It was an unusual coalition that took place last Saturday in front of the Gerlafingen steelworks Federal Council called for thisto do something about the threatened closure of the plant in the canton of Solothurn. The trade unions had called for a protest, but a broad coalition from climate activists to bourgeois parliamentarians took part in the event, including the Solothurn Center Council of States Pirmin Bischof and the Solothurn SVP National Councilor Christian Imark. Imark also wants the Federal Council to have one on this matter Motion force to act.
The Gerlafingen steelworks – the only one in Switzerland alongside Swiss Steel in Emmenbrücke – is becoming increasingly popular crushed by foreign competition. This is because Swiss electricity prices have risen, some countries have introduced import restrictions and are subsidizing their own factories with active industrial policies. The plant is almost finished, which is a good thing after the layoffs that have already been made 500 employees would cost the job.
Shortly before Saturday’s protest, a delegation of steel mill workers met with Economy Minister Guy Parmelin Submit petition. They demand that the federal government require the Swiss construction industry to use “low-emission” steel, such as that produced in Gerlafingen.
The closure of the plant would also be a serious blow to Swiss climate policy, as stated by Imark SP Councilor of States Franziska Roth in an identical motion holds on. While many competitors abroad melt steel with fossil energy, the Gerlafingen steelworks produces with electricity. The plant also recycles Swiss steel scrap. If this had to be transported abroad, where it would be processed into new steel using fossil energy and then imported again, massively more greenhouse gases would be produced.
While the world around us is making more and more industrial policy in the national interest (and the Gerlafingen steelworks is falling behind), Economics Minister Parmelin wants nothing to do with the motions mentioned. With the exception of the rescue of big banks, tax discounts for multinationals and subsidies for farmers, the Federal Council continues to rely on radical market dogmatism.
Nevertheless, the SP, the Greens and half of the SVP managed to get Imark’s motion through the National Council against the will of the FDP, Center, GLP and the other half of the SVP. If the Council of States also says yes, Parmelin will have to act.
And so to the briefing from Bern.
The next votes could be close
What it’s about: Die second SRG survey for the votes on November 24th predicts close results for all four national proposals. If the votes had taken place at the beginning of November, the respective yes shares would have been between 47 and 54 percent.
Why this is important: The survey results are most surprising when it comes to the planned motorway expansion. At the first SRG survey 51 percent of those surveyed said they were “definitely” or “rather” in favor of the expansion. Now there are only 47 percent who would vote yes. The two tenancy law proposals are also at risk of failure. The proportion of votes against the one that would offer landlords more options for registering their own use was 53 percent in the survey, while the number of votes against the one that would tighten the regulations on subletting was 47 percent. The clearest approval is for the so-called Efas template for financing the healthcare system (54 percent yes). For the second SRG survey, the GFS Bern institute evaluated information from around 10,000 eligible voters. They were surveyed between October 28th and November 7th.
What happens next: The votes will take place on the Sunday after next, November 24th.
Roundtable on cost reductions in healthcare
What it’s about: SP Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has announcedto invite important players in the healthcare system to a round table twice a year in the future. The first of these meetings took place on Monday; The participants set themselves the goal of saving around 300 million francs in the health sector every year.
Why this is important: The costs of the Swiss healthcare system have been rising for years – and with them the premiums for health insurance. In 2022 the costs were to more than 90 billion francs; that was 2.5 percent more than the year before (more recent figures are not yet available). The premiums, in turn, increase from this year to the next by an average of 6 percent. According to Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider’s department, the 300 million francs that are to be saved in the future make up around 1 percent of the premiums. Representatives of the medical profession, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance companies, patient organizations, cantons and science as well as price monitors took part in the first round table. It remains to be seen whether the meetings will actually lead to the targeted savings in the future.
What happens next: The next round table will take place in May 2025, the next one in October 2025. On November 24, 2024, Swiss voters will also decide on the Efas template, which is also intended to reduce healthcare costs.
Switzerland is not allowed to deport homosexuals to Iran
What it’s about: The European Court of Human Rights has decidedthat the federal government is not allowed to deport a homosexual Iranian until further notice. The court ruled that the Swiss authorities had not sufficiently clarified whether the man was at risk of life and limb in his home country. It awarded the Iranian man compensation of 7,000 euros.
Why this is important: Switzerland and numerous other European countries have been striving for several years to deport as many refugees as possible whose asylum applications have been rejected or who are staying in Europe illegally. The so-called Non-refoulement principle but prohibits deportations of people whose lives or freedom are threatened at home. The European Court of Justice now unanimously stated that Switzerland must clarify in more detail whether the deportation of the Iranian violated this principle or not. The now 34-year-old man’s asylum application was first rejected by the State Secretariat for Migration and then by the Federal Administrative Court. Homosexuality is forbidden by law in Iran.
What happens next: If the federal government comes to the conclusion that it cannot deport the homosexual Iranian to his homeland because of the non-refoulement principle, he will receive so-called provisional admission in Switzerland.
The former Federal Council book of the week
On the “Blocher principle» follows the “Berset Code”: While former SVP Federal Councilor Christoph Blocher revealed his leadership strategies as an entrepreneur in his “indispensable standard work” (self-promotion), former SP Federal Councilor Alain Berset now wants one own book share its “resilience strategies” with Switzerland. The book, which is due to be published in a few days, was written by psychiatrist Gregor Hasler, who interviewed Berset in numerous interviews about his time as Interior Minister in the first year of the corona pandemic. According to Worteseh-Verlag, Berset (who now Secretary General of the Council of Europe is) “deep insights” into how he dealt with “the enormous stress at work” and “the psychological pressure” when his family was threatened. His book will certainly be of interest. The question remains: Do Berset and Blocher really have such extraordinary secrets? Yes, even with your own “code”?
Illustration: Till Lauer
