with the appointment in 2010 of an art merchant, Jeffrey Dietsch as museum director. Several curators had already left MOCA following the 2008 financial crisis and three board members resigned when Dietsch was appointed. “I was in the middle of it all and felt the pressure to leave.”
Before packing his bags, Kaiser was able to put the finishing touches to a show at MOCA that sealed his reputation. Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974, which was shown at the Haus der Kunst in Munich after LA, was hailed by the Art in America magazine as “a paradigm-shifting exhibition”. The culmination of five years of research with fellow art historian Miwon Kwon, it was an indepth survey of the land art movement that emerged in the 1960s, where landscapes become the stage of in-situ works of art made from earth and natural materials.
LA calling
Back in Europe, as the youngest-ever director of the Cologne Ludwig Museum in Germany, Kaiser threw his energy into preparing exhibitions on two American conceptual artists, Kathryn Adams and Louise Lawler, while also organising a landmark show on Jack Goldstein for the Jewish Museum of Art in New York. Both Lawler and Goldstein base their work on photography, a medium that Kaiser says he appreciates more and more.
“When I look back, I realise that I’ve always been interested in pictures.”
After a year in Cologne, he felt the draw of LA again and decided to go back. By then, it was clear that the art world was beginning to shift to the US West Coast.
“The interesting thing about the US’s lack of tradition is that it generates an open space. They need curators.”
He finds it easy to ea a living as a freelance curator in the US, which he believes would be virtually impossible anywhere else. “I was super happy to be back.”
Among others, Kaiser is currently preparing Cindy Sherman: Imitation of Life, the first special exhibition for the recently inaugurated Broad Museum in Los Angeles. For the past 40 years Sherman has photographed herself in meticulously-staged imaginary portraits and is considered one of the foremost artists today.
The West Coast’s Swiss art connections
- The San Francisco Museum of Mode Art recently expanded to become the largest in the country dedicated to mode and contemporary art by adding an extension to the original building by Swiss architect Mario Botta.
- Guess Jeans founders Paul and Maurice Marciano have transformed a massive Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Los Angeles into a private art centre and have entrusted Kaiser to organise the inaugural exhibition with artists who are under 30 years old.
- LACMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, hopes to have completed by 2023 a swooping megastructure by the Swiss award-winning architect Peter Zumthor.
- A recent shift in the art marked has seen renowned galleries inaugurate new premises on the west coast: the Swiss gallery Hauser Wirth & Schimmel has opened premises in LA and Gagosian is now both in LA and San Francisco.
Switzerland and the Venice Biennale
Despite his hyperactivity, Kaiser still retains close links to the Swiss art scene and observes that interesting things are happening in Zurich, Basel and especially the French-speaking regions. “The art scene is inteational, but I care about where I come from and the artists I grew up with.”
Marianne Burki, head of visuals arts at Pro Helvetia, confirmed that the Swiss Biennale jury chose Kaiser because he remains anchored in Switzerland, despite his inteational career.
“He has a strong curatorial practice and deals with subjects in a deep way. A lot of thinking and research goes into everything he does.” Burki is convinced that Kaiser will come up with an inspirational project for Venice.
Although it is still too early to say what the Swiss pavilion will contain, Kaiser states clearly what he doesn't want: to use it as a ‘white cube’, a hanging gallery. He notes that its clean rectangular lines have often inhibited artists, rather than inspire them.
Designed in 1952 by Bruno Giacometti, the younger brother of Alberto Giacometti, the Swiss pavilion is one of the 29 national pavilions built from 1907 to 1995 on the grounds of the Giardini, the Biennale’s central venue, many by famous architects in the style of their times.
For a small country, Switzerland invariably gets noticed at the Venice Biennale. It has also produced a remarkable number of inteationally recognised curators who have played important roles in Venice, including Bice Curiger the Biennale’s artistic director in 2011, one of the few women to have filled the prestigious position.
But the most legendary curator of all remains Harald Szeemann, on whom Kaiser is actually preparing a comprehensive exhibition for the Getty Research Institute in LA. Bo in Be like Kaiser, Szeemann elevated curating to ‘an art form in itself’ and is credited with a number of groundbreaking exhibitions. He was the artistic director of the Venice Biennale twice, in 1999 and 2001.
However, his larger-than-life personality and artistic choices often took precedence over the artists themselves.
“I don’t try to be like Szeemann, I try to be an accomplice to the artists,” Kaiser explains. He describes the thrill that he feels working with artists, whether established or up-and-coming and says how exhibitions are a collaborative process.
“Many artists need an editor for their stuff. While I’m curating, I’m still leaing and translating. Sometimes the meaning of the show only becomes apparent when it’s ready.”
Kaiser says that he has several ideas for the Swiss pavilion. What really interests him as a curator is the present moment: “It’s all about timing. My question is: What needs to be done now? How can we make a contribution to the discourse?”
The answer will be revealed at the 57th edition of the Venice Art Biennale.
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016
From May 28 to November 27, 2016, the Swiss pavilion will be occupied by the Venezuelan-bo Swiss architect Chritian Kerez; Salon Suisse, curated by Leïla el-Wakil, runs in parallel at the Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi.
The Venice Biennale also hosts cinema, theatre, dance and contemporary music festivals.
Is it still important in today's globalised society to celebrate national artists? Tell us what you think in the Idea section below.
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Swiss politicians and media have expressed condemnation and shock over the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in which a gunman opened fire, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens.
“Switzerland condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist acts that struck Orlando yesterday, and extends its sincere condolences to the families and relatives of the victims of this tragedy,” said Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter on Monday, speaking at the opening of the Human Rights Council’s June session in Geneva.
“We must continue our fight and prevent terrorism in order to defend our citizens and our freedoms,” he added.
Many Swiss newspapers drew parallels between Sunday’s attack on the gay club in Orlando – the worst mass shooting in mode US history – and that at Paris’s Bataclan concert hall in November, when 89 people were killed. Islamic State have claimed responsibility for both massacres.
“These comparisons are necessary in order to understand the scope and consequences of the Orlando bloodbath. ‘Orlando’ will soon become a symbol for the ever-present threat posed by attackers and how in need of protection American citizens are,” wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).
“In particular, looking ahead to the presidential elections in November, Sunday should represent a watershed, with a ‘before’ and ‘after’ in America. Commentators have been saying for ages that a serious attack would have a massive influence on the outcome of the election.”
The NZZ noted that Republican candidate Donald Trump could benefit most from the attack. “After the attack in San Beardino in Califoia, Trump called for a blanket ban on all Muslims entering the United States. The current case shows how pointless that would be: the attacker was an American citizen.”
The paper concluded that it might be tempting to believe that simple solutions exist to complex problems such as radicalised citizens, “but challenges like that require sophisticated answers and, possibly, patience. The coming months will show whether Americans are ready for that”.
‘Incompatible worlds’
The Blick newspaper agreed that, like the Bataclan, the Orlando nightclub had been selected intentionally.
“Joie de vivre, hedonism, exuberance, equal treatment whatever your gender, origin, beliefs – that embodies everything that misanthropes detest. For us, it embodies everything that makes us who we are: a liberal society that stipulates where necessary and makes diversity possible,” it wrote.
“These worlds are incompatible. The massacre of Orlando tragically reminds us of our dilemma: in the struggle against militant intolerance in the name of Allah, we have to defend our values without giving them up. The other side doesn’t have this problem: they bring death; they idolise death.”
What is the best way for society to prevent terrorism?
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Every year, Switzerland loses 800 to 900 dairy farms
(Keystone)
The surplus of milk in European markets, including Switzerland, has led to rock-bottom prices. Two dairy farmers explain how they have managed to survive.
His dairy is one of the biggest and cutting-edge in Switzerland. His cows allow themselves to be milked by a robot whenever they fancy it and their food is distributed automatically. Even the mucking out of the high-tech stalls is performed by a robot.
“We have specialised in dairy farming, invested millions, rationalised and improved efficiency,” said the farmer, who did not want to be named.
In the last few months milk prices have dropped again – this time to under 50 cents per litre. The bare minimum this farmer can sell his milk in order to cover the costs of his business is 55 cents. “Before I open the ba door I have to hand over CHF100,” he said with bitter irony. He can no longer ea anything because he runs his business at a loss.
But he is not thinking of quitting: “I am damned by the production process. Always bigger, always faster, always cheaper. My only hope is that my neighbour will fold first.” As a business owner with several employees he has to live on his reserves and keep investments to a minimum to get his business through this low price period. He lives in hope that that prices will rise soon.
“If Switzerland wants to keep producing milk then it will have to change its political framework to give us a chance of producing milk cheaper,” he declared.
As an example, the high-tech milk producer points to border tariffs on foreign grains: “Swiss grain producers are very happy about this because it means they can enjoy high hourly rates of pay. But it is ruinous for milk producers who have to pay at least twice as much for fodder as German competitors.”
"Best cows in Switzerland”
Toni Peterhans, from Fislisbach, canton Aargau, does not want to complain about milk prices. 2013 breeder of the year in canton Aargau, he says his Holstein cows are among the “best in Switzerland”. While the average Swiss cow will produce 23,000 litres of milk before it goes to slaughter, his produce 58,000 litres. They will be double the age, which has a positive effect on his cost-to-income situation.
His success is not down to luck. Each area of business is organised with “military precision” to the smallest detail, from smart feeding systems to detailed analysis of cow pats. “We are very structured,” said Peterhans. “We wash the cows’ tails every week and give them a steam clean three times a year.”
With milk prices as they are, even the top breeders like Peterhans cannot cover their operating costs. But how much worse are things for less organised farmers?
“There are quite a few that are having sleepless nights and must make savings, stop investing or are slow at paying their bills. Things are very grim on a few farms,” said Peterhans.
But he proudly added: “Things are not bad for me. We have just bought a new tractor for CHF150,000 – without financing,” he said.
In contrast to the advice of some agricultural consultants, Peterhans has refused to put all his eggs into one basket. His 52-hectare farm is not only given over to livestock. He has also found room for other forms of agriculture and a solar plant. He also provides biogas and silage for other farms.
Higher price
Compared to the European Union, the price of Swiss milk is significantly higher. “The price difference with other countries grew 10 cents in 2015 because the price of milk has fallen even faster in the EU,” said Stefan Kohler, managing director of the Swiss Milk Producers Association.
Every year, Switzerland loses 800 to 900 dairy farms. Swiss milk producers have it hard, but not as bad as in large parts of the EU. One reason for this is that the EU milk market has only been partially liberalized. This means that there are still some protected areas that can provide value for producers. For example, consumers pay around three time the price for butter than in other countries so that farmers get a better price for their milk.
In Switzerland, the pace of structural change is moving more slowly. In fact, according to Kohler the progress of structural change is lagging behind progress in production. This means that some dairy farmers have not yet been forced out of the market despite rising costs. “Agricultural policy in recent years has hardly promoted the dairy sector. In the long term this inevitably means that some dairy farms will give up,” said Kohler.
How much does milk cost in your country? Do you find it too expensive, too cheap, or just right? Respond in the Idea section below.
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Translated from German by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch
