'I THINK THAT THIS IS BLACKMAIL'
On June 26, Christoph Blocher discussed his political views with BUSINESS WEEK Frankfurt bureau chief Thane Peterson.
Q: You're essentially a businessman. Why also be a politician?
A: Because I'm an independent industrialist, I can bring a different point of view to politics. I think it's important to have entrepreneurs in Parliament, because politicians like to collect taxes and spend money, and entrepreneurs have to work for their money and pay taxes.
Q: Why were you against Switzerland associating with the European Union?
A: The EU is a very centralized, bureaucratic organization that likes to spend a lot of money and wants everyone to live in the same way. Switzerland has grown strong through the free market and free trade....We want to have relations with the EU, but also with America and Asia. Plus, if decisions are made in Brussels, those decisions can no longer be made in Switzerland. More and more of Switzerland's direct democracy will be lost.
Q: Let's talk about the Nazi gold question. Why are you so opposed to the $5 billion fund to compensate victims of the war and others?
A: First of all, Switzerland did not take part in World War II. Our army and neutral policy kept the Germans from invading. Another reason is that certain groups of people in New York want to take money from Switzerland. [New York Senator Alfonse] D'Amato is acting as a helper to the World Jewish Congress, Mr. [Edgar] Bronfman, etc. They have accused Switzerland and said that we must pay. And that if we don't pay, they threaten that Switzerland's reputation will be damaged. I think that this is blackmail.
Q: When you say what you said about the World Jewish Congress, you sound like an anti-Semite. In the U.S., people may think you are.
A: I'm no anti-Semite. You can be sure of that. I'm against blackmail, be it from a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, or a nihilist. No one has the right to blackmail a country. It is not the Jews in general who are doing it. It is an organization, and that is something entirely different. For me, an anti-Semite is someone who has contempt for Jews because of their religion, their culture. That I am not. I reject the demands of the World Jewish Congress not because they are Jews, but in spite of the fact that they are Jewish.
Q: Why risk offending people when your company is expanding in the U.S.?
A: I love Switzerland. And I'm for what's right and just. And I believe that the majority of Americans, as far as I know them, respect that. If people are always afraid of the disadvantages [of speaking out], no one will take the risk of fighting for what is right.
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