Romney: a breath of fresh air?
A former Republican ambassador to Bern recently told a Swiss newspaper that she felt Romney would handle Switzerland differently than Obama.
“Republicans would respect Swiss sovereignty,” Faith Whittlesey, US ambassador under Ronald Reagan, commented in the Tages-Anzeiger last month.
Edward Patrick Flaherty, co-chairman of Republicans Abroad Switzerland, said he was also hopeful.
“I think relations will change significantly under a Romney administration,” he said. “Switzerland was a convenient scapegoat for the Obama and Democrats.”
“Our two countries have such a long and close relationship. Switzerland has represented us in places like Cuba and Iran. I’ve been quite unhappy how Switzerland has been treated by the US government in recent years.”
“The Swiss are not money-launderers or drug-money hiders. They have long required the identification of the source of funds based in Swiss banks, much better than the US. Organised crime can set up a limited liability company in Wyoming or Delaware and open a bank account and nobody asks where the money comes from. While in Switzerland a regular US worker is hard pressed to open a bank account due to the actions of the US government against Switzerland.”
The Swiss should be seriously worried if Obama is is elected, said Flaherty: “It will only get worse both for Switzerland and Americans living here, but also in financial locations like Singapore and Hong Kong.”
Romney takes in the Reno mountain air (Photo Keystone)
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.