Switzerland: Referendum on ban of gold sales by SNB+storage only in CH+min. 20% gold res.

This is not breaking news (it hit Swiss papers on 9-20-2011), but I´m sure it´s news for you guys.
Preface: Switzerland has a system of direct democracy. The people can demand a referendum on all new federal laws. Changes of the federal constitution are always subject of a referendum. The Swiss constitution offers the institution of a "constitutional initiative". If a certain number of people sign a petition to change the constitution, then a nationwide referendum will be held.
Recently, the Swiss Peoples Party (SVP), mainly a neocon collectivist party, has launched a constitutional initiative to ban gold sales by the Swiss central bank (SNB), to require the SNB to hold at least 20% of it´s assets in gold, and to store all Swiss gold in Switzerland. This is obviously a great idea. I´m actively trying to get signatures right now, although I´m not a member of this party and I think most of their positions are terrible. I´m confident that we´ll get enough signatures (100000 required by march 2013) to have a referendum. Most political parties will not support our cause, but the Swiss people have prooven that they´re voting against their politicains if they think a certain cause is just.
The icing on the cake is that - if passed - the initiative could cost us our IMF membership, because it effectively means instituting a partial gold standard (20% of the SNB assests in gold, all the time) which is prohibited for IMF members.

Official text of the initiative, translated by microsoft:

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Federal popular initiative 'Save our Swiss Gold (gold initiative)'
I

The Federal Constitution1 is amended as follows:

Article 99 (new) Gold reserves of the Swiss National Bank

1 The gold reserves of the Swiss National Bank are not for sale.

2 The gold reserves of the Swiss National Bank must be stored in Switzerland.

3 The Swiss National Bank has to keep their assets to a large extent in gold. The gold content shall be not less than twenty percent.

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http://www.microsofttranslator.com/b...2fvis415t.html

I got scared by the phrase "ban of gold sales." Great news!

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Originally Posted by swissaustrian

The icing on the cake is that - if passed - the initiative could cost us our IMF membership, because it effectively means instituting a partial gold standard (20% of the SNB assests in gold, all the time) which is prohibited for IMF members.

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Good luck! Wish someone would revoke our membership to the fucking Fed.

I wish you and your countrymen (and women) much luck and success.

explain how SVP is neocon?

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Originally Posted by The_Ruffneck

explain how SVP is neocon?

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They love big government and special interests:
- farm subsidies
- in bed with the banking industry, their biggest donors
- running on a platform of xenophobia, especially against Muslims and Germans. They´ve initiated a referendum to ban minarettes from Switzerland which was actually passed. This is against the principle of private property.
- they LOVE the drug war and demand tougher sanctions.
- They´re anti gay.

To be fair: they´re for sound money, low taxes, and national souvereignty. But that´s all you can like about them.

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Originally Posted by Bern

I wish you and your countrymen (and women) much luck and success.

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This ^, although I'm sure that if you find enough signatures the corporate media will throw everything including the kitchen sink at the Swiss public to get the referendum to fail.

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Originally Posted by hazek

This ^, although I'm sure that if you find enough signatures the corporate media will throw everything including the kitchen sink at the Swiss public to get the referendum to fail.

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There will be one big newspaper pushing for it, because it´s basicly a mouthpiece for the party which is sponsoring the referendum.
Additionally, there will be a fair discussion on public television which is the only nationwide television we have.
I´m not so sure that this thing can be killed by the media.

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Originally Posted by swissaustrian

They love big government and special interests:
- farm subsidies
- in bed with the banking industry, their biggest donors
- running on a platform of xenophobia, especially against Muslims and Germans. They´ve initiated a referendum to ban minarettes from Switzerland which was actually passed. This is against the principle of private property.
- they LOVE the drug war and demand tougher sanctions.
- They´re anti gay.

To be fair: they´re for sound money, low taxes, and national souvereignty. But that´s all you can like about them.

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It was funny to get the SVP propagabda piece "The Truth About Foreigners" in my mail box. As in this case, not all of the SVP platform is stupid - I'd be more of an FDP type anyway.

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Originally Posted by swissaustrian

There will be one big newspaper pushing for it, because it´s basicly a mouthpiece for the party which is sponsoring the referendum.
Additionally, there will be a fair discussion on public television which is the only nationwide television we have.
I´m not so sure that this thing can be killed by the media.

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I hope you're right!

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Originally Posted by Pericles

It was funny to get the SVP propagabda piece "The Truth About Foreigners" in my mail box. As in this case, not all of the SVP platform is stupid - I'd be more of an FDP type anyway.

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Yep, me too. But sadly FDP is just a sellout to the highest bidder. They´ve lost their way :(

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Originally Posted by swissaustrian

Yep, me too. But sadly FDP is just a sellout to the highest bidder. They´ve lost their way :(

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Back when they were technology, trade, and tourism, there was some hope.

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The icing on the cake is that - if passed - the initiative could cost us our IMF membership, because it effectively means instituting a partial gold standard (20% of the SNB assests in gold, all the time) which is prohibited for IMF members.

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Switzerland doesn't need the Zionist controlled, parasitic IMF, formely headed by super freak Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

It's the other way around: the IMF needs Switzerland.

Well. I rather actual deregulation, not reregulation.

I asked a contact of mine who is a well known reporter in Switzerland and this is what they replied with:

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The article about the gold ist true.

If you have any kind of political idea in Switzerland you are free to start to collect signatures.

If you reach 100 000 signatures of supporters within one year there will be a votation about it.

But these guys still seem to be 10 000 signatures short.

And the fact that you are collecting signatures doesn't mean that the country "Switzerland" is pro or against something. Only the votation will show.

And there are always dozens of signatures-collecting-campaignss going on in this country anytime about anything.

Cheers

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I find it astounding that the IMF bans it's parners from gold standards of any sort. What a rotten institution.

"Hi, I'm here for global banking stability - but you're not aloud to use the most stable form of money."

Come on Swiss people's, get this to a referendum.

"bring back our gold" is a popular message, as we see in Germany.

Wouldn't this just undo what a referendum in 2000 did? The Franc used to be 40% gold backed.

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Originally Posted by Confederate

Wouldn't this just undo what a referendum in 2000 did? The Franc used to be 40% gold backed.

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The referendum in 2000 was about the usage of money for the Swiss social security fund (AHV) which was to be made from gold sales, not about the gold backing of the CHF. The technical gold backing was abandoned in the mid 1990s when we joined the IMF. We were the last country on the planet with a statutory gold backing.

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Originally Posted by swissaustrian

The referendum in 2000 was about the usage of money for the Swiss social security fund (AHV) which was to be made from gold sales, not about the gold backing of the CHF. The technical gold backing was abandoned in the mid 1990s when we joined the IMF. We were the last country on the planet with a statutory gold backing.

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When would the referendum happen? In a way you can only "hope" that all the inflation the Swiss central bank created when it tried to bring down the exchange rate will materialize in prices before people have to vote. That would make it much more likely that you succeed.

Even if a currency is "backed" by a PM, for it to really matter, the paper must be convertible or redeemable in that PM.

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Originally Posted by Danan

When would the referendum happen? In a way you can only "hope" that all the inflation the Swiss central bank created when it tried to bring down the exchange rate will materialize in prices before people have to vote. That would make it much more likely that you succeed.

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It usually takes a few months of preparations, but certainly within 9 months from now.
I think the most valuable argument for the initiative is that the gold should be stored inside the country, so raising awareness that it is not seems crucial to me. Inflation would be beneficiary, too. I don't think it's going to materialize soon enough, though.

We got the 100000 signatures. The Swiss people are probably going to vote on the issue during the second half of the year. It would be a binding vote, ie the intiative has to be implemented unconditionally if accepted.

Article out of a Swiss news paper called 20 minutes, translated by bing. SVP means Swiss peoples party, comparable to mainline conservatives in the US. The SVP has a more liberatrian leaning wing, though. I am NOT a member:

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Gold initiative to be voted on by the people
The [Swiss] National Bank should bring back all their gold reserves in the Switzerland and buy hundreds of tons of the precious metal - the [political] rights party SVPs latest initiative is hotly disputed.

The gold initiative from SVP circles has concluded collecting signatures: this was confirmed by Ulrich Schlüer, co-President of the initiative Committee, that more than one month prior to the deadline more than 100000 signatures have been collected. Thus the people can vote on the three demands of the Committee: firstly, the National Bank (SNB) must bring back all the gold stored in foreign countries, in the Switzerland. Secondly, she can sell in the future no ounce of the metal. And thirdly, the SNB must ensure that it has at least one-fifth of its assets are in gold.
Former member of parliament Schlüer explained it had been a big mistake, that the SNB has sold most of their gold in recent years. The now required reserves would serve to guarantee the stability of the franc - and to secure also the pensions and to prevent a "cold reduction of saleries [via inflation]". Investments in gold are safer than those in foreign currencies such as the euro, «which you don't know if it still exists in a year». The former Zurich banking Professor Hans Geiger, also SVP member, added: «the current monetary system is ill - gold, however, is a long-term safe value.»

Price of gold might fall

Here, the Fribourg Professor for Economics Reiner Eichenberger puts a big question mark. Currently, the price of gold is high, because in the face of the crisis in Europe, many people bought the value metal. But that could change quickly, the bubble could burst: «panic sales would fall rapidly the value of gold.» Also, the gold could be obtained easier from the ground - these amounts increase would also in the long term lead to a loss of wealth. And to a loss for the SNB.

Eichenberger criticized also the absolute ban on gold sales in the initiative. For the support of the Swiss franc, the SNB swelled their balance sheet by buying up euros to around 500 billion Swiss francs. In order to fulfil the initiative, at least 100 billion in gold should be on the balance sheet - about twice as much as there is today. If the National Bank were to shrink the balance sheet to 250 billion, for example, the proportion of gold would rise to 40 per cent - finds Eichenberger. However, this effect is very desired by the initiators: «The higher the price of gold, the SNB more credible can occur», says Ulrich Schlüer.

Two problematic variants [Note by SA: this is pure rubbish]

To achieve the 20 percent share of gold, there were two ways that might cause both problems. Either print fifty billion Swiss francs, the SNB and thus buys the gold. This measure increases the risk of inflation. Or it sells euros worth around for 50 billion francs to the market. As a result it would but weaken the euro and indirectly the franc strengthen – exactly the opposite of what the guardians of monetary policy want to.

The initiative meets skepticism accordingly with FDP [liberal democrat] economic policymaker Ruedi Noser.

«Had it been in place during the euro crisis, the euro/CHF exchange rate would have been down to 50 cent [instead of 1:1]», says Noser - which would mean the death knell for the Swiss export economy. «Switzerland navigates the Euro crisis well, in part thanks to the excellent monetary policy of the National Bank», emphasises the Zurich IT entrepreneur. «We must not restrict this freedom of action for the SNB ever.»

SVP leadership stands behind initiative

The SNB (Swiss National Bank) would not comment on the initiative this time. But it is an open secret that it would not support it. Ulrich Schlüer is still optimistic that he can bring also some representatives of the Center parties on board in addition to the previous allies of EDU (protestant democrats union) and Swiss Democrats.

There are no party grandees in the commitee of the initiative. But according to Mr Schlür, this is normal, if it is not an official initiative of the party. «I don't doubt for a moment that the party leadership will support us in the voting fight such as in ealier initiatives.»

Additional effort was necessary

To reach the barrier of 100 000 signatures, in recent weeks a special effort was necessary. The initiators have benefited from the fact that the SVP has currently no another referendum at the collection stage: thus, numerous sections of the party could go in January and February on signature hunt. In addition, unnamed donors :o have opened the casket and allowed the initiators to enclose the signature sheets into various print media.

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http://www.microsofttranslator.com/b...-Volk-20606238

http://www.sovereignman.com/importan...itizens-10958/

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World’s biggest gold storage company dumps US citizens

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