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Lost in translation: Swiss minister under fire for lack of English

Should a Swiss Federal Councillor be able to speak English?

Published: 14 December 2018 11:41 CET
Lost in translation: Swiss minister under fire for lack of English
The Swiss Federal Council with Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr. PETER KLAUNZER / POOL / AFP

Concerns have been raised over the English capabilities of Guy Parmelin, seen fourth from left in the photo above. The politician is a member of Switzerland's seven-member executive known as the Federal Council and he will head up the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) from next year.  

Parmelin's lack of English has been documented in numerous Swiss press articles. 

His responsibilities in his new Federal Council position will include conducting negotiations on free trade agreements with Vietnam, India, Malaysia and the USA. These negotiations are widely expected to be carried out in English.

When asked about his English abilities in 2015, Parmelin, from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, initially tried to answer in English but soon reverted to French. “I can English understand but [continuing in French] I prefer to speak French for clarity,” he said.

Curiously, the second line of his biography page on the Swiss Federal Council website says that he holds a “federal baccalaureate” specialising in Latin and English.

A survey conducted by Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger after the 2015 incident revealed that, of 5,739 responders, more than 77 percent believed Parmelin should be able to speak English.

Parmelin has since said that translators are available to him should he feel the need for one, and that his listening comprehension of English was acceptable. 

“English is a must”

Tim Guldimann, a high ranking Swiss diplomat, told the 20 Minuten news site that speaking English is a “must” for international politicians. He also suggested that Parmelin’s lack of language skills would be a stumbling block for him. “Personal conversations create a relationship of trust,” he said.

“This is much more difficult to build up with an interpreter.”

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Roughly 63 percent of the population is German speaking, and roughly 23 percent are French speaking like Parmelin – who is said to speak “passable” German at best. 

Another Swiss politician, Hans Wicki, who failed in his bid to be elected to the Federal Council this month, has also seen his language skills make the news for the wrong reasons.

In October, while speaking to the media about why he wanted to be on the Federal Council, the first question Wicki faced was about his French abilities.

Like Parmelin, Wicki tried initially to answer in French saying “Yes, of course, I speak French but I am not …” before reverting to German to add “a translator like Karin Keller-Sutter”.

Keller-Sutter, who was elected by parliament to join the Federal Council, is fluent in French and a trained translator and interpreter.

Wicki’s second attempt at speaking French shortly afterwards also ended in German and the story featured in numerous newspapers around Switzerland.   

However, Georg Lutz, a professor of political science at the University of Lausanne, told 20 Minuten that it is not obligatory for Swiss politicians to be multilingual.

“The Constitution does not state that a member of the Federal Council must speak the national languages,” he said.

“But it would be more difficult if you do not have a passive understanding, as everyone speaks their native language.”

Lutz also said that speaking to the public was much easier with multiple languages but added that politicians can usually find a way around these types of problems.

Is the criticism fair?

It may be surprising to some readers that a lack of languages can trigger such news articles. Not too many British or American politicians are known for their abilities with foreign languages.

British Prime Minister Theresa May did speak French following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in January 2018 – though she read from a prepared statement rather than speaking freely.

More recently, the British government made headlines after being mocked by German speaking EU politicians and diplomats for translating Brexit white papers into “unreadable” German.

US President Donald Trump has also tried his hand at Spanish in the past but his efforts have been pilloried by some media outlets, as you can see below.

Former US president Barack Obama has also admitted to not being fluent in any language other than English but did attempt to speak Spanish on occasion while president. 

Perhaps the scrutiny of Parmelin’s English speaking-ability is an indication of Switzerland’s more enthusiastic approach to learning languages.

But then again, according to the 2018 English Proficiency Index, Switzerland is in the second tier of countries when it comes to speaking English as a foreign language.

READ MORE: Why Switzerland still lags behind on English skills 

A former wine maker, Parmelin was elected to the Federal Council in 2015, taking over as the head of the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport in 2016.

It is unclear if he is willing to learn English. So far the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) has defended him, saying that his mother-tongue French is an international language of diplomacy and that Parmelin already conducts talks in English. 

They admit, however, that in certain situations a translator would be required. 

POLITICS

Vital Swiss role as US-Iran go-between, as tensions soar

Washington and Tehran have not had diplomatic relations for decades, but before Iran's attack on Israel they had direct communications through "the Swiss channel".

Published: 15 April 2024 23:19 CEST
Vital Swiss role as US-Iran go-between, as tensions soar

Switzerland represents US interests in Iran, and at times of soaring tensions its role as go- between takes on heightened importance.

The Swiss foreign ministry refused Monday to divulge what actions the country had taken in connection with Iran’s weekend attack on Israel.

But US and Iranian officials alluded to the important role Switzerland was playing as an intermediary.

As Washington engaged in whirlwind efforts prior to the attack to prepare for the expected violence, it sent “a series of direct communications through the Swiss channel”, a senior administration official told AFP.

Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, was more explicit, telling state television that “we sent a message to America through the Swiss embassy that if it cooperates with Israel in their next potential actions, their bases will not be secure”.

 Maintaining relations 

Switzerland, renowned for its neutrality, has been representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.

In its role as the so-called protecting power, Switzerland has for decades allowed the two feuding nations to maintain a minimum of diplomatic and consular relations.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles all consular affairs between the United States and Iran, including passport requests, altering civil status and consular protection for US citizens in Iran.

Under the protecting power mandate, Switzerland allows “states to maintain low-level relations and provide consular protection to nationals of the other state concerned”, the foreign ministry explains on its website.

“Switzerland can either offer to act as a go-between on its own initiative or can fulfil this function at the request of the parties concerned, provided that all those involved agree,” it added.

Switzerland has often had to play the go-between role.

The country has on several occasions in recent years mediated in prisoner exchanges between Iran and the United States.

Iran’s interests in the United States are meanwhile represented by Pakistan.

Switzerland also exercises a range of other protecting power mandates.

It represents Iran’s interests in Egypt and Canada.

And it represented Iran’s interests in Saudi Arabia for five years before the two countries resumed diplomatic relations last year.

Saudi has not yet formally terminated Switzerland’s protecting power mandate, so Bern still handles its consular services in Iran.

And until 2015, it represented US interests in Cuba and Cuban interests in the United States.

Switzerland first acted as a protecting power in the 19th century. It looked after the interests of the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Baden in France during the 1870-71 Franco- Prussian War.

During World War II, Switzerland’s neutral status paved the way for it to be the main protecting power, representing the interests of 35 states, including the major warring powers, with more than 200 individual mandates.

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