Economy / Finance

The German government in the network of digital health transformers

Whose interests are served by our health policy?

by Norbert Häring,* Germany

(6 December 2024) (CH-S) How far does the influence of pharmaceutical/IT companies extend into political decisions in the healthcare sector? Norbert Häring traces clandestine conditions in Germany. Is the health of citizens being subordinated to the business of an international health industry? Can conclusions be drawn for Switzerland? The dispute between two IT companies over the equipping of Swiss hospitals with IT software worth hundreds of millions lets us prick our ears and take notice. Are our health insurance contributions and tax millions being spent sensibly, and who is profiting from them? It is worth taking a look at Germany.

“Cooperation and development”

China – Switzerland’s third largest trading partner

Interview with Consul General Chen Yun*

(6 December 2024) (CH-S) “Swiss Standpoint” had the opportunity to ask the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Ms Chen Yun, about relations between Switzerland and China. The occasion was an invitation to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in September.

Switzerland was one of the first countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China after its founding and has sought to maintain good relations ever since. The free trade agreement between the two countries, which has been in force since 2014, is a milestone in this regard. Especially in geopolitically challenging times, it is important to maintain a broad network of positive relationships.
Hungary

Kiev turns off the oil tap and Brussels “plays for time”

The EU Commission’s high-handed behaviour

by “Hungary Today”

(16 August 2024) (CH-S) In the Swiss media landscape, you hardly ever hear about the problems that individual European Union (EU) states have with the Brussels headquarters. Not without reason, as dissonance with the EU is currently not opportune in the Swiss mainstream media landscape – while Swiss voters are being forced to swallow even closer ties with the EU.

War and Theft – Take-over of Ukrainian Agricultural Land

by “The Oakland Institute”,* California, USA

(31 May 2024) Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the war in Ukraine has been at the centre of foreign policy and media attention. However, little attention has been paid to a major question at the heart of the conflict: who controls the farmland in the country known as the “breadbasket of Europe”?

The World Economic Forum and the world “elite”

by Wolfgang Bittner,* Germany

(25 January 2024) (Edit.) Is the WEF really a combination of capitalist consultancy firm and gigantic lobby? From 15 to 19 January, another meeting of the highly influential World Economic Forum (WEF) took place in Davos, attended by more than 2,800 participants, including over 60 heads of state and government. This time the motto was “Rebuilding Trust”. Author Wolfgang Bittner takes a dissecting look at this construction and its efforts to create a globalised, private-law, non-democratic world order.

States without governments

Governments managed through BlackRock & Co

by Robert Seidel

(11 January 2024) The impression is growing that elected governments no longer determine the fate of a state, but that other forces are increasingly shaping politics. This is reflected in the political, economic, military, and financial lockstep of Western governments. Examples are the case of the Ukraine conflict – including the negligent abandonment of Switzerland’s neutrality by the Federal Council in spring 2022, as well as the ghost-like confrontation course against China or the gradual suspension of democratic freedoms through new WHO or environmental regulations.