Switzerland

Thomas Aeschi, the parliamentary leader of the Swiss People’s Party, has confirmed he wants the seat on the Federal Council to be vacated by Guy Parmelin. Mr Aeschi is widely considered qualified for the seven-member executive, though his candidacy follows a recent controversy at a school in Lucerne. In the Swiss system of consensus government, being the most prominent candidate is not always the shortest path to being elected by one's colleagues.

The head of the country's Imam Commission, Bashkim Aliu, has been removed from his posts at two major Muslim associations. The move follows homophobic remarks and reports of alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Separately, federal authorities are looking for forensic data experts to help investigate 322 cases of suspected fraud; officials believe 213 million francs were improperly reimbursed for Covid-19 tests.

Security concerns have shifted from the digital to the physical as hackers disabled cooling systems in supermarkets and left-wing extremists targeted companies involved in arms manufacturing and energy projects. One attack on a firm in Thun reportedly caused millions in damages. Meanwhile, the interior minister, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, has suggested that if a current pension proposal is rejected, it could eventually lead to the necessity of further pension increases.