In the National Council chamber, Alain Berset addresses the Federal Youth Session. He disputes the headline of a major daily newspaper, “Generation Bünzli”, and quotes Einstein: it is harder to crack a prejudice than an atom. Young people vote more than those of forty years ago; they are the first generation for whom the internet […]
Two years after the National Conference on Poverty, Alain Berset brings together cantons, communes, cities, social partners, NGOs and people affected by poverty to take stock. The outcome: the Confederation steps up its commitment. The FDHA is preparing for the spring a five-year national programme for the prevention of and fight against poverty, from 2014 […]
On Universal Children’s Day, Alain Berset speaks at the study day marking the 30th anniversary of the Swiss Foundation for Child Protection, devoted to non-violent upbringing. He recalls that the notion of “elterliche Gewalt” left the Civil Code only twelve years ago. Overwhelmed parents hit more often, and children who are beaten hit in turn: […]
The Federal Council lays the foundations of the “Retirement Provision 2020” reform. For the first time, the first and second pillars are analysed and reformed together. Objective: maintain the level of pensions and secure their financing. The diagnosis: life expectancy is rising, the baby boomers are reaching retirement, returns on capital are disappointing. OASI reserves […]
In the evening, at the reception of the Communauté francophone de Berne and the Société fribourgeoise de Berne, Alain Berset makes a plea for multilingualism. “A language is not just a language. It carries a culture, it expresses a way of seeing the world.” He quotes Dürrenmatt on the gulf between German and French, then […]
Alain Berset celebrates 30 years of Le Tremplin, a Fribourg foundation that supports people with addictions. He describes the vicious circle of marginalisation, unemployment and relapse that the foundation tries to break. He names the new pressures: companies less inclined to hire people with complicated backgrounds, and a stricter invalidity insurance that can also encourage […]
At an open day in Fribourg, the Imprimerie Saint-Paul inaugurates a twelve-unit Rapida 106 press, a first in Switzerland in this configuration. Alain Berset speaks there together with Georges Godel, member of the cantonal government. His theme: two linked inventions, printing and freedom of thought. He quotes Swift, who counted printing among the inventions that […]
As President of the foundation’s board, Alain Berset presents the Marcel Benoist Prize, “often regarded as the Swiss Nobel Prize”, to Michael N. Hall, a biochemist at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. He had received him in Berne on 24 September, when the prize was announced. Hall is honoured for the discovery of […]
At the Zentrum Paul Klee, Alain Berset opens the day organised by the Federal Bureau for the Equality of People with Disabilities, the Federal Office of Culture and Égalité Handicap on access for people with disabilities to cultural life. He follows a “Beschwerdechor”: “Receiving complaints is the daily lot of every Federal Councillor. But in […]
Two weeks after the guidelines for Retirement Provision 2020, Alain Berset sets out the method of the reform before the Zürcher Volkswirtschaftliche Gesellschaft: realistic, fair, prudent. He starts from the rankings that put Switzerland at the top: the Swiss economic miracle is first of all a political miracle, built on trust and security. He embraces […]
Before the FMH Medical Chamber, Alain Berset sets out his guiding idea: “the patient must be at the centre of our concerns”. The system is excellent and accessible to all, but part of the rise in costs escapes political steering. He argues for a multisectoral health policy and addresses medical demography: “too many doctors, and […]
In Moscow, Alain Berset and the Minister of Education and Science, Dmitry Livanov, sign the agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between Switzerland and Russia. Priority areas: engineering sciences, nanosystems and materials, life sciences, energy, transport, humanities and social sciences. He is accompanied by EPFL President Patrick Aebischer, the Rector of the University of Geneva, […]
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