Swiss voters approve new tax system and cash payments; the government warns of the Iranian terrorist threat in Switzerland; plus other news in our Monday roundup.
New tax system approved, climate fund rejected: How Switzerland voted yesterday
Swiss voters had their say on four issues on Sunday.
These are the results:
- Individual taxation of married couples: accepted by 54 percent of voters
- Lowering TV license fee: 62 percent said ‘no’
- Allocating more funds to combating climate change: 71 percent voted against it
- Enshrining cash in the Constitution: 54 percent said ‘ no’ to the original proposal, but 73 percent greelighted the government’s counter-proposal which basically achieves the same result but with different wording.
READ MORE: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s national referendums on Sunday?
The government warns of the Iranian terrorist threat in Switzerland
The Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) considers it ‘likely’ than Ihat will take retaliatory actions by targeting Israeli, Jewish, and American targets in various countries, including Switzerland.
“We believe it is likely that Iranian services, their allies or criminal networks mandated by Iran will be carrying out actions in Europe and Switzerland,” FIS spokesperson Christoph Gnägi told Swiss media on Sunday.
The danger, he said, comes not only from Iran itself, but also also from sympathising groups like the Lebanese Hezbollah “which is particularly active in Switzerland.”
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Trade unions launch their campaign against the anti-immigration initiative
Today, the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS) is launching its offensive against the Swiss People’s Party’s ’10 million initiative,” set to be voted on in a referendum on June 14th.
“The Swiss People’s Party’s initiative is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said USS’ chief economist Daniel Lampart. “Capping the population will inevitably lead to significant losses in pensions and purchasing power for everyone.”
“If the working-age population shrinks that much, the economic damage for Switzerland will be enormous,” he added.
READ MORE: How will you be affected if Switzerland’s anti-immigration proposal wins?
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Gulf airlines partially resume flights to Zurich
Some airlines from the Gulf region have partially resumed their flights to Zurich.
Among them are Emirates airline from Dubai to Zurich, which resumed its operations last week.
Etihad Airways is also about to re-start its Zurich-bound flights.
As for SWISS, it will resume service between Zurich and Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Its other flights to and from the Middle East remain, however, suspended as follows:
- To Amman and Erbil until and including March 15th
- To and from Tel Aviv until and including March 22nd
- To and from Beirut until and including March 28th
- To and from Tehran until and including April 30th
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at news@thelocal.ch
