I am not going to mention any names here, but paying for your mistress’s flat, your Havana cigar habit, your girl friend’s jewellery and dining on champagne and caviar from the public purse proves that democracy is as corrupt as any ‘ocracy’ or ‘ism.

We are so easily fooled every time we are asked to vote and choose between one, two or possibly three equally lying and corrupt career politicians who in fact all belong to the same venal club. The ruling elite. Really is there any difference between the old Rhodesia under Ian Smith or the newer Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe? Think about it? What has really changed?

While our current bunch of world leaders generally give an outward veneer of respectability, you do not have to scratch too deep to find greed, sleaze, pay-offs and half, if not full untruths. Freedom, liberty, human rights, equality and truth are all very negotiable and malleable principles for the ‘haut monde’ who still hold dear to the belief that war is still a honourable political tool.

Whether it be Middle East peace, African education, third world poverty, global warming, unchecked industrial pollution or torture and human trafficking, all ‘political lip service’ causes are continually swept aside as there is truly no real political motivation for real action.

The only action you ever see is when something goes astray with the one and only political reality. The economy. Or more precisely, the money that belongs to the ruling elite. If you want to fully understand politics, follow the money trail and forget any fruitless hopes you may have or have had about political fairness or ethical behaviour. It will never, never happen.

Derek's Vandal Blog
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My 2.5 regular readers have probably realised that as an ex- Australian male now reincarnated with a Swiss nationality, I possess all the attributes necessary to claim a chauvinistic title. Misogynist, macho, arrogantly male and patriarchal. But then I moved to Switzerland nearly 10 years ago and changed my outlook. I became even more misogynist, macho and arrogantly male. It was such a natural progression in such a patriarchal country.

However, within a year of moving her, a woman named Micheline Calmy-Rey was elected to a seat in the Swiss Federal Council. Her election also made her the Swiss Foreign Minister. Within days, I realised that this woman was truly remarkable. Now, eight years later I realise I was wrong. She was not remarkable, she was uniquely the only woman I have ever known who has achieved the difficult balance of power, respect and femininity. She is what the feminists of the seventies were fighting for, but never realising what form it should take.

Micheline Calmy-Rey is a mother, grandmother, negotiator, pacifier, and ultimate politician. She infects you with a sense of pride in being Swiss and conveys the reality in what is meant by what we call in Switzerland, active neutrality. When she smiles, you fall in love. When she frowns and scowls, you listen and respect. When she reasons, you cannot help but understand. When she argues, it is with passion and true belief.

In my mind, the one quality that separates Micheline Calmy-Rey from other women in the world who hold political office, is that she never tries to be equal or better than her male colleagues and counterparts. She remains herself and doesn’t enter any form of competition. She is who she is. Take it or leave it. Truly beautiful and feminine smiles that would woo any man within 100 miles, counterpointed with a hard and politically savvy mind that can argue the most difficult political position with aplomb and conviction.

I have argued that the feminists of the seventies won the battles but lost the war. Their achievements were in many ways pyrich. But in Micheline Calmy-Rey I see what true feminism means and how she should be a role model for women who aspire to change the political realty and climate.

If every country in the world had a Micheline Calmy-Rey as their foreign minister, we would see a remarkable and rapid move forward towards true peace and two sided respectful understanding.

The other remarkable quality about Micheline Calmy-Rey is that I trust her. This makes her absolutely unique as a politician in my eyes.

Derek's Vandal Blog
www.derekhaines.ch
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Derek's Author Page