Swiss media finds Trump impeachment gambit rather risky 

The formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump focuses on allegations that he pressured a foreign power to damage a political rival. Keystone

The decision of Democrats in the United States House of Representatives to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump dominated morning news headlines in Switzerland.  

Swiss media tended to view the move as an understandable but risky gambit that could backfire on the Democrats in the divided nation. 

“The impeachment procedure against Trump is a dangerous strategy,” warns the headline of an op-ed written by Meret Baumann for the German-language NZZ newspaper. She notes that a recent survey suggests that only a third of the US population supports impeachment. 

“An impeachment would further deepen the trenches in the already dangerously polarised country. Moreover, there’s no point even raising the prospect of bipartisan support for impeachment,” she writes. 

French-language newspaper Le Temps found the chances of impeachment to be slim but called the move a “historic turning point in American politics.” 

The formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump focuses on allegations that he pressured a foreign power to damage a political rival. The outcome will weigh on the 2020 presidential campaign in the United States. 

Revelations about Trump’s telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodimir Selenski set the stage for the Democrats’ change of strategy.  

But the overarching cause was repeated White House moves to block Congressional oversight – evident in the investigation of Trump’s tax returns and the aftermath of Robert Mueller’s report which Democrats argue includes impeachable offences. 

Not without risk 

Swiss public television (SRF) correspondent Peter Düggeli also wrote that launching impeachment investigations is not without risk for the Democrats. 

First, it will force apart an already deeply divided nation, he reckons. Because there is so much at stake, “the tone is likely to be even dirtier and the political style even more depressed.” For this, he argues, the Democrats will have to shoulder the blame. 

Second, it is unclear whether most Americans back this course of action. 

“Many Americans have long since made up their minds about Trump and want to punish him at the ballot box – not with a laborious, protracted impeachment procedure, which in the end will surely fail,” continues Düggeli. 

Lastly, Trump and his most loyal Republican backers have “once again red meat to throw to their electoral base, reaching Trump voters who might have almost lost their enthusiasm for the president.”