The second shoe drops

... or the third, as the case may be, but that would be spoiling the picture, wouldn't it?

Anyway, I just received news that I have been elected. What to? I have been elected to be a member of the communal "Wahlbuero", which is the committee tallying votes on elections and referenda. And there's quite a few of those in Switzerland, every quarter or so. So, it's actually quite a responsible job, although naturally underrated. We'll see. Surprisingly enough, I have made 141 votes. That's not bad on a population of some 1500 souls with maybe 900 eligible to vote, is it.

Talking of politics: I really don't like the outcome of today's federal referenda. Clearly, this country is going to the dogs. We were not even able to lower taxes in a very moderate way, even though Switzerland holds the less than favourable OECD record on growth of the rate of Government spending compared to GDP. And that's disastrous - envy and vested interests ("Kantoenligeist" for you Swiss out there) roam all over the place. And the changes of the second pillar haven't gone through either. The fact that the VAT raise also received the boot was only consequential, although it wouldn't have surprised me if we had voted to raise it anyway, just for good measure. How did Max Weber put it so succinctly - "Politik ist das langsame Bohren dicker Bretter" (politics is like drilling bulky boards very slowly)? In the case of Switzerland, those boards seem to be particularly thick ...

But enough of those disgruntled mutterings already. Happy Birthday, Lili!