COMMENT:
Dear Mr. Armstrong
Greetings from Switzerland and many thanks for your free education. Must admit that I became addicted to your blog. I must congratulate you on your short observations on Switzerland. You simply nailed it. The politicians are destroying the country in front of our eyes. As far as for the referendum at the end of November it seems to be a vote against the politics and not for or against gold. The people start to realize that all made promises remain either unfulfilled or broken. One of them is the EURCHF peg. It was introduced as a temporary measure simply to buy time. And as you once stated that the political class suffers from the short memory effect…it became permanent The technocrats are crying for flexibility of the SNB but forget to tell the public their great ideas and a possible solution. It looks like the people can smell that there is no plan B. Even the most prosperous country can be dismantled by Marxist. Once again many thanks for your tremendous work.
Kind regards
PP
ANSWER: Yes. The bureaucrats have sold-out Switzerland, which began as a tax revolt against the House of Habsburg. I agree the gold referendum is part of the process of the civil unrest that is stirring everywhere. It will have no impact upon saving the franc and it certainly would not change the direction of the currency without removing the peg. From that perspective it is in tune with the global trend. As always, the gold promoters twist the facts.
This vote is the first step in the process of the people of Switzerland rising up against government. There too bureaucrats are out of control and the Swiss system is the closest one we have to a real democratic process (the referendum shows that). The problem is always the bureaucrats. I strongly suggest the creation of the office of the Roman Tribune of the people where they can bring criminal charges against bureaucrats for violating the constitution. That is the critical missing link. We need that as the check and balance against government.
The bureaucrats do not realize what they have done. If there would be a Third World War, why would anyone recognize Swiss independence? The reason Switzerland was saved before was simply because people need a place to hide money during war. It was a gentlemen’s agreement to leave Switzerland alone. My father was under Patton and he said Patton laughed and said Hitler did not bomb Paris because it was beautiful and he did not invade Switzerland because they needed banks.
With that protection gone, why would even Putin worry about Switzerland? It is there simply for the taking next time. Really dumb move by Swiss bureaucrats. A bank is useful, a Rolex may be the spoils of war.
