This hot off the press just 15 minutes ago: http://www.tdg.ch/monde/americains-suisse-roulent-barack-obama/story/20074317 The article makes no mention of the plight of US Persons abroad as to double taxation and draconian and privacy-invasive reporting and penalty policies–issues that are very important to many USPs in Switzerland in light of this election. The article only seems to suggest that Swiss bank secrecy will become a minor issue if Romney is elected!
The president of Republicans Abroad seems to suggest that the majority of Americans in Geneva are working for international organizations and consequently vote Democrat, while suggesting that Republicans tend to be in the private sector. My speculation is that many Americans in Geneva have expat packages (so-called “assignees” to local offices of large US corporations) or are otherwise insulated from the effects of double taxation (UN tax-free status, which as far as I know requires declaring only US income to the US– the UN pays tax to the US for the US Person UN officer).
Translation from the French:
Americans in Switzerland roll rather for [tend to support] Barack Obama
Democrats and Republicans are conducting their campaign in Switzerland in anticipation of the American presidential election. Though it is impossible to know exact figures about who Americans vote for, the trend may be towards the democrats.
The battle for the American presidential election is being waged not only in the United States. On November 6th, 2012, some five million Americans living abroad (according to figures provided in 2009 by the US Dept. of State) will have the possibility to elect the next tenant of the White House.
[This is] a significant portion of the electorate. For this reason, Democrats and Republicans have conducted an energetic campaign abroad, as well as in Switzerland. For the partisans of Barack Obama and of Mitt Romney, it is all about convincing the some 15’000 Americans living in our country to vote for their little horse [colt/foal =favorite candidate].
Practically speaking, their work consists of fund raising and organizing rallies, and also informing the American community about ballot procedures. “Many folks do not know how it works” notes Maya Samara, president of Geneva-based Democrats in Switzerland.
Tendency towards the Democrats
And yet it is impossible to know precisely to which camp expatriates lean. “We have no numerical data about the voting habits of Americans abroad, because each person votes directly via the local authorities of his or her town or State of origin”, explained Maya Samara, “Furthermore, our compatriots are not obliged to register with the American embassy when they arrive in Switzerland”, she continued.
For Edward Patrick Flaherty, attorney and president of Republicans Abroad in Geneva, there is nonetheless a trend. “It is anecdotal, but I suppose that given that many Americans in Geneva work for the UN or for other international organizations, they tend to vote Democrat”, he stated while adding “Republicans tend to be in the private sector”.
« Cult Effect » no more
Will Barack Obama repeat his exploit of 2008? Ed Flaherty doesn’t see a reversal of the trend this year, but there is a risk that the vote will be closer. “I think that many Democrats are disappointed by the performance of Barack Obama, and might abstain from voting” he stated.
Among other things, the incumbent President cannot count on the “Cult” and “Historical” effects of his candidature as he did in the last election. “Our members still support him very actively, but they will no longer go out into the street and run around in all directions like in 2008”, analyses Maya Samara. “I think however that Barack Obama will win this election by a substantial margin. He needs another mandate to complete his projects” she stated.
Consequences for Switzerland
Concerning international relations, no matter who wins the November 6 election, nothing will really change for Switzerland, except perhaps taxation matters. “If Mitt Romney becomes President of the United States, Swiss bank secrecy will become a minor issue [emphasis mine, original phrase “cadet des souçis”] for the new American government” predicts Ed Flaherty.
“On the other hand, it is probable that he would cut contributions to the UN and other international organizations, which would have a negative effect upon the Geneva economy in the short term” Flaherty said.
Please, any USPs in Switzerland, post your comments to this article on the TdG site at the bottom of the article under “Publier un nouveau commentaire” available via the link http://www.tdg.ch/monde/americains-suisse-roulent-barack-obama/story/20074317, in English if you cannot write in French. Even USPs in Canada and elsewhere should respond to this article in English or French because many of the issues we face in Switzerland are faced by you in similar ways.
Also, as I do not have time this morning, would Francophone and German-Speaking Brockers please scan the Internet for similar articles in Le Temps, Le Matin, Tages Anzeiger and others and place their comments and links back to IBS and ACA, AARO, Maple, etc.
We need to get the attention of the Swiss press and the Swiss people as to our issues and make it clear that Switzerland is not alone on the list of IRS targets: US Persons, whether US Citizens or green card holders, and their families, and ultimately their neighbors, communities, and economies where they live are all affected by US efforts to exact tributes and impose reporting requirements that damage the privacy protections, equal economic oppourtunity guarantees, and sovereignty of all nations.
What really upsets me is that the Swiss press has shed very little light on the real situation of USPs abroad, and their US election coverage seems to have been almost or even completely devoid of coverage of our issues. This is very disappointing. The press in Switzerland, as we have seen in the US and elsewhere, doesn’t seem to understand just how bad the situation is and that 5+ million people are starting to organize themselves to fight the injustices they face. Though a minority, we are increasingly becoming a force to reckon with as we are all in a position to lobby governments around the world to tell Uncle Sam to stop being such a bully.
US Persons in Switzerland are not just UN employees and employees of US corporations with expat packages. There are retired people, people employed locally in Switzerland, small business owners, and families with children and multinational issues. They are the most affected, and their plight must be made known.
In the meantime, those of you Brockers that understand French might be interested in the Swiss French Television’s (RTS) view of why it is always the Democrats and Republicans that we hear about in the elections: http://www.rts.ch/video/info/journal-12h45/4357740-rts-decouverte-se-demande-pourquoi-lors-de-la-campagne-presidentielle-americaine-ce-sont-toujours-les-democrates-et-les-republicains-qui-s-affrontent-au-final.html
*DRS had a survey sometime back on how Swiss would vote. It claimed that I and 1768 Swiss would vote for Obama. This is the first time that I learned that I’m a right-winger, I guess (see green dot).
I don’t know if the published the results, but here are the views of some Americans in Switzerland or duals. They also tend to lean towards Obama:
http://www.drs.ch/www/de/drs/themen/panorama/us-wahlen-1952-2012-der-wahl-kampf-der-bilder/365471.363686.video-portrait-us-amerikaner-in-der-schweiz.html
@SwissPinoy What do Liberal and Conservative mean in the DRS survey cartesian plot? Is the Y axis about personal and family issues and the Links-Rechts (right-left) X axis about economic issues?
*Jefferson D. Tomas, yes, that’s how I’d see it. I’m a fiscal-minded humanitarian individual, so it probably ranked me well in that context.
also don’t forget to flood questions to Larry King for the tuesday presidential debate
http://freeandequal.org/updates/third-party-presidential-debate-october-23-2012/
i believe the deadkine is monday 1pm edt
@Mark Twain. I just tweeted a simple “#AskEmThisLarry What will you do for US citizens abroad who are finding it impossible to keep bank accounts and find work due to FATCA.” Please everybody repeat the same thing and add more questions about double taxation, FBAR penalties, citizenship issues, exchange rates, or whatever…. Even if somebody has already asked the same question, it makes since for everyone to repeat it (if they agree with the question) in order to receive an answer, this should increase the chance of the question getting asked.
Thanks Mark Twain for the heads up on this, it would sure be good to get some coverage via Larry.
For those who don’t tweet, this might work:
http://freeandequal.org/contact/
Just mark it as a question for the debate.
Thanks, Mark Twain.
All, The debate is tonight (Monday, October 22, this side of the world), 9:00 – 10:30 EDT.
•America’s role in the world
•Our longest war – Afghanistan and Pakistan
•Red Lines – Israel and Iran
•The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – I
•The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – II
•The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World
*For what it’s worth, I sent a tweet:
*calgary411, awesome! It looks like Americans abroad are the main discussion, but maybe I need glasses because I can’t see any mention of them. I should bet a bunch of money that expats won’t be mentioned, given that they never are.
@mark twain
Yes, thanks for the link. I have been meaning to find it, as I knew this was going to be done on Tuesday, the day after the Rep/Dem Duopoly Debate. I too have tweeted as you suggested, and will submit a question online too. I am busy right now this morning, but maybe we should make this a separate post for visibility? Anyone? I will try to get back to it, if not done.
Remember we are not talking about the Obamney Comedy Show on Monday night. This is the one where all six top candidates were invited (although Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum declined.
This is the subversive debate, which the mainstream isn’t allowed to transmit according to their exclusive contract with the Obamney Comedy Show.
Larry King to Moderate Third-Party Presidential Debate
By aaron On October 17, 2012 · 59 Comments
Broadcast Live on Ora TV, YouTube on October 23; Hosted by Free & Equal Elections Foundation
Free and Equal Elections Foundation, the only organization offering a platform to every major candidate, today announced that Larry King, host of Larry King Now on Hulu.com and Ora TV, will serve as moderator for its special 2012 Presidential debate. Hosted by Free and Equal, this debate will take place on October 23 at 9:00pm EDT at the Hilton Chicago. Ora TV, Russia Today, and the Free and Equal Elections Foundation will broadcast the debate live on the Internet.
I live in Switzerland and voted Romney!
*Here’s what I found so far. Most of them I already read and some of them may be duplicates:
These are some older ones from previous elections:
Amerikaner in der Schweiz sind Bush-müde
http://bazonline.ch/ausland/uswahlen-2008/news/Amerikaner-in-der-Schweiz-sind-Bushmuede/story/16658847
US-Wähler in der Schweiz
http://www.migrosmagazin.ch/menschen/portraet/artikel/us-waehler-in-der-schweiz
Expats in der Schweiz: Fremde Kollegen
http://www.bilanz.ch/management/expats-der-schweiz-fremde-kollegen
Amerikaner in der Schweiz
http://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=c48df520-7970-4ab0-ab9a-70835029ce72
Amerikaner in der Schweiz
http://www.clack.ch/ressort/artikel/Leben/835/hollywood_in_der_schweiz
Immer mehr Amerikaner in der Schweiz
http://www.stoehlker.ch/weblog/2006/08/30/immer-mehr-amerikaner-in-der-schweiz/
Time to vote: US-Amerikaner in der Schweiz. Some are talking in English, others in Swiss.
Flashback from 2008 and every other election I can possibly remember:
THEY TELL YOU WHO IS GOING TO WIN, OR WHO SUPPORTS WHO, JUST TO INFLUENCE YOUR OWN OPINION. I’ve seen this everywhere, about 5/3 in maor media “supported” Obama last Friday. Just follow the links from here to the MSM sources and you will see it too.
*This one just came in today on Mexico:
It’s so nice, innocent and cozy, that one could almost think that Mexico is New Mexico! At least Mexico is not “offshore”.
Views in England, France and Lebanon:
I am ashamed to admit that I was once an Obama supporter and worse, I was a member of the Democrats Abroad. Admittedly, he was lying to us and we wanted to believe the lies after the misery of the Bush years and Charles Grassley. Also, Palin was a serious threat and a clear sign that the GOP were plain stupid.
I hope that the Democrats lose – for our sake, I hope that happens. However, if they win, I hope that the FEIE is revoked. This will wipe out half of the Dems Abroad in Geneva. They aare so smug. We begged them to listen to us about FATCA at the Tim Kaine event, but the leadership shut us down. It is too late now. If the FEIE is revoked, these NGO employees willl go back to the US with very large tax bills on their heads thanks to the Democratic party. It will change the face of politics abroad.
take heart. According to the mooderator and tweedle dee and tweedle dum at the foreign affairs debate last night, neither Europe, Canada, or Australia exist. The only thing left now is USA, Iran, China, Israel, Syria, and Afghanistan (we can forget about Iraq now). So, unless you live in those places, you have nothing to worry about.
*American voters in Israel:
read more: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161281#.UIe-bYb8_E0
*Swiss ambassador is voting for Obama so that he can keep his job:
«Wenn Romney siegt, muss ich wohl gehen»
24. Oktober 2012 07:19
Translation:
US citizens can hardly open a bank account because of the tax dispute.
We are confronted with this theme daily. We understand that Swiss financial institutions are nervous about the new US regulations. But, we hope that bilateral agreements will solve this soon.
Do you have a Swiss bank account?
Yes, with Credit Suisse. I use that to pay my bills.
That’s about 156700 unfortunate US souls in Germany who are said to be voting. I scanned through the article and didn’t see any fancy keywords. It seems to be the typical US partisan propaganda. The only thing that might be of interest to some bored individual is the “US Embassy Election 2012 School Project“.
Vidéo. Deux regards d’expatriés sur l’élection américaine
http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/67adc29c-2357-11e2-b0ef-8c68a7e044bf/Deux_regards_dexpatri%C3%A9s_sur_l%C3%A9lection_am%C3%A9ricaine#.UJH4xYaSPE0
Blog. L’Amérique dans tous ses Etats
Page spéciale. Présidentielle américaine
These links are from:A Genève, quatre visages de l’Amérique
An interesting American view from Jakarta. I would agree with the view if I ignored the financial issues like how they are ignored in the article:
This is where the demorepublican monarchy benefits the most. People justify their vote for the dictator by totally ignoring the issues which would strongly question such justifications.