Seven centrist National Councilors, including St. Gallen’s Markus Ritter (right) and Lucerne’s Leo Müller, want to help overturn the nuclear power plant ban.Image: KEYSTONE
Seven centrist National Councilors want to agree to lifting the ban on new nuclear power plants in the June session and Seco refuses to release documents on the customs dispute with the USA – the Sunday news.
May 3, 2026, 9:31 a.mMay 3, 2026, 9:47 am
Center National Councilors are changing course: Nuclear power plant ban could be overturned
According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, seven centrist National Councilors want to agree to lifting the ban on new nuclear power plants. A newspaper survey of national councilors led by Markus Ritter and Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter showed that they were planning a yes vote in the June session. Together with the SVP and FDP, this would be enough for a narrow majority of 101 to 99 votes in the National Council. In the case of the SVP, unified support is considered certain, while uniform support is also assumed in the FDP. If the National Council agrees, the decision would be made at parliamentary level after the Council of States has already approved. However, the people are likely to have the final say, as the Greens had announced a referendum. This would mean that a central element of the 2017 energy strategy would be up for grabs. This is likely to cause tensions within the center party, as the nuclear phase-out was largely influenced by former Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard.
Rösti wanted to weaken the voting text of the SVP initiative
According to “SonntagsBlick”, SVP Federal Councilor Albert Rösti wanted to tone down critical statements about the immigration initiative in the voting booklet. As the newspaper learned, based on the public information law, his department had demanded adjustments in the areas of hospitals, asylum and economic growth. Evidence of negative consequences for hospitals and nursing homes should have been generalized by only talking about “public facilities” instead of specifically referring to these areas. When it comes to asylum, it has been argued that Switzerland could become less attractive for asylum seekers if the limit of 9.5 million inhabitants is exceeded, and that the Dublin system already only works to a limited extent. The department also criticized the presentation of economic growth in connection with the free movement of people and called for a more differentiated, inflation-adjusted per capita view.
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Seco does not want to release documents on the customs dispute with the USA
According to “SonntagsBlick”, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) has refused to release documents on the customs dispute with the USA and has thus come into conflict with the public information officer. Journalists and private individuals demanded access to documents relating to the negotiations based on the public information law. However, Seco rejects this with reference to ongoing discussions. Even the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner Adrian Lobsiger refuses to see it. He counters that the law expressly grants him access and has accused Seco of violating its obligation to cooperate. The Seco, on the other hand, relies on an exceptional case of an international dispute settlement procedure. The applicants could lodge a complaint against the order with the Federal Administrative Court, which some would do shortly, according to information from “SonntagsBlick”.
Army increasingly dissatisfied with the Ruag
According to “NZZ am Sonntag”, the army’s dissatisfaction with Ruag has worsened. This emerges from a confidential document from the Federal Council to the Audit Commission (GPK), excerpts from which the newspaper has available. The satisfaction of the army, Ruag’s main customer, fell from 61 to 51 percent in 2025 compared to 2024. The federal government explains in the document that the problems go beyond isolated delays. In particular, the price-performance ratio, high personnel and administrative costs and insufficient adherence to deadlines were criticized. According to the Department of Defense (VBS), the failures could have a negative impact on the army’s readiness to train its people and carry out operations. Ruag wants to address the issue. Improving customer satisfaction is “absolutely a priority,” she wrote when asked by “NZZ am Sonntag”.
Seat in the UN Security Council: Germany angry because of Cassis
According to “SonntagsBlick”, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis did not support Germany in the race for a UN Security Council seat. As several sources confirmed to the newspaper, Switzerland is relying on Austria and Portugal instead. This causes a lack of understanding in Berlin, as Germany is considered an important partner. Officially, there is secrecy surrounding the allocation of votes, but preferences are often known in diplomatic circles. Bern argues that support was promised to Vienna and Lisbon early on, when the German candidacy was not yet official. This justification is met with skepticism in Berlin, as Germany regularly runs for office. The UN General Assembly will elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council in June, with only two out of three candidates in the Western European group being chosen.
Crans-Montana victim families can no longer pay legal fees
According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, many families of victims of the Crans-Montana fire disaster could no longer afford legal advice. The reason is that the flat rate of 4,000 francs that the canton of Valais granted to everyone affected has long since been used up. The emergency aid only provides for 20 hours at 200 francs per hour. The canton of Valais’ hourly rate is therefore at the lower end of the usual compensation for public defenders in Switzerland. Complex interviews, such as that of mayor Nicolas Féraud, with numerous lawyers involved would have quickly driven up the costs. The first lawyers have therefore already withdrawn from the proceedings or threatened to do so. In the Victim Support Act there is only the possibility of supporting those in need, which does not apply to most relatives.
Dumping wages at “Just Eat”: Also criticism of Migros
Dumping wages for couriers from the Just Eat delivery service as part of a new Migros partnership have sparked criticism, according to “NZZ am Sonntag”. Research by the newspaper shows that some of the delivery trips are outsourced to subcontractors. Couriers there are paid per delivery and do not receive any wages if there are waiting times. One person affected reported that they sometimes only earned around 10 francs per hour. Markus Bardenheuer from the Unia union said: “You are passing the risk of waiting times and missing orders onto the couriers.” Migros cannot tolerate this. Migros told “NZZ am Sonntag” that Just Eat complies with the industry-standard collective employment agreements, but without confirming uniform conditions along the entire supply chain. The cooperation will initially start on Monday in Geneva, Valais and Ticino and will be expanded later.
F-35 and pistol: chaos in army statement
According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, the Defense Department has had to revise the Army Message 2026 several times. Internal documents show that the drafting of the template, worth around 3.4 billion francs, was chaotic at times. The reason for this was in particular problems with the procurement of the F-35 fighter jet and the Patriot missile defense system. An initially planned maintenance package worth 490 million francs was later canceled. This freed up funds for an additional loan of 394 million francs for the F-35, after the Federal Council had previously stated that such a loan was not necessary. The DDPS defends itself against this interpretation. There is “no connection”. There was also a lot of back and forth with the new army pistol. The procurement is now included again in the adopted message, but without mentioning the specific type of weapon and subject to further clarification.
If UBS plans don’t go through: KKS has plan B
According to “Le Matin Dimanche”, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter has a plan B in the event of a weakening of Lex UBS. If Parliament waters down the stricter capital requirements for the big bank too much, the FDP Federal Councilor could intervene via the Capital Requirements Ordinance. The revision was submitted to parliament on April 22nd at the same time as the bill. The advantage of this approach is that changing regulations is the sole competence of the Federal Council. The Finance Department has stated that the government will carry out an evaluation after the parliamentary discussions have been completed. It reserves the right to make corrections if excessive concessions are made elsewhere.
France is worried about the SVP initiative in Switzerland
According to Le Matin Dimanche, the SVP initiative “No 10 Million Switzerland” has caused concern in neighboring France. If the bill is adopted, there is a risk that the Swiss economy will increasingly rely on cross-border commuters to compensate for the labor shortage in Switzerland, explains Gabriel Doublet, mayor of Annemasse, in the newspaper. “We fear that this will make the region even more attractive and create additional difficulties in finding housing and operating our public services,” he adds. “In 2002 there were just over 30,000 cross-border commuters in the entire catchment area; today there are around 120,000.” (sda/con)