Gabriel Lüchinger – Switzerland’s relationship manager

Switzerland is navigating a world for which it is hardly suited any more. How does it keep in touch? The government relies on the skills of top diplomat Gabriel Lüchinger. A portrait. Does anyone still need Switzerland? Its neutrality is controversial at home and in need of explanation abroad. "The world today is no longer a sedate municipal assembly, but a playground without supervision," according to former Swiss Chancellor Walter Thurnherr. "People are fighting with their elbows out – and that's a painful adjustment for Switzerland." Small states in particular are dependent on fair play and rules. "We're more like the little second-graders in this playground," Thurnherr told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. "But there are also the big sixth-graders, and if we're not careful, a sixth-grader will smack us." That's why Switzerland might have to coordinate with the fourth-graders, he said. Gabriel Lüchinger's job is to do this deal. The 49-year-old is the top Swiss diplomat, who ...