Merkel, May, Puigdemont, Putin, and the UN Secretary General. That's the line-up of leaders included by Swiss television in its Italian-language summary of New Year's Eve messages from key political figures, placing the speech by acting Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, between those of British prime minister Theresa May and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Neither Spanish king Felipe nor the country's prime minister Mariano Rajoy get a mention in the summary, but the Swiss television network decided that the discourse by the Catalan leader in exile would be of interest to its European audience.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, opens the Swiss report, which highlights the call she makes for social cohesion, and her message that she wishes to work together with France. Then follows May, whose soundbite is presented in the framework of the tensions over Brexit, although the report notes the British PM's comment that leaving the EU will not be her only worry in 2018.
The Swiss television then focuses on the Catalan question, saying that "from the heart of Europe in Brussels" Carles Puigdemont made a New Year's Eve speech about the crisis that has shown "the fragile side of Europe, the latent disunity". The network remarks that the Catalan president has asked Madrid to recognize the result of the Catalan election and negotiate.
The fivesome of leaders then continues with Putin, with the Swiss channel focusing on his wish for "prosperity, even demographically". And the item closes with the message from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, at the end of his first year in the post.