When the Swiss recently emphasize their neutrality and want a special status, foreign diplomats and politicians are surprised. Switzerland's reputation is melting.
"In the future, our neighbors will question even more how far Switzerland needs to respond politically," says political scientist Christoph Frey from the University of St. Gallen. And he warns: "We are on the way to losing friends".
Trade in raw materials and money of oligarchs
When Russia's war against Ukraine began, the government in Bern emphasized that Switzerland was neutral and that it would not help Ukraine. Due to pressure from abroad, there was a turnaround, but Fry says that the government participates reluctantly. "For example, in the case of trade in raw materials, the authorities behave as if they do not know how important trade through Switzerland is to Russia," Frey told the German news agency dpa.
Until the end of 2022, almost eight billion francs of money belonging to Russians close to President Vladimir Putin have been blocked in Switzerland due to sanctions. But it is assumed that there is much more money belonging to Russian oligarchs in Swiss banks.
In addition, Switzerland prohibits the transfer of ammunition to Ukraine, which it has sold to its allies. In Germany, they are also angry because of the easy passage of migrants into Germany, and the financial world is angry because of the limitation of shareholders' rights during the rescue of the Kredi Suisse bank. Numerous lawsuits are being prepared.
The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs observes only critical remarks in the media. "The media, it's true, have a certain influence on the image of a country, but they are not the only factor," the Ministry replied to the dpa agency's inquiry. "So far, we have no indications of any noticeable deterioration in the general impression of how we are perceived, which would have lasting negative consequences".
Do not give ammunition to Ukraine
But criticism comes from influential circles. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, for example, said in January in Davos: "It's not just about neutrality. It's about the right to self-defense." And the president of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, said: "Neutrality, in my opinion, originates from the last century." Switzerland, he believes, must help defend the international legal order.
"Sanctions are only as strong as the political will behind them," US Ambassador Scott Miller told the newspaper "Noe Zircher Zeitung". Switzerland could block 50 or 100 billion francs more money belonging to Russian oligarchs, he believes. "We expect Switzerland to jump over its neutralist shadow in certain situations," said German Ambassador Michael Fliger.
"Switzerland has massacred its reputation," said the Swiss deputy from the Green party, Gerhard Andrew, when the Swiss parliament decided not to lift the ban that the allies could hand over the ammunition they bought from Switzerland to Ukraine. On the list of countries helping Ukraine, which is maintained by the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany, Switzerland is in 21st place out of 40 countries (as of 24.2.2023). It is about humanitarian, financial and military aid.
Terminated negotiations with the European Union
Switzerland always demands a special role for itself. She is happy to lead her own politics - except when it comes to the economy and access to markets. It joined the United Nations only in 2002, and even though it is in the middle of Europe, it does not want to join the European Union - in 2021, it broke off multi-year negotiations on updating bilateral agreements.
"We have turned from a special case into a disruptive case, and we have to be careful not to become a social case by sticking firmly to the stories of the past," warns political scientist Frey.
However, Switzerland still enjoys a high reputation in public opinion polls. Johanna Golnhofer, director of the Marketing Institute of the University of St. Gallen, says: "The reputation of a brand or a country - these are associations in the head. They change very slowly and something would have to happen for years. Otherwise, in the end, little remains in the memory. Switzerland is recognized as a safe harbor, as a country connected to nature, as a reliable country. This will not be destroyed in the short term."
NATO also protects Switzerland
One department in the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for promoting Switzerland's reputation abroad. All is well, it said after their latest survey in December 2022: Switzerland is still in first place, ahead of Germany, Sweden, Great Britain and other countries. But in November 2022, in the survey by the Ipsos institute about the reputation of countries in the world, Germany was in first place, and Switzerland was in seventh place.
Political scientist Frey believes that Switzerland must do something. "As a rich, multi-privileged country, we must finally get our hands on significantly more money, both for humanitarian aid and for security". He is in favor of Switzerland co-funding NATO, because it benefits from NATO funding security all around it. "NATO is in a sense a ballpark, and Switzerland is the hole in the middle," says US Ambassador Miller.
"Switzerland usually sticks to its positions as long as possible and often reacts only to strong pressure from the outside," says Diana Ingenhof, a professor of organizational communication and public diplomacy at the Swiss University of Freiburg in a statement to dpa. "We would have to get off our big horse and accept the fact that we too are on the way to becoming a normal European country," concludes political scientist Frey.
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