Economist.com Cities Guide: Zurich Briefing - March 2006

News this month

Fowl play

Zurich picked up its first case of bird flu in early March when a sick coot removed from the Rhine near the village of Feuerthalen tested positive for the virus. Subsequent tests conducted in England confirmed that the bird had been carrying the highly infectious H5N1 strain of the virus. Feuerthalen and ten other Zurich communities had already been put on alert following a case of bird flu in the neighbouring canton of Schaffhausen. Owners of domestic fowl in the area have been ordered to keep their birds under quarantine and are being prevented from exporting poultry products—with the exception of eggs, which are not thought capable of carrying the virus.

Days after the Feuerthalen find, Zurich’s cantonal government took part in a special meeting of the International Lake Constance Conference—an organisation representing lakeside local authorities from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. The meeting highlighted differences in the nations’ response to bird flu, but ended with a promise to quickly pool all information relating to further outbreaks. By March 10th there were nine confirmed cases of bird flu in Switzerland. The Swiss public has been told to inform authorities if they see any wild birds, particularly swans, showing signs of illness or lethargy.

For richer, for poorer

Zurich’s cantonal parliament has decided to enter the long-running national debate over “tax discrimination” against married couples. On March 7th the body voted 91 to 72 in favour of a Green Party motion calling on the canton to put the subject before Switzerland’s national parliament. Under current national regulations, married working couples are forced to submit a joint tax form; the resulting combined income lifts them into higher tax bands than unmarried working couples, who file their tax returns separately.

Supported by the left-of-centre Social Democrats and centrist Radical Party, the Greens argued that a reform of the tax law would both end discrimination and bring more women into the Swiss labour market, stimulating economic growth. Opponents, including the Swiss People’s Party and the Christian Democrats, claimed that separate tax forms for married couples would increase tax office expenditure by up to 50%, with around 300,000 additional forms to be processed. The measure’s opponents will probably win in the end, as such cantonal initiatives rarely meet with success.

A resurrection

Zurich’s cantonal education department has agreed to reintroduce religious education into primary schools, less than two years after scrapping Bible classes from the curriculum. The department axed the classes in August 2004 in a bid to cut around SFr3m ($2.3m) from its annual budget, but soon found itself facing hefty opposition. Two-thirds of Zurich’s districts continued with the classes at their own expense, while Christian and parental groups succeeded in raising the 50,000 signatures necessary to call a popular vote on the issue.

Forced into a U-turn, the education department now plans to introduce a course that includes instruction on the five main world religions, with an emphasis on Christianity. The new classes, which still require approval from the cantonal parliament, would be compulsory. Parents were previously able to withdraw their children from the Bible-only classes if they felt the subject clashed with their own religious or spiritual beliefs.

Hooli-gone?

With just over two years to go until Switzerland co-hosts the 2008 European football championship, the country’s national parliament has approved a raft of controversial measures to help crack down on hooliganism. On March 7th Switzerland’s upper house of parliament followed the lower house in approving the new laws, which will enable police forces from separate Swiss regions to share information on known or suspected hooligans and set up a database aimed at preventing sports-related violence. The police will also be able to issue travel bans, stadium bans and, in extreme cases, take suspects into 24-hour preventative custody.

But the new laws will only stay on the books until 2009, due to fears that they might be challenged on constitutional grounds. Critics have argued that the measures could flout the autonomous rights of Switzerland’s cantons and possibly even fall foul of the country’s strict data privacy rules.

Let there be light

Zurich’s nights won’t be quite so dark, thanks to a SFr8m project aimed at illuminating several main bridges, squares and pedestrian areas at night. The city’s parliament met in March to approve “Plan Lumière”, which follows on from a SFr1.75m pilot project launched in 2004 that lit up the central Rudolf Brun and Münster bridges, the Affoltern train station and the Hardturm viaduct. Following the decision to expand the scheme, six more bridges will be illuminated along with nine other streets, squares, platforms and parking areas.

Catch if you can

March 2006

Sechseläuten

April 23rd & 24th 2006

Zurich’s annual springtime festival offers a unique way to usher in warmer weather. Beginning with a children’s parade on Sunday, the Sechseläuten builds to a climax on Monday with a procession of the city’s once-powerful guilds. This culminates with an explosive finale in front of the opera house: a large bonfire is lit, with a three-metre tall effigy of a snowman, known as the “Böögg”, perched on top. According to local tradition, the quicker the Böögg’s firework-filled head explodes, the better the summer will be. This madness begins at six o’clock sharp—Sechseläuten derives its name from the six o’clock bells that were traditionally rung to tell workers in springtime when to down their tools.

The main Monday procession begins on Untere Bahnhofstrasse (near Zurich's main train station) at 3pm, moving towards Sechseläutenplatz (opposite the opera house) in time for the 6pm burning of the Böögg. Tickets for seated places: SFr10-20 (standing places free). For further details see this website.

More from the Zurich cultural calendar