Three dangerous words for Mitt Romney

Swiss bank account. Those three words could potentially de-rail the campaign of one of the richest men ever to try and buy the Presidency of the United States. If Mitt Romney though that releasing his 2010 tax records would make the story go away, then he was very wrong. It wasn’t so much that he only paid 15% tax on his millions but that until recently he had $3 million in a UBS account. That was enough for those three little words to become headlines in America and spell trouble for the Romney campaign. In Switzerland it led to one national paper asking “What’s up with the image of our banks?” A very good question.

The ten most popular posts of 2011

2011. It was quite a year. Arab Spring, London riots, Fukushima, euro crisis – and a general election in Switzerland. Not exactly the same razzamatazz as this year in America but enough to be the reason for this blog’s most popular day: October 23rd, election day. Last year I added 66 new posts, eight of them about the elections in various ways. Three of those made the Top Ten of the most read posts of 2011. Here is the list in full, just in case you missed one or want to read them again with hindsight:

The United States of Switzerland?

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When I was in the US last summer, I couldn’t help but notice how many Swiss references there were all around me. Now maybe my Swiss antennae are particularly sensitive, but I’m sure there were more Swiss things than say, Belgian or Portuguese. Of course some were to be expected, such as the endless rows of Swiss watches on sale in Las Vegas or ‘Swiss cheese’ in many a sandwich, but many others were complete surprises: a painting of the Swiss Alps in an Alcatraz cell, San Francisco being twinned with Zurich, the lubricant called Swiss Navy, a picture of Bern’s Zytglogge in the video presentation at Hearst Castle, a Swiss seafood restaurant. Most interesting of all was the town in Utah founded by Swiss Mormons.

Having bathroom fun with Laufen

Swiss bathrooms tend to be functional places, there for a purpose and little else. They usually conform to a white, minimalist look with few fripperies to be seen. No carpets or curtains, pictures or knick-knacks, and certainly no lacy loo-roll or furry toilet-seat covers. As for books beside the loo – that’s a sure sign that one of the residents is an expat; one Swiss friend said to me in all seriousness that there are more comfortable places to read. Very true, but also missing the point!

Win an exclusive Swiss desk calendar

It’s already 2012 and maybe you still need a smart new calendar? Or perhaps you’d just like one that very few other people have? Then here’s your chance to win one that I created using my own photos from all over Switzerland. There are only twelve of these calendars in the world – and one could be yours for free!

Merry Christmas, Swiss-English style

Now that the snow really has arrived in earnest, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. At least it would if I were still in Switzerland. Of a white Christmas in Britain we can but dream as we sing along with Bing. But there are many other things about an English Christmas that more than make up for the lack of the white magic. As much as love my Swiss Christmas every other year, there’s something special about being back in Britain for it – and not just my family. But I ask myself, how Swiss or English is my Christmas these days? So a few things to help me decide:

Habemus Bundesrat!

In Britain we say that the first sign of feeling old is when the policemen start to look young. In Switzerland I’m sure the same applies to the Bundesrat. Yesterday the Swiss parliament elected 39-year old Alain Berset into the Federal Council, and for the first time a member of the Bundesrat is younger than me. But if I’m feeling old today, that’s nothing compared to how the leadership of the SVP must feel: like dinosaurs slowly watching their world crumble. After losing votes and seats in the general election then losing the Ständerat run-offs, yesterday they lost the government election, and a fair part of their dignity in the process. It’s been an annus horribilis for the B-Team (Blocher, Brunner, Baader), but a great one for Mr B, the new SP Bundesrat from Canton Fribourg.

Electing a new Swiss government

Source: sf.tv and admin.ch

Tomorrow is election day in Switzerland. Again. But this is a very special election and not just because it will produce a new government (finally). This is the most important occasion on which the Swiss people have no direct say, because the seven-member Bundesrat, or Federal Council, that governs Switzerland is elected by both houses of parliament. There is no popular vote but that doesn’t mean it lacks excitement. Exactly the opposite, in fact.

A double celebration for Swiss Watching

Two years old today. This blog, that is, not me. And with perfect timing to celebrate the occasion, the first translation of the book has been finished and is off to the printers. Ja, Swiss Watching kommt auf Deutsch! It’s called Der Schweizversteher – which translates roughly as ‘the man who understands Switzerland’. That’s me, apparently. Just to make that clear, there’s a subtitle Ein Engländer unter Eidgenossen, or An Englishman among the Swiss. That’s definitely me. As you can see, not only the title has changed but the cover as well – and of course, the publisher. I’m proud to say that the German edition is being published by Piper Verlag in Munich, under its Malik imprint. A wonderful home for my book. Working with the lovely translators and even lovelier editor has been quite an enlightening experience: fun but challenging to keep the distinct flavour of the original while giving it a German (-speaking) identity.

Swiss elections: the final stage

Image from sf.tv

Switzerland swings to the left! Now that the last results of the Swiss parliamentary elections are in the final picture is clear – and it’s not a good one for the right. Not only did both the right-wing parties – the far right SVP and centre right FDP – lose badly in the first round on October 23rd but they have staggered to more disasters in the second rounds over the past few weeks. In the Ständerat, or Upper House, the SVP is at now its lowest strength in 20 years, with all of its star candidates failing dismally, while today the FDP lost its Solothurn seat for the first time since 1848. In contrast, the Social Democrats (SP) have won 11 seats, more than ever before, including ones in traditional right strongholds like St Gallen and Aargau. Quite a turnaround from four years ago.