The extension of the highways in Switzerland, but also the drug policy of the four pillars in Switzerland make the headlines of the Sunday press. Here is the main information:
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Widening highways: a gain in safety
An independent study, commissioned by the Touring Club Suisse (TCS), confirms that widening a highway increases safety, reports Le Matin Dimanche. This is one of the main but highly contested arguments of supporters of the extension of the motorways, put to a vote on November 24. The report by Micaël Tille, expert in mobility and road safety and lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), notes that by offloading traffic from secondary roads and transferring it to national roads or motorways, accidents reduce. The effect is particularly beneficial for pedestrians and cyclists. The author of the study is based on accident statistics, which indicated that in 2013, only 14% of them took place on national roads, compared to 21% on roads outside localities and 65% on sections located in localities.
Towards a shock tax increase on pensions
The Federal Council wants to drastically reduce tax benefits when paying the third pillar and pension fund capital, warns SonntagsZeitung. This measure will hit the middle class and people who earn a good living hard, according to the newspaper. Taxes are likely to double for middle-income people and quadruple for high earners. Thus, a person earning 140,000 francs per year and who receives an annuity of 350,000 francs upon retirement will pay 17,800 francs in taxes instead of 6,580 francs, calculated the SonntagsZeitung. The Federal Council’s objective is to generate a quarter of a billion francs in additional revenue each year.
Why Switzerland is spared from drug wars
The four-pillar drug policy adopted by the Confederation at the end of the 1990s partly explains why Switzerland escapes the bloody settling of scores between drug traffickers which is shaking several European countries, several specialists estimate in Le Matin Dimanche. “This policy, which takes into account risk prevention, helps to pacify the situation,” indicates Sandro Cattacin, professor of sociology at the University of Geneva. In addition to prevention, the model also focuses on treatment, risk reduction and repression. “The policy of the four pillars is indeed very effective in that it offers other responses than pure repression,” believes Thomas Herquel, director of the Première Ligne association, which manages an injection premises in Geneva, the Quai 9.
“Limitless greed” of electricity operators
Swiss consumers pay hundreds of millions of francs in excess taxes on the electricity network every year, recalls the NZZ am Sonntag. According to price monitor Stefan Meierhans, this sum reached 400 million francs per year during the period of low interest rates. The group of large electricity consumers (GGS), which includes companies such as Migros and Swiss Steel, points to the excessively high profits of electricity operators. For 2024, the manager of the electricity transmission network in Switzerland, Swissgrid, and the electricity companies plan to draw down 900 million francs. The director of the GGS, Roger Ambort, denounces in the newspaper “unlimited greed” and criticizes the calculation method allowing excessive profits. The Federal Council has recognized the need to act and plans to adapt the formula for calculating profits. But the electricity sector is opposed to it.
Tensions within the Swiss PS
The decision of the Swiss Socialist Youth (JS) to support the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaign, which aims to end Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestinian territories, is causing turmoil in the ranks socialists, report the SonntagsZeitung and the SonntagsBlick. State Councilor Daniel Jositsch (PS/ZH) denounces “irresponsible” support in the newspapers, describing the BDS movement as “extremist” and “anti-Semitic”. He demands that the PS leadership condemn this decision. The latter emphasizes in the newspapers that the PS does not participate in the movement and that the JS makes its own decisions. She still says she rejects boycotts against Israel and assures support for the peace forces in Israel and Palestine, while calling for targeted sanctions against all parties to the conflict who violate international humanitarian law.
Scandal at the Einsiedel convent stable
The Einsiedeln convent stable is experiencing malfunctions, writes SonntagsBlick. An owner of a horse boarded at the monastery indicates in the newspaper that his sick animal did not receive medicine; another says that his has been forgotten and that he is very thin. According to the newspaper, two horses died due to lack of care. Veterinary authorities noted a lack of space during unannounced checks in April 2023. They asked the monastery to expand the exercise areas, the newspaper specifies. Another check, carried out in 2024, revealed that medicines were expired and were not correctly labeled. The Einsiedeln convent rejects the accusations and affirms that the operation is in good condition.
Traffic jams up 25%
On the six planned extension sections of the national road network, traffic jam hours increased last year to a total of 6,039, notes the NZZ am Sonntag, citing data from Viasuisse. Traffic jam hours have increased by 25% since 2019. In the Bern region, where the A1 motorway is to be widened between Wankdorf, Schönbühl and Kirchberg, Viasuisse recorded a total of 2,178 traffic jam hours in 2023 alone. On the Basel section, which is to be relieved by the Rhine tunnel, it is 2934 hours and, in the area of the Rosenberg tunnel in St. Gallen, 522 hours. The Swiss are called to vote on November 24 on six motorway extension projects, including one in French-speaking Switzerland, between Le Vengeron (GE) – Coppet (VD) – Nyon (VD).
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