When he was a child, Ian «The Gadget Guru» Ellery always wanted to be Iron Man. He joined us on this week's show to talk about one piece of technology that can make that dream come true: 
Social Democrats push for 38-hour work week; France beats Switzerland for largest fondue; Switzerland’s image abroad is ‘very positive’
News for 25 February, 2025
The Social Democrats party will present its proposal for a shorter work week — from 45 hours down to 38 — to the National Council's Security Policy Committee. According to deputy Andrea Zryd, who is among the instigators of this move, cutting working hours would help improve the employees’ work-life balance. The notion of fewer working hours is not new in Europe, and pops up from time to time in Switzerland as well.
In 2022, the idea of a four-day work week won support in some (mostly left-wing) circles in Switzerland, but was nixed by economists, who argued that businesses rather than the state should make decisions regarding working hours.
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The French succeeded in preparing the world’s largest cheese fondue. "The record is validated with a volume of two cubic metres and a total weight of 2,177.5 kilos," organisers of the competition said, adding that the feat is “a brand new Guinness record." Whether it was a pure coincidence or an intentional choice with the purpose of taunting their Swiss neighbours (who invented the fondue), the competition was held in a French town located only 20 km from the Swiss border. “I dream of one thing — that the Swiss will want to beat our record," said Jean-Charles Arnaud, the event’s organiser. They may just want to do it.
In a previous, similar competition, (which they won), the Swiss sniffed at the idea that the French had anything important to contribute to the art of fondu making. “The fondue is Swiss. The French don’t know how to make it,” they said. “Cheeses must come from the Gruyère region and have no holes. In France, they use cheese with holes.”
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In 2024, foreigners “continued to see Switzerland in a very positive light overall,” according to a survey published by Presence Switzerland, an organisation responsible for disseminating the government’s strategy abroad, and monitoring how foreign media portrays the country.
It found that many foreigners “have a positive, but often clichéd, image of Switzerland as a prosperous country with beautiful mountain scenery. People also routinely associate Switzerland with high-quality products like chocolate and watches.” Specific areas, such as Swiss banking and neutrality, are viewed positively. The study noted that the farther a given country is from Switzerland, the more people there think in terms of stereotypes and clichés.
Perceptions of Switzerland in neighbouring countries, on the other hand, “are often more nuanced and attitudes somewhat more sceptical than in countries further afield. For example, people in Germany and Austria often associate Switzerland with high prices,” Presence Switzerland reported.