To name a blog about life in Switzerland “Inside the Outsider” seemed an obvious choice.
Mine is an “insider” attempt to observe, reason upon and describe the peculiarities of my adoptive land.
The “Outsider” is Switzerland itself. A country which, for a number of reasons, is seen by many as “self-isolating”, having remained outside the Great War, the EU and the credit crunch (well, almost).
Despite all, Switzerland has maintained a low profile and has managed to stay out of the (international) public eye. Until today, when Swiss authorities have decided, with no little controversy, to arrest Hannibal Gaddafi and director Roman Polanski ... just after having made a colossal faux pas with the US government, thanks to banking giant UBS.
Isolation, a dear self-inflicted pain, is often seen as precious privilege. Swiss banks, the world's best kept secret, have “finally” been revealed, their (wrong) doings exposed, condemned, shamed. Thus suddenly, the outsider has found itself “off-side”. What good will isolation do, now?
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