Issues that are on Switzerland’s political agenda in coming months, and will the rave shooting end up changing Swiss gun legislation — these are among the news that The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.
Issues on Switzerland’s political agenda in coming months
The parliamentary debate on immigration tax to be imposed on foreign nationals, and jobs for foreign graduates of Swiss universities, will be among the list of hot-button topics on the country’s political agenda this autumn.
Other topics up for debates when the Parliament convenes for its fall session on September 14th are ways to protect jobs from being outsourced abroad, as well as the vote on neutrality to be held on September 27th.
READ MORE: The biggest political issues in Switzerland this autumn
Will recent shooting in Aarau change Swiss gun legislation?
After a fatal shooting at a rave on August 30th, some Swiss politicians are calling for stricter laws regulating the purchase and ownership of firearms.
Others, on the other hand, are against further restrictions.
Opinions vary depending on MPs’ political affiliations: while those on the left favour more restrictions, deputies leaning toward the right say current laws are sufficient to ensure public’s safety.
READ MORE: Could Switzerland tighten its gun laws after the deadly rave shooting?
A number of Swiss companies are reducing their workforce
After a significant number s of jobs had been cut in Switzerland since 2025 – including thousands at Geneva’s UN organisations – the trend is continuing.
Companies such as Swiss Life insurance, Raiffeisen Bamk, Sunrise telecom, as well as Skyguide traffic control, are eliminating hundreds of positions – with some being scrapped now and others in months to come.
READ MORE: The companies cutting jobs in Switzerland this autumn
Säntis mountain could collapse, authorities warn
Officials in Appenzell-Ausserrhoden, one of three canton on which the mountain sites (the others are Appenzell-Innerrhoden and St. Gallen) have issued access and travel bans for certain areas of the Säntis mountain due to an ‘unstable rock face.’
The volume of the unstable rock mass is estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 cubic metres.
They added that the section of the road within the danger zone “remains closed to pedestrians until further notice. It remains open to cars and bicycles, as the risk to these users is considerably lower due to the shorter time spent in the danger zone.”
READ MORE: Parts of famous Swiss mountain under threat of a major collapse
Heatwave and drought have caused some products to become more expensive
The record-breaking temperatures and prolonged drought that struck Switzerland this summer are impacting the prices of certain consumer goods.
Damaged – and therefore limited – crops, along with production costs that have soared due to the need for higher volume of irrigation (in order to counteract, at least somewhat, the dry soil), have had a direct impact on prices that consumers will pay.
Potatoes and milk will be among the agricultural products affected by the hike.
READ MORE: What costs more in Switzerland this autumn after summer drought?
What’s at stake in cantonal votes on September 27th?
Swiss citizens in several Swiss cantons will have to decide on issues of regional importance that will be on their ballots in September.
Among the most pressing ones are a bid in Vaud to introduce a 12-percent cut in cantonal income and wealth tax for individuals; mandating private care facilities in Zurich to allow assisted dying on their premises; Geneva’s financial contribution toward the transport infrastructure in neighbouring French regions; as well as a ban on unauthorised demonstrations in Basel-City.
READ MORE: The key Swiss cantonal referendums this September
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