

Currently released so far... 12453 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
ASEC
AORC
AMGT
APER
AU
AF
AS
ACBAQ
AFGHANISTAN
AFIN
AR
AE
AJ
ADANA
AEMR
AG
ATRN
ADPM
APECO
AGAO
AMED
AX
AM
AL
ADCO
AA
AECL
AADP
ABUD
AMEX
ACAO
ANET
AODE
ASCH
AY
APEC
AID
AORG
ASEAN
AFSI
AFSN
AINF
AGR
AROC
AO
AMBASSADOR
AFFAIRS
ASIG
ABLD
ASUP
AND
ARM
ARF
AQ
ATFN
AC
ACOA
AORL
ADM
AUC
AGMT
ACABQ
ASEX
AFU
ALOW
AZ
APCS
AVERY
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AER
AN
AIT
AMG
AGRICULTURE
AMCHAMS
ACS
BR
BA
BD
BL
BO
BF
BU
BILAT
BEXP
BRUSSELS
BK
BN
BM
BT
BY
BX
BTIO
BIDEN
BG
BE
BP
BBSR
BC
BTIU
BWC
BB
BH
BMGT
CH
CY
CA
CU
CS
CO
CVIS
CPAS
CMGT
CE
COUNTER
CASC
COUNTRY
CJAN
COUNTERTERRORISM
CG
CI
CD
CIDA
CJUS
CDG
CBSA
CEUDA
CR
CM
CLMT
CAC
CBW
CODEL
COPUOS
CWC
CIC
CW
CBE
CHR
CFED
CT
CONS
CIA
CTM
CDC
CVR
CF
CLINTON
CITEL
CLEARANCE
COE
CN
CACS
CAN
CONDOLEEZZA
CB
CSW
CITT
CARSON
CNARC
CACM
CDB
CARICOM
COM
CROS
CAPC
CTR
CV
CKGR
CBC
CL
CICTE
CIS
ECON
EFIN
ELAB
ETRD
EIND
EC
EINV
EAGR
ENRG
ETTC
EAID
EPET
ELTN
EWWT
EAIR
EFIS
EMIN
EG
EU
ER
EUN
EPA
ENVI
EXTERNAL
ECPS
ENGR
ETRC
ECIN
EN
EI
ELN
ET
EINT
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ES
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
EZ
ETRO
EDU
ETRN
EFTA
EAIG
EK
EUREM
EURN
ECONCS
ECONOMICS
ENVR
ELECTIONS
EAP
ENIV
ECONOMY
ESA
EINN
ECONOMIC
EIAR
EXBS
ECA
ECUN
EINDETRD
EUR
EREL
EUC
ESENV
ECONEFIN
ECIP
ENERG
ENNP
EFINECONCS
EFIM
ENGY
EAIDS
EINVEFIN
EINVETC
EUMEM
ETRA
ETC
ERNG
ETRDECONWTOCS
EUNCH
ECINECONCS
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EXIM
ERD
EEPET
IR
IS
IZ
IAEA
IO
IAHRC
ID
IC
IT
IRAQI
IWC
IN
IL
ISLAMISTS
IV
ICAO
INDO
ITPHUM
ITPGOV
ITALIAN
IPR
ICRC
INTERPOL
IQ
IBET
IMO
INR
ITRA
INTERNAL
ICJ
ICTY
IRS
ILO
INRA
INRO
ISRAELI
IEA
INRB
ITALY
ITU
IBRD
IIP
ILC
INTELSAT
IZPREL
IMF
INMARSAT
IRAJ
IDA
ICTR
IA
IGAD
IF
IDP
ITF
ISRAEL
IEFIN
IRC
IACI
KN
KCRM
KOMC
KNNPMNUC
KIPR
KPAL
KWBG
KSCA
KFRD
KNNP
KUNR
KTIP
KWMN
KSTC
KFLU
KOLY
KISL
KPAO
KMDR
KJUS
KSTH
KDEM
KCOR
KIRF
KAWC
KU
KTFN
KWAC
KNPP
KERG
KSEO
KACT
KHLS
KZ
KGHG
KTIA
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCRCM
KE
KPKO
KCIP
KDRG
KVPR
KV
KIDE
KICC
KPRP
KBIO
KSUM
KGIT
KCFE
KG
KBTS
KFLO
KMPI
KS
KGIC
KPAI
KHSA
KTLA
KSEP
KTEX
KFSC
KOCI
KHDP
KPLS
KTDB
KHIV
KCSY
KSAC
KTRD
KID
KMRS
KOM
KSAF
KRVC
KR
KMOC
KNAR
KIRC
KBCT
KSPR
KFIN
KBTR
KJUST
KNEI
KAWK
KGCC
KMCA
KREL
KMFO
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFTFN
KVRP
KCOM
KO
KLIG
KAID
KVIR
KNSD
KHUM
KSEC
KRAD
KPRV
KCMR
KPWR
KCHG
KIFR
KCFC
KICA
KPIN
KSCI
KESS
KDEV
KTBT
KCRS
KCGC
KOMS
KRIM
KTER
KREC
KPOA
KWWMN
KRGY
KPAK
KWNM
KMIG
KDDG
KRFD
KWMM
KWMNCS
KX
KRCM
KPAONZ
KNUC
KDEMAF
KNUP
MARR
MOPS
MASS
MCAP
MTCRE
MNUC
MIL
MX
MEDIA
MO
MPOS
MU
ML
MA
MP
MY
MERCOSUR
MG
MD
MW
MK
MAS
MEETINGS
MR
MT
MI
MOPPS
MASC
MTS
MLS
MILI
MAR
MTRE
MEPN
MAPP
MTCR
MEPI
MQADHAFI
MAPS
MARAD
MASSMNUC
MEPP
MCC
MZ
MILITARY
MDC
MRCRE
MC
MV
MIK
MUCN
NATO
NL
NZ
NPT
NI
NAFTA
NU
NDP
NIPP
NP
NPA
NG
NRR
NO
NSC
NEW
NE
NH
NR
NA
NS
NSF
NZUS
NATIONAL
NSG
NC
NT
NAR
NK
NGO
NV
NSFO
NSSP
NASA
NW
NPG
NORAD
NATOPREL
OTRA
OAS
OPRC
OIIP
OVIP
OREP
OPDC
OEXC
OSCE
OFFICIALS
OMIG
ODIP
OFDP
OECD
OPIC
OBSP
OPCW
OFDA
OTR
OSAC
OSCI
ON
OCII
OES
OVP
OIC
OPAD
OIE
OHUM
OCS
PREL
PGOV
PK
PHUM
PINS
PARM
PA
PTER
PINR
PREF
PHSA
PBTS
PBIO
PO
POL
PE
PARMS
PM
PROG
PL
PAK
POLITICS
PORG
PTBS
PNAT
PUNE
POLICY
PDOV
PCI
PROP
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PBT
PP
PS
PAO
PG
PY
PTERE
PGOF
PALESTINIAN
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PPA
PINT
PMAR
PRELP
PSEPC
PREFA
PGOVE
PINF
PHUMPGOV
PNG
PMIL
PGOC
PFOR
PCUL
PLN
PSA
PGIV
POLINT
PAS
POGOV
PHUMPREL
PHUMBA
PEL
PGGV
PNR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PGOVLO
PRAM
PHUS
PDEM
PECON
PF
POV
PROV
PRL
PREO
PAHO
PHUH
PSI
PINL
PU
PRGOV
PAIGH
POLITICAL
PARTIES
POSTS
RS
RU
REACTION
REPORT
REGION
RIGHTS
RO
RW
RCMP
RF
RM
RFE
RSP
RP
RICE
ROBERT
ROOD
RELATIONS
RIGHTSPOLMIL
RUPREL
RSO
SU
SNAR
SO
SOCI
SW
SENV
SMIG
SCUL
SP
SZ
SENVKGHG
SR
SY
SA
SYRIA
SF
SI
SC
SWE
SARS
STEINBERG
SN
SG
SIPRS
ST
SEVN
SL
SPCE
SNARIZ
SSA
SNARCS
SYR
SK
SPCVIS
SHUM
SIPDIS
SHI
SH
SOFA
SEN
SNARN
SAARC
SAN
SANC
SCRS
TRGY
TBIO
TU
TF
TERRORISM
TI
TSPL
TPHY
TH
TIP
TSPA
TC
TO
TW
TX
TZ
TNGD
TT
TL
TV
TFIN
TS
TRSY
TINT
TN
TURKEY
TBID
TD
TK
TR
THPY
TP
TAGS
UNGA
UN
UK
US
UNC
UNSC
USUN
UG
UP
UY
USEU
UNESCO
USPS
USTR
UZ
UNHRC
UNO
UNMIK
UNAUS
UNHCR
UNCHR
USAID
UNVIE
UAE
USOAS
UNFICYP
UV
UNEP
UNODC
UNCHS
UNIDROIT
UNDESCO
UNDC
UNCHC
UNDP
UNCND
USNC
UNPUOS
UNICEF
UNCSD
UE
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 07BERN896, BLOCHER-ROSCHACHER ROILS SWISS CONSENSUS POLITICS \
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07BERN896.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
07BERN896 | 2007-09-13 05:05 | 2011-03-14 06:06 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Bern |
Appears in these articles: http://www.letemps.ch/swiss_papers |
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHSW #0896/01 2560553
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130553Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4475
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
2007-09-13 05:53:00 07BERN896 Embassy Bern UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY VZCZCXYZ0000\
RR RUEHWEB\
\
DE RUEHSW #0896/01 2560553\
ZNR UUUUU ZZH\
R 130553Z SEP 07\
FM AMEMBASSY BERN\
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4475\
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE\
UNCLAS BERN 000896 \
\
SIPDIS \
\
SENSITIVE \
SIPDIS \
\
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS AND INR/EU \
\
E.O. 12958: N/A \
TAGS: PGOV SNAR SZ
SUBJECT: BLOCHER-ROSCHACHER ROILS SWISS CONSENSUS POLITICS \
\
\
------- \
Summary \
------- \
\
¶1. (SBU) The Blocher-Roschacher affair is for the most part about \
Federal Councilor (and Justice Minister) Blocher's role in the July \
2006 resignation of Federal Prosecutor Valentin Roschacher. The key \
question hanging in the air is whether Blocher abused his office as \
Justice Minister to exert undue pressure on Roschacher to resign, or \
worse, was involved in a secret plot trying to oust Roschacher. \
Though this complex saga appears far from over, it thus far has \
generated one of the worst bouts of bickering and public accusations \
in modern Swiss politics. However, barring some further sensational \
development, we should not expect Blocher to resign or be removed \
from office. The most likely effect of the affair will be to \
galvanize already committed supporters in the Swiss political camps, \
rather than increase the support for one party or another. End \
summary. \
\
------------------------------- \
Background: The "Ramos Affair" \
------------------------------- \
\
¶2. (U) In July 2006, former Federal Prosecutor Valentin Roschacher \
announced his resignation. He previously had weathered some \
domestic criticism in 2004 for alleged mismanagement and for a \
terrorism cooperation agreement he concluded with the USG. However, \
his 2006 resignation was made amidst mounting public pressure \
following a Swiss newspaper article alleging that Roschacher had \
played an instrumental role in engaging a convicted Columbian drug \
trafficker, Jose Manuel Ramos, for an undercover operation in \
Switzerland. Ramos reportedly had spent 12 years in a U.S. prison \
on drug charges. \
\
¶3. (U) Information provided by Ramos purportedly prompted an \
investigation against a Swiss private banker, Oskar Holenweger, on \
suspicion of money-laundering. The investigation ultimately led to \
Holenweger's personal ruin, but to no formal indictment. Swiss \
press reports claimed that the Federal Prosecutor had placed too \
much stock in information provided by an ex-con. Only days after \
the press reports, Justice Minister Blocher and the Swiss Federal \
Criminal Court in Bellinzona, which hold joint oversight over the \
Federal Prosecutor's office, announced a special investigation of \
Roschacher's office. Roschacher announced his resignation before \
the end of this special investigation, though he ultimately was \
cleared of the allegations of mismanagement and legal wrongdoing. \
\
------------------------------- \
The "Blocher-Roschacher Affair" \
------------------------------- \
\
¶4. (U) The Oversight Committee of Parliament's lower house (GPK-N), \
which monitors the Swiss government administration on behalf of the \
Parliament, has had an ongoing investigation of the circumstances \
leading to Roschacher's resignation. The issue had remained largely \
out of the public discussion until September 3, when left-leaning \
newspapers began reporting information apparently leaked from a \
GPK-N report on Roschacher's resignation. According to those press \
reports, Blocher allegedly plotted to oust Roschacher, overstepping \
his mandate by pressuring Roschacher to resign and by arranging a \
severance package for Roschacher to help convince him to quit absent \
any legal or administrative basis. \
\
¶5. (U) The storm broke on September 5 when the Federal Council \
announced it planned to engage an independent legal expert in order \
to help it assess the findings of the (yet-to-be published) GPK-N \
report on Roschacher's resignation. Under mounting pressure of the \
media reports, Blocher the same day held a press conference \
denouncing the GPK-N report as "tendentious" and the allegation of a \
plot as "nonsense." \
\
¶6. (U) Later on September 5, the GPK-N held a hastily arranged press \
conference to publish the findings of its report, which alleges \
serious misconduct of Blocher, including bypassing the Federal \
Council and disregarding the separation of powers in the \
"non-voluntary resignation" of Roschacher. More ominously, the \
GPK-N also announced that it was going to examine documents that \
might reveal a plot to oust Roschacher, cooked up by Holenweger and \
supposedly involving Blocher. The documents reportedly had been \
obtained by the German police and provided by the government of \
Germany to Swiss legal officials. By September 6, the media from \
left to right was pitching the imbroglio as an affair of state \
focusing almost exclusively on putative evidence of a plot. The \
actual GPK-N report got almost overlooked by the media. \
\
-------------------------- \
The SVP Comes Out Swinging \
-------------------------- \
\
¶7. (U) On September 6, Blocher's SVP fought back. SVP strategist \
Christoph Moergeli presented the press with what he said were the \
original documents that the GPK-N wanted to evaluate for indications \
of the alleged plot. Thus far, the GPK-N has only viewed copies \
held by a Swiss Examining Magistrate, who did not permit the GPK-N \
to make copies of the documents. Moergeli said he had obtained the \
documents directly from his "friend" Holenweger. The documents are \
a series of military-style flipcharts with names of two dozen Swiss \
politicians, journalists, and private persons, annotated with \
comments, abbreviations, and markings. Moergeli vehemently \
dismissed allegations that the documents in question represented \
plans of a secret plot against Roschacher, calling the conspiracy \
theory "politically instrumentalized bull----." He argued that the \
cryptic notes of Holenweger, a former Swiss army general staff \
officer, were simply Holenweger's effort to record the crisis \
unfolding over Roschacher following the publication of the press \
reports regarding the "Ramos Affair." \
\
¶8. (U) In a September 11 statement released via his lawyer, \
Holenweger himself reinforced Moergli's claims, arguing that the \
documents were simply notes he wrote for his own "personal \
orientation," and that none of the persons listed were aware of the \
documents or involved in any kind of plot. He further stated that \
he had not met with Blocher since 1988, and apologized for the \
trouble the documents had caused. \
\
------------------- \
"UnSwiss" Bickering \
------------------- \
\
¶9. (SBU) Though this complex saga appears far from over, it thus far \
has generated one of the worst bouts of bickering and public \
accusations in modern Swiss politics. The SVP has presented recent \
events as proof of its claims that the left was conspiring to oust \
Blocher from the Federal Council which comes up for election in \
December. Lucrezia Meier-Schatz, the member of the GPK-N who \
insinuated a possible plot to oust Roschacher, reportedly has \
received anonymous threats and has been put under police protection. \
Some members of the (center-)left have decried Blocher's position \
on the Federal Council as untenable, though generally denying any \
plot to remove him. Federal Councilor and Interior Minister \
Couchepin (FDP) said on Swiss radio that recent events reminded him \
of fascism in Italy and, referring to his arch-enemy Blocher, that \
Switzerland had no need for a "Duce." \
\
¶10. (SBU) On September 10, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, who \
thus far had refrained from comment, urged restraint on everybody. \
In an interview with Switzerland's largest circulation tabloid, \
Calmy-Rey \
called the current bickering among the political parties "unSwiss" \
and admonished that nobody should be blamed before all the facts are \
known and carefully evaluated. \
\
----------------------- \
A Complicated Storyline \
----------------------- \
\
¶11. (SBU) The circumstances leading to Roschacher's resignation \
remain murky and facts are scant. However, it is an open secret \
that there was no love lost between Blocher and Roschacher, who \
repeatedly had clashed publicly prior to Roschacher's July 2006 \
resignation. It also is a fact that Blocher had warned Roschacher \
in writing of his possible dismissal. Nevertheless, Blocher would \
have had no authority to single-handedly sack Roschacher. That is \
where the conspiracy theories start, allegedly "corroborated" by the \
Holenweger charts, claiming that the press report that prompted \
Roschacher's resignation was part of a bigger plot (Comment: The \
newspaper in question -- "Weltwoche" -- firmly toes the SVP line. \
End comment) \
\
¶12. (SBU) Those who claim that the affair stems from a personal \
vendetta against Blocher note that Roschacher had been nominated as \
Federal Prosecutor by Blocher's predecessor as Justice Minister, \
Ruth Metzler (CVP), whom Blocher bumped from the Federal Council \
following the elections in 2003, ending 44-years of stable party \
composition of the Swiss government when the SVP demanded a second \
seat in the Cabinet. Roschacher had a long-standing personal \
relationship dating back to student days with Metzler and her \
husband, so his relations with Blocher likely were strained from the \
very beginning. Meier-Schatz, who led the investigation of \
Blocher's actions and stirred rumors of a plot, is a member of the \
Christian-Democratic party, as is Metzler, and represents a Canton \
in eastern Switzerland from which both Roschacher and Metzler hail. \
\
-------------------------------- \
Comment: Pre-Election Politics? \
-------------------------------- \
\
¶13. (SBU) The Blocher-Roschacher affair has roiled the Swiss \
political scene whose normal hallmarks are consensus and compromise. \
And it comes at a particularly sensitive time, as the Swiss prepare \
for their October 21 parliamentary elections. General Swiss \
prosperity and challenges related to globalization appear to be \
reinforcing the normal pre-election tendency toward "niche" politics \
and polarization (more on that will be reported septel). \
\
¶14. (SBU) Against this backdrop, the vehemence with which the \
various parties have asserted wrong-doing by others and/or claimed \
for themselves the status of "victim" surely is driven by a desire \
to score political points. However, barring some further \
sensational development, we should not expect Blocher to resign or \
be removed from office. Give the complexity of the storyline and \
limited public appetite for political news, the most likely effect \
of the affair will be to galvanize already committed supporters in \
the Swiss political camps, rather than increase the support for one \
party or another. \
\
CARTER \