Alienating Europe’s far right, alien conspiracy and tariff attack

The prospect of UFO files being released has prompted wild conspiracy theories Keystone

It’s been a week of alienation in the US, according to the Swiss media. This ranges from intergalactic abductions to a list of more earthly annoyances.

Welcome to our press review of events in the United States. Every Wednesday we look at how the Swiss media have reported and reacted to three major stories in the US – in politics, finance and science.

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The UK’s Nigel Farage may be suffering from Trump links Keystone

Donald Trump is a textbook case of how to lose friends and alienate people, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF. This extends to natural European allies of the US president.

“At the beginning of Trump’s second term, the European right wing welcomed his re-election, hoping for a boost to their own political goals. However, Trump has since alienated even those who previously liked him,” said SRF’s economics expert Eveline Kobler.

The list of soured friendships is long: Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage, the Alternative for Germany party and Marine Le Pen, parliamentary leader of the National Rally party in France.

SRF’s foreign correspondents list the grievances, from insulting the Pope, abducting Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro to the economic damage of the Iran war.

And Farage appears to view Trump as an election liability, according to SRF UK correspondent Fiona Endres. “Potential voters cite the Trump-Farage friendship as a reason not to vote for Reform UK,” she writes.

And things don’t look much better at home for Trump. SRF points to polls that show general approval of his policies standing at 40%, while 58% disapprove. Only 39% currently support US economic policy while 60% do not.

• The view of SRF foreign correspondentsExternal link (German)
  
• SRFExternal link details US voter polls (German)

The US may be uncomfortable with Swiss trade links with China Keystone Eda Pool / Martial Trezzini

The newspaper Le Temps has uncovered a new attack vector being wielded by the US to impose punitive tariffs on Switzerland. The US opened a probe in March into the potential “importation of goods produced by forced labour” by Swiss firms.

Switzerland denies such a charge, but Le Temps thinks it knows why Switzerland is being singled out again: Swiss business links with China via a free trade agreement (FTA), which is in the process of being updated.

“Could this free trade agreement with Beijing become a point of contention between Bern and Washington?” the newspaper asks. Reporters sought the opinion of Laurent Wehrli who chairs the Swiss-Chinese parliamentary intergroup. “With the Americans, anything is possible these days,” he said.

The report also digs out further evidence. During a meeting with Swiss business leaders last November, the White House reportedly demanded that Switzerland complies with US export control rules and reinstates US sanctions against Beijing.

The newspaper warns that the latest US threat could hand momentum to domestic critics of the Sino-Swiss FTA just as negotiations to update it reach an advanced stage.

• Le TempsExternal link analysis (French, paywall)

UFO excitement is reaching fever pitch in the US Keystone

In February, US President Donald Trump said he would release classified files on extraterrestrial life. The announcement excited and spooked UFO afficionados, leading to an uptick in conspiracy theories.

Social media groups have identified a dozen scientists who have been abducted or murdered because they knew about top secret US research into aliens, wites the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. This includes 68-year-old retired Air Force General William Neil McCasland who vanished from his home a week after Trump’s announcement.

McCasland’s disappearance is a hot ticket for conspiracy theorists who believe he once headed a secret Air Force research centre that examines UFO wreckage. The trail has led to ‘abductions’ or murders of other UFO specialists.

Trump has stoked the intrigue by initiating investigations. “The entertainment-savvy Trump is constantly striving to keep the public engaged. In a sense, with the FBI investigations into the missing scientists, he’s offering true crime in real time,” said the NZZ.

However, the newspaper also points out that it’s not uncommon for people to leave home and not return. Around 600,000 missing persons cases are logged each year in the US.

• Analysis from the NZZExternal link (German, paywall)

The next edition of ‘Swiss views of US news’ will be published on Wednesday, May 6. See you then!

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