Sunday News: Health insurance costs are clearly rising

The number of Ukraine refugees in Switzerland is falling, Swiss exports to Russia are increasing in some cases and there are already signs of an increase in health insurance premiums: all this and more can be found in the Sunday newspapers.

More and more Ukrainian refugees are returning home

The number of refugees from Ukraine registering in Switzerland has declined steadily in recent weeks. As the “SonntagsZeitung” reports, on March 31, the total number of people from Ukraine with active status S was lower than in the previous week – it had decreased by 57 people. The numbers published on Thursday by the State Secretariat for Migration SEM now confirm the trend: the number of people who applied for status S decreased by 74 people. A total of 65,744 people with this status are currently in Switzerland – at the end of February it was 66,319. Even if the numbers are declining, the SEM does not yet want to speak of a trend reversal. It could be that the figures for the last two weeks have something to do with Easter.

Swiss Pharma delivers more than ever to Russia

Despite the sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine war, Switzerland is delivering almost as much to Russia as before the conflict. In the last twelve months, she sold goods worth a total of 2.9 billion francs, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes. The exports of the pharmaceutical industry even rose to a record value: the industry contributed almost 2 billion to the result. In the same period before the war, pharmaceutical exports were still around 1.4 billion. Since medicines and pharmaceuticals are exempt from sanctions for humanitarian reasons, the pharmaceutical industry can export to Russia without restrictions. The two large Swiss pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis operate local branches.

Health insurance costs are rising again significantly

Current figures for January and February show an increase of 7.5 percent in health insurance costs per insured person. Drivers are in particular the dispensing of medicines and care services in homes. Although the evaluated period of time is still short, Santésuisse director Verena Nold was concerned about the values. She said to the “SonntagsBlick”: “If we don’t do anything, we’ll drive the health system to the wall.” The new family barometer from Pro Familia impressively shows how much the rising premiums are a burden for families in Switzerland. The topics “health insurance premiums” and “health” preoccupy the respondents the most. Housing costs, inflation or climate change rank further down the list.

GLP and Mitte would rather ally with SVP and FDP than with SP and Greens

The last national elections resulted in a clear centre-left majority in the National Council due to the Greens and Green Liberals gaining seats. However, a voting analysis by the “SonntagsZeitung” now shows that the green-left turnaround remained unfinished in the National Council. SP and Greens were able to win well over 60 percent more votes than in the previous legislature (52 percent). But that is less than the election result would have made possible. Reason: GLP and center still prefer to ally with FDP and SVP than with SP and Greens. The centre-right remained the dominant coalition. Successful centre-left alliances only came about on a larger scale on environmental and energy issues.

Part-time bosses are trendy

The proportion of employees in part-time jobs is increasing – also in the executive suite. This shows an evaluation of “x28”, as “SonntagsBlick” writes. The Swiss recruitment company has analyzed how many job advertisements are advertised for part-time management positions and how this value has changed over the years. Result: almost a third of all executive jobs advertised online in 2022 can be done part-time. Ten years earlier it was only 7.6 percent. But does a third of all newly recruited managers actually work part-time? Daniel Kopp from the Economic Research Center at ETH Zurich: “Just because the positions are advertised part-time doesn’t automatically mean that they will be filled part-time.” But, Kopp continues: “The trend should be right.”

Results of corona loans in the cultural sector are hardly visible

Overall, the cultural industry received an additional CHF 80 million during the Corona pandemic to create new structures and attract new audiences. Among the beneficiaries are the Kosmos cultural center, which has gone bankrupt, and the rapper Knackeboul. Hardly anything can be seen of these projects in the cultural landscape so far, writes the “NZZ am Sonntag”. Only very few companies provide information on request. Knackeboul says he doesn’t have time for interviews. The filmmaker Samir, who received more than 170,000 francs, left inquiries unanswered. Lisa Fuchs, who is responsible for the culture department of the canton of Zurich, says: “This transformation process is still ongoing, many projects will not be completed until the end of October.” Their effect is only visible later. An external examination is due for the cultural institutions at the end of October.

The Swiss want to save on food

Because inflation is increasingly putting a strain on budgets, consumers in Switzerland want to save when shopping in the supermarket. That writes the Sunday newspaper, based on a representative survey by the consulting firm Alix Partners. Of the 1,000 people surveyed, 68 percent said they were concerned about rising inflation. This affects the planned purchases. 42 percent stated that they wanted to buy more low-price items this year. In contrast, 41 percent want to buy fewer organic and sustainable items. Brand manufacturers are also coming under pressure.

Italy’s refugee blockade will probably last longer

Italy suspended the Dublin Agreement last December. Since then, Rome has stopped taking back refugees that Italy was the first country to accept and would have to take back. This means that the main principle of EU refugee policy no longer works with one of the most important states. And that won’t change anytime soon. As research by “NZZ am Sonntag” shows, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has informed the cantons that the blockade will last even longer. In a circular to the cantonal authorities, the SEM wrote that “until at least May 2″ no Dublin returns to Italy were possible. An SEM spokesman confirmed this to the newspaper: “We instructed the cantons by email not to plan any repatriations until then. We communicated this deadline in order to prevent administrative idleness.” However, it is unclear when Italy will take refugees back.

Swiss customs authorities put pressure on art museums

Since the beginning of the year, various customs offices in German-speaking Switzerland have been sending letters to a number of art museums. They call on museums to permanently exhibit their works of art imported from abroad tax-exempt. Otherwise, customs threatens to demand additional import duties at the current market value. So if a museum bought a Picasso painting in France in 1960 for CHF 100,000 that is worth CHF 10 million today, the museum would have to pay CHF 770,000 at the current tax rate of 7.7 percent. No Swiss art institution can afford that, the museum landscape is alarmed, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes. With their threats, the Swiss customs authorities are questioning a decades-old practice based on a UNESCO agreement from 1953.

Report reveals how poorly Axpo was doing financially during the rescue

Those responsible at the Federal Office of Energy SFOE commissioned auditors from Deloitte to examine Axpo’s obligations and risks. This after the federal government had to set up a four-billion rescue package for the company in September. The report was classified until recently. Citing the administration’s principle of publicity, the “SonntagsZeitung” demanded an insight into the document. The report shows that the risk of default on Axpo last September was much higher than that of other Swiss electricity providers such as BKW or Alpiq. In addition, the triple-B rating was lower than that of BKW, for example. At 4.8 percent, borrowing costs also weighed more heavily on Axpo than on other Swiss providers – and were higher than the European average of 2.8 percent.

German logistics mogul is the new richest person in Switzerland

Born in Hamburg, Klaus-Michael Kühne is now the richest resident of Switzerland. As the “SonntagsZeitung” writes, the majority owner and honorary president of the logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel, based in Schindellegi SZ, has assets of 40 billion US dollars according to the latest list of the richest by “Forbes” magazine. That corresponds to CHF 36 billion. Kühne is also a major shareholder in the Lufthansa Group and the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd. He is benefiting like no other from the logistics boom as a result of the pandemic. Just two years ago, the business magazine “Bilanz” estimated his fortune at 29 to 30 billion francs, making him the sixth richest European and the third richest resident of Switzerland. Even then, he recorded a steep rise in the wealth ranking, with an increase of 17 billion francs compared to the previous year.

Also in Switzerland: Tibet refugees fear China’s long arm

China is ruling Tibet with an iron hand and is even urging farmers to flee. But even in Switzerland, the refugees fear Beijing’s power, which is said to extend to the asylum authorities. The Tibetan Tsering Tsamchoe Dratoktsang told the “SonntagsZeitung” how she was arrested in Tibet because of a forbidden trip to Nepal and mistreated by the Chinese police. In 2016 she fled to Switzerland and applied for asylum here. In 2019, she challenged a negative decision before the Federal Administrative Court. However, several cases involving refugees from Tibet are blocked in court because the so-called lingua-language analyzes commissioned by the SEM are being seriously questioned. The experts are said to be close to the Chinese regime. The SEM vehemently rejects the criticism. (sda)

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