Germans secretly love the Swiss

The Swiss Federal Council has put out an extensive report on the repercussions of freedom of movement and immigration in Switzerland according to which Switzerland's population is growing by around 80,000 people per year. The German personal consultant Christoph Zeiss, who himself lives in Switzerland, asks the Swiss to view his compatriots with forbearance: "Deep in our hearts we love the Swiss. Sure, we also find them cute because they've got such a funny way of talking. But in fact we don't just love them, we respect them - in a very sincere way. ... Many Swiss believe the Germans don't like them, are arrogant, and treat them the way the supposedly stronger person treats the supposedly weaker. I think it's much simpler than that. The Germans love the Swiss. They'd like to be a bit like them - but can't. And because that frustrates them, they sometimes act in a way they don't really mean to. Complicated? Sure. Typically German? Also true. But above all: they really do love the Swiss."

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Demographics, » Germany, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Christoph Zeiss

» To the complete press review of Friday, July 6, 2012