Russian propaganda has arrived in the Swiss election campaign – this is the Sunday news Switzerland now exchanges information on financial accounts with 104 countries

Russia is warming the mood in Switzerland, the federal government is pushing for higher prices for public transport and the Hamas ban is not enough for some politicians: this and more is in the Sunday papers.

Here are the headlines from October 15:

Russian propaganda has arrived in the Swiss election campaign

A short film, viewed hundreds of thousands of times on the platform, is about the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB). The scene shows a dark-skinned man urinating on a street in Baden, in the canton of Aargau. The accounts that distributed the video were most likely “Russian influence accounts,” the NDB wrote in a confidential report, which is available to “NZZ am Sonntag.”

The NDB summarizes the intent of the propaganda campaign as follows: “In the information space, Russia is actively exploiting the issue of migration to influence Western states.” Russian propaganda makes it clear that European countries are being flooded with refugees. Swiss security politicians react with extreme concern.

An exception to this is the SVP. The party indicates that it is difficult to conclude that Russian propaganda had an influence on the elections.

The federal government pushed for higher prices for public transport

With the timetable change on December 10, public transport prices will increase by an average of 3.7 percent. However, the transport companies were not primarily responsible for the surcharge. The greatest pressure was exerted by the Federal Office for Transport (BAV), which unequivocally called on the sector to increase prices. This is evident from confidential documents that “SonntagsBlick” has received under the Public Information Act. On March 27, 2023, BAV director Peter Füglistaler demanded in a letter to the transport companies: “Tariff measures (TAMA) must be implemented by 2024, both nationally and in regional collective labor agreements.” For the regional collective labor agreements, the BAV “necessarily expects an above-average TAMA by 2024,” Füglistaler continued.

Still unclear about the new World Cup course in Zermatt

Less than a month before the first descent in history between the Swiss and Italian ski areas of Zermatt/Cervinia, there is still uncertainty about the new World Cup route. Despite several requests, the organizers have refused to reveal the exact route of the new route, as “Le Matin Dimanche” writes. Some areas where construction is still underway would extend beyond the area intended for the ski slopes.

The Valais building committee states that it has no knowledge of work outside the construction area. Many critical voices, including several international trainers, also expressed major concerns about the future of the race, which was canceled last year due to insufficient snow conditions. The International Ski Federation (FIS) said it was prepared to “stop these races within five years or sooner”.

For many parliamentarians, Hamas’s ban does not go far enough

The ban on Hamas adopted by the Federal Council does not go far enough for some parliamentarians. According to her, other Palestinian organizations and the Lebanese Hezbollah should also be classified as terrorist organizations. “All groups that spread violence and hatred of Jews pose a danger and belong on a blacklist,” Center National Councilor Marianne Binder is quoted in the “SonntagsZeitung”.

Moreover, bourgeois politicians, from the SVP to the center, want to sharpen the course towards Iran and examine the protective power mandates. “We have been offering our good offices to the regime for a long time, but it continues to support terrorism,” said FDP national councilor Hans-Peter Portmann. You have to wonder what this will bring. On the one hand, Switzerland promotes US interests in Iran. On the other hand, it represents Iran against Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Swiss secretly worsened its rebooking conditions

The Swiss airline quietly and secretly worsened the rebooking conditions this week, the “SonntagsZeitung” reported. Anyone who buys tickets in the Economy Light and Business Saver categories can no longer even adjust their booking for a fee. According to a spokesperson, Swiss is simply moving away from the temporarily accommodating rebooking regime during the pandemic. The new conditions are also the old ones: they applied before the coronavirus shook up aviation. Now they want to “make the distinction between the products offered clearer,” the spokesperson writes.

Flour is too expensive in Switzerland – because of a special offer

The major Swiss factories – including Coop’s Swissmill – are fighting bitterly for a decades-long privilege: they want to continue processing factory flour for starch production under extremely advantageous conditions, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes. Because these orders put pressure on their factories. Without this there is a risk of a bitter price war.

The public pays the bill: the federal government loses revenue. Consumers pay for it. And farmers must process their wheat into animal feed. The Federal Council wants to put an end to this practice, having concluded that it is contrary to the Constitution and incompatible with WTO rules. That does not stop the Müller from saving their special deal with alliances in politics.

Hospitals have filed civil lawsuits against “mask millionaires.”

The owners of Emix Trading AG – known throughout Switzerland as ‘mask millionaires’ – made a fortune from their deals in Switzerland, Germany and other countries. Criminal proceedings are underway against those responsible on suspicion of usury at the Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office, which specializes in economic crimes.

Research by the “SonntagsZeitung” now shows that several civil claimants have been named in the proceedings. This concerns hospitals and cantons that ordered face masks from Emix and had doubts about the quality and prices. The Triemli Hospital in Zurich is one of the claimants. The canton of Basel-Landschaft is also among the private claimants. And the canton of Glarus had also filed a civil lawsuit against Emix – an out-of-court agreement has now been reached on the payment of an amount.

Swiss Steel in tough weather

The Swiss steel manufacturer Swiss Steel is in big trouble. Just four years after the restructuring of the company, which was then called Schmolz + Bickenbach, the share price fell to 10 centimes. Reorganization and probably government help are needed to save the company from collapse, writes the “SonntagsZeitung”.

The war in Ukraine led to dramatically rising energy costs, causing revenues to fall by a fifth and order inventories to fall by more than a third. The bottom line is that Swiss Steel has suffered a loss of almost 100 million francs in the last twelve months. The company, which had equity of 500 million francs at the end of the second quarter, is now worth only 300 million on the stock market. The company is controlled by three major shareholders: Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, Amag owner Martin Haefner and Stadler boss Peter Spuhler.

The Greens demand support for parents in parliament

Aline Trede, leader of the Green Party, wants to improve the compatibility of the family mandate and the parliamentary mandate. “Burnouts are a taboo in parliament, but there are many who reach their limits,” she is quoted by the “NZZ am Sonntag”. Together with other parents from the Green Chamber faction, she advocates a pot of money from which parliamentarians would receive an amount for childcare. SVP Council Member Martina Bircher doesn’t think much about it. However, she is open to adjusting session times. (lacquer/sda)