Zürich, Switzerland, Swiss Foreign Policy Think Tank For House discussed on Monocle 24: The Briefing
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Those days headlines back to emmer and Zürich. Thank you very much indeed, Emma in London. We're going to get a round up now of the stories making news in Switzerland with our regular monocle 24 contributor Florida Florian is senior associate at the Swiss foreign policy think tank for House. And he joins me here in Zürich hello. Lauren good to have you with us. Hello, Emma. Right, let's begin with a very strong business related story that's in the targets and Tiger today. We were talking a moment ago about the decisions and the complicated paths that businesses have to tread in this resurgence of COVID. But one company has decided to strike out on its own in terms of the admissions policies. Yes, indeed, and I think it reflects well with Tyler has said before in terms of companies trying to second guess what's happening. So this weekend actually the first event was publicly announced that is officially two G so tests not allowed. So you have to either be vaccinated or you have to have had or have to have been tested positive with COVID. And just ask you to explain to us, those who might not know what two G and three G is what the system is in Zürich. In Switzerland. In Switzerland is three G, which is infant gene or get tested, which means either vaccinated or tested positive in the past or negative now, right? Okay. And so in Austria, that's a huge debate in Germany as well of whether to take away that third cheese or that testing G and Switzerland, there is clearly no majority for that, also the experts are advising against for the moment even one of the most vocal experts Christian altars of the university of Bern, who was always a very strong supporter of very strict measures and even quit the official task force because it was too lax in his opinion. So even he is against us now, but yet still be learned. The major business magazine in Switzerland is launching this event on 2nd December, where negatively tested people will not be admitted. So you have to be vaccinated or you have to have had COVID in the past. And one of the guests is even a vocal opponent of the certificate. So I just think that this is going to stir a lot of controversy as to what extent businesses are free to be more street restrictor than the general rules. Because they are striking out alone with this decision. They are. It's the first of its kind. It's the theory that if you can only go in if you're either recovering or vaccinated against COVID, that it actually is a stricter policy than merely a test. That is the idea, but as I said, experts are really not so sure whether that's actually stricter or not. So I think it's really also a political sign to some extent to be strict, whether it is really strict or underground is really doubly, I think, and the effectiveness of these measures is data able to. But perhaps, again, to speaking to what Tyler has said, again, somebody had to make these decisions so you see CEOs of these companies or hear a business magazine. Actually asking themselves, a lot of these questions of how to host events or how to open up stores and businesses to people so that people are actually feeling confident attending and going there. And so being placing stricter rules then overall might be one of the things that people think they can attract more people into their businesses or two their events. Let's look at a campaign now by one of the oldest organizations in Switzerland to get everybody to was it enough of hostility threats and violence better constructive than aggressive. There's a nonprofit society, telling everybody in Switzer to be Switzerland to be nicer to each other. What is that all about please? This is just this is just an amusing story that has caught my eyes because at the top of the show we've heard them bicycle piles up in the Netherlands. So that must be about the maximum of rage in the Netherlands, right? As if bicycles pile up. So I think everything around these COVID restrictions or policies is still very civilized in Switzerland we've had a demonstrations of just 2000 people outside the city center in Zürich. Yesterday. So that was about as angry as it gets. And yet, the Swiss society for the common good. Which owns directly with funny enough is the alleged place where the three Alpine cantons 1291 swore the oath of the confederation. So it's a very mystical and historical place where also the national day is celebrated prominently et cetera, et cetera. So this institution that owns this kind of founding place of Switzerland has now issued a call for a more tolerance for more respect and for more dialog. And already I think about 20,000 people have signed it. It was all across the newspapers, the TV. There are ads everywhere. And I just find it striking that even in such a civilized kind of situation as we are now, I would argue in Switzerland, there is really already the civil engagement coming up and organizations popping up trying to remind everybody to be polite and to discuss without accusing the other side. So I just think it's a nice picture of this country. Florian, thank you so much for joining us. That was Florian egle from the think tank for us. Yeah, listening to.