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The clamor of the mountain people is unmistakable. His message that winter sports areas are on the brink of ruin has reached the deepest central plateau. The reason for the excitement is the concept of skiing that Federal Councilor Alain Berset (48) presented to the cantons for evaluation on Monday.
The Minister of Health proposes to reduce the number of guests to 80 percent or two-thirds of the volume of guests in previous years. Also, ski areas should have to obtain a permit from the canton to operate.
The focus on Blick TV: Protection concepts in the ski area: how should it work?(21:06)
Who bears the costs?
The Federal Council does not want to definitively adopt the concept of skiing until Friday. But the representatives of the mountain cantons are already breaking into parliament. Graubünden FDP national councilor Anna Giacometti (59) today presented an urgent proposal in which she asked Health Minister Berset for clarification.
The former mayor of Bregaglia GR wants to know how the Federal Council can offer urban security to mountain areas and who will pay the costs of adapting the existing protection concepts and the possible loss of income.
Better days in jeopardy
Christmas and New Years are the most important days for mountain areas, explains Giacometti, who lives near the touristy Engadine. “If the ski lifts and mountain railways had to close, it would be an economic catastrophe for the mountainous regions,” she is convinced.
In no case should Switzerland allow itself to be pressured by its neighboring countries. French President Emmanuel Macron (42) has already announced that French ski areas will be closed and that compatriots who switch to winter holidays in Switzerland will be working hard. All French winter sports enthusiasts must be quarantined for seven days after a trip to Switzerland. And the Bavarian state government also advises its citizens: “Don’t go skiing in Switzerland!”
Giacometti believes that the mountainous regions must remain even more accessible to Swiss tourists. Mountain railways and restaurants have developed protection concepts, and in cities it is finally also possible to go shopping with a mask.
How urgent it is
The leadership of the National Council, the so-called council office, will decide on the urgency of Giacometti’s move these days. In general, urgent questions to the Federal Council must be sent no later than the third day of the session, that is, this Wednesday. If the bureau declares the measure urgent, Federal Councilor Berset will have to comment during the current winter session. Any discussion in parliament would take place in the third week of the session.
Meanwhile, the senior vice president also opposes the planned adjustment. Various party representatives have also tabled parliamentary proposals. The party calls on the Federal Council to completely dispense with new crown measures in ski regions.
