Pfister joins carnival band to open Wil celebrations

Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister played the trumpet with his carnival band to open the Fasnacht celebrations in Wil, canton St Gallen, on Wednesday evening. The event was reported by SRF.

Pfister performed with Snäfuu, a Guggenmusik band from Baar, canton Zug. Earlier, he spoke at a business event hosted by the Eastern Switzerland Business Portal, a location-promotion and networking organisation covering 22 municipalities in the cantons of St Gallen and Thurgau around Wil.

Speaking to about 170 guests from business and politics at the Hof zu Wil, Pfister said Switzerland’s neutrality was “an unshakeable line” but did not protect the country from conflicts, according to the organisers. He also discussed the importance of security for Switzerland’s economy.

The visit had a personal connection for Pfister: his father came from Wil, where the family once ran the traditional Pfister-Amstutz textile shop in the old town, the organisers said.

The event also recalled the 1647 Defensionale of Wil. During the Thirty Years’ War, the 13 cantons and their allies agreed there on the Confederation’s neutrality and a common border guard.