The Last Card

August 12, 2009

Published in Le Temps
(Switzerland) on 30 July 2009
by Luis Lema (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Rita El Hajj. Edited by Alex Brewer.

Micheline Calmy-Rey will arrive in Washington on Friday to a tense atmosphere still soured by the revelations of another guilty plea by a UBS customer.

Will Hillary Clinton make a call to the U.S. District Judge Alan Gold? In the saga that has become the UBS case, the Miami courts will not resume proceedings until next Friday. This is the same day that Micheline Calmy-Rey will be in Washington to hold talks with the secretary of state.

It has been ages since this issue lost the feel of a simple dispute between a private firm and U.S. tax authorities and turned into a state affair. Nevertheless, while passing the buck from the department of the treasury to the department of justice and henceforth to the department of state, Obama’s administration pretends not to notice. It does not pay attention to deadlines and pursues the proceedings to deliberately annoy the Swiss while courteously welcoming its political officials. UBS decided to violate the American law “in a systematic and deliberate way.” Everything else is a non-essential consideration.

The strategy of carrying on the war behind delicate appearances is more damaging to Switzerland, since its dirty laundry is being aired. If proven, the revelations of Jeffrey Chernik, the American who pleaded guilty to bribing Swiss bankers disguised as tourists and senior civil servants, a less-than-stellar image will be confirmed. The U.S. administration now has something to prove that its strategy is the right one.

Micheline Calmy-Rey is the last card in Bern’s hand. From the Near East where Switzerland continues to play an active role in the representation of American interests in Cuba and Iran, the confederation plays a more diplomatic role than any other federal advisor. Passing through America, they admittedly reminded the U.S. administration of this, but this time they must remind the right people. With any luck, Hillary Clinton did not have time to read the disconcerting confessions of Jeffrey Chernick…

La dernière carte
Luis Lema
Micheline Calmy-Rey arrivera vendredi à Washington dans un climat tendu, encore empoisonné par les révélations d’un nouveau client repenti d’UBS

Hillary Clinton passera-t-elle un coup de fil au juge Alan Gold? Dans la saga à rebondissements de l’affaire UBS, le magistrat de Miami a fixé le nouvel épisode à vendredi prochain. Précisément le jour où Micheline Calmy-Rey sera à Washington pour s’entretenir avec la cheffe de la diplomatie américaine.

Il y a belle lurette que cette question a perdu ses oripeaux de simple litige entre une entreprise privée et le fisc américain pour se transformer en affaire d’Etat. Mais, se passant le bébé du Département du trésor à celui de la justice et, désormais au Département d’Etat, l’administration Obama fait mine d’afficher le contraire. Elle laisse courir les délais, poursuit les procédures, bref, joue avec les nerfs des Suisses tout en accueillant courtoisement ses responsables politiques. UBS a décidé de violer la loi américaine «de manière systématique et délibérée», met-elle constamment en avant. Tout le reste n’est que considérations accessoires.

Cette façon de continuer la guerre derrière les apparences de la délicatesse peut se révéler d’autant plus dommageable pour la Suisse que, dans le même temps, le linge sale continue de sortir des paniers. Si elles sont avérées, les révélations d’un nouveau repenti américain, Jeffrey Chernick, avec des banquiers suisses déguisés en touristes et des hauts fonctionnaires soudoyés, confirment une image fort peu reluisante. A elles seules, elles ont de quoi convaincre l’administration américaine de la justesse de sa stratégie.

Micheline Calmy-Rey est une sorte de dernière carte dans les mains de Berne. Du Proche-Orient, où la Suisse continue d’être active, à la représentation des intérêts américains à Cuba et en Iran, la Confédération joue un rôle diplomatique que d’autres conseillers fédéraux, de passage en Amérique, ont certes mis en avant mais qu’il s’agit aujourd’hui de répéter devant des oreilles plus avisées. Avec un peu de chance, Hillary Clinton n’aura pas eu le temps d’ici là de lire les troublantes confessions de Jeffrey Chernick…

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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