REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIA POST - PUBLICATION No. VBH 6369
lebrating her
Hanny Earl ce
101st birthday
Kaffeeklatsch
The year in review – what moved the 1987). Widmer-Schlumpf is a lawyer Swiss in 2007? and befittingly is heading the Justice
Superman Herbert Schwärzler’s 70th birthday party at the Swiss Club
THE
RO U CLU
• Excessive remuneration for top managers • Controversy about the National Day celebration at the Rütli¹ • Election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French President • The Ylenia murder case² • SVP Sheep posters during the elections³ • Billion Dollar losses by the UBS
T
ABOU D N B
IS SW S
Mystery Trip
MARCH 2008
us
Samichla
A lot has made headlines during the past year. No Swiss will forget December 12, when the whole country was holding its breath. Not even the most experienced political analyst would have predicted the dismissal of the outspoken and controversial Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher. It was a political bombshell that shocked the nation. The new cabinet member replacing Blocher is Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf from Grison. She is the daughter of former Federal Councillor Leon Schlumpf (1979-
²The 5 year old girl Ylenia disappeared and after an extensive search was found murdered.
Department. The environment was another important issue. The Green Party as well as the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) had it firmly on their agenda during the October elections. It has finally sunk in with most, that not taking any action to protect the environment will be expensive. Switzerland as well as the rest of the world turned a shade greener in 2007. (Incidentally, at an environmental forum held in Switzerland in January 2008, Switzerland was voted number one as the ‘greenest’ country, whilst Australia ranked third last on the list, is one of the worst polluter and producer of greenhouse gases in the world.) ¹For the fist time since 1949 there was no official National Day celebration at the birthplace of the Nation. Despite intense negotiations, the Canton and City of Luzern refused to allow extra ships to fairy guests to the Rütli, and not one of the 33 ports along the 161km shore of Lake Luzern agreed to open instead.
³These election posters have polarised the nation: they have struck a cord with many voters, others accusing the SVP of preaching racism.
2008 - An imperial year at Arenenberg Castle
Hidden behind enormous trees, opposite the Isle of Reichenau, lies Arenenberg Castle, embedded in the beautiful surroundings of lower Lake Constance, Canton of Thurgovia. Here, Hortense de Beauharnais, adoptive daughter and sister-inlaw of Napoléon I, found a place of refuge from 1817 on, in which her then seven year old son Prince Charles Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Emperor Napoléon III, grew up.
Senior Christmas
Swiss Club Tennis Championship
The Swiss Federal Council 2008 (from left to right): Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Moritz Leuenberger, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Pascal Couchepin, Samuel Schmid, Doris Leuthard, Hans-Rudolf Merz, Federal Chancellor Corina Casanova
Today, Arenenberg Castle houses the Napoléon Museum. On the occasion of the 200th birthday of Napoléon III, continued on page 6
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