It was hard, driving on the Swiss motorway to work, to avoid shouting at the radio during the morning-after coverage on the BBC of the UK Budget.
So Chancellor George Osborne is going to pump prime the economy by stimulating the housing market. Is it really the government’s job to fund billions of pounds’ worth of mortgages, helping tens of thousands get into an already inflated and under supplied housing market? Continue reading
There was a deep irony in the massive congestion around Geneva airport in Switzerland last week. The heavy traffic and long delays for people trying to catch flights was due to the city’s annual motor show, described by pundits as the biggest and most important in Europe.
I arrived on time in the centre of Geneva for a series of unrelated meetings, thanks to the ever-efficient Swiss railway system. But navigating the city was difficult, due to the crowds and the increased traffic. The motor show takes place at the Palexpo centre out by the airport, some way from the centre of town. Yet tens of thousands of extra people swamped Geneva and its surrounds. Many, it seemed, eschewed the railways and came by car. Continue reading
Some say it’s akin to allowing a tabloid newspaper dictate the legislative agenda. Others that it’s true democracy at work. Whatever it is, Switzerland’s use of referenda produces quirky results at times. And it’s now given birth to a seemingly radical vote to let investors veto executive pay proposals and vet appointments to companies’ boards.
The direct democracy system lets voters have a popular vote – and the results have to be heeded by lawmakers. It means issues that would not get on to the public agenda elsewhere can get vigorously debated in Switzerland. With offbeat, even controversial results – three years ago the Swiss voted to ban the building of new minarets on mosques.
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