While FIFA continue to battle with snitches that cut deals to save their own backsides (literally yet metastatically, one hears), and after the movie-style orchestrated group-arrests have slowly lost their Zurich lustre, a New FIFA future is nowhere to be detected – as yet.
The call to arms for spaced-out contenders such as Diego Maradona to become the next leader of world football (people seem to have forgotten his past issues in Napoli where he was hit with a £33 million bill by the Italian tax authorities who claim he did not pay taxes – one is reminded again of the rather chunky American who did the same which lifted the lid on his world and that of quite a few others). But what the hell, fantastic. Prince Ali clearly was in the vanguard of transparency, decency and honesty when he shook the hand of that God in Jordan recently. Exactly the type of clean and intelligent leader FIFA now needs if we can’t have the Prince himself.
Meanwhile, “der real existierende FIFA Präsident” continues to sit in his office and prepares for life after FIFA.
For a short moment or two, it seemed that the goodly Swiss – whose recent (well, recent…it has lasted a good decade) pastime has been characterised by bending over to anything that is remotely American – were starting to question the US style approach to “justice” that is being served on them.
Some politicians even dared to raise their voices, thundering (thundering?): “We should not simply have arrested those people based on flimsy US accusations.” One MP went as far on nationwide tv as to say that “Switzerland should have waited to receive detailed information about the alleged wrongdoings, studied them carefully (as the Swiss usually do), before taking any action at all, and never before the FIFA Congress!”
He continued: “Those people could all have been arrested in the US, weeks and months ago, or indeed after the Congress as well: it is known that every single one of them was in the US several times before coming to Zurich! It looks a bit suspicious that the concerted effort of US and Swiss authorities may have been stage-managed like a cheap Hollywood B-movie – and we all fell for it.”
Some goodly Swiss who are now outraged –post factum, when it doesn’t matter anymore, does it? But the Americans have shown them who really wears the lederhosen in their Alpine haven.
They seem to forget that the US regularly arrest Swiss bankers (no, not the top brass, mainly middle management types) who are (or wanted to go) on holiday with their families in the US (what idiot still goes to the US while employed by one of the rapidly dwindling number of Swiss banks), always claiming that there is overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing.
Well, there generally isn’t. But it certainly seems to have been important in the strategic dismantling of the Swiss banking industry. After all, the British and US protected offshore spots must be protected. (Delaware has more offshore entities than any other place on earth, Mr Joe Biden, doesn’t it? And, Mr Vice President: you were pissed off that you lost the bid, were you not? Come on, say it!)
Whichever way one turns it, there is an unpleasant taste left in many a Swiss mouth right now.
Several mainstream media have distanced themselves from what went down a month ago in Zurich. And an increasing number of politicians – of any colour except red, because the socialists just love America and are so happy to see the destruction of their own banks. Isn’t that a bit of a weird one? Socialists love America? Really? Really. It is never about content in politics, as we all know. It is about opportunism and profiling. And personal aggrandizement.
So, stop attacking US, UK and Australian media! Look at yourselves, Switzerland, and do something that seems to be increasingly hard for the Swiss to do: show character. Not opportunism. For once.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734837702labto1734837702ofdlr1734837702owedi1734837702sni@n1734837702osloh1734837702cin.l1734837702uap1734837702