Have you laughed yet today? Or cried? No? Read the following. Then both will happen automatically. Simultaneously.

Switzerland (which has direct democracy, one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and a proportion of foreigners of around 23 percent) was reviewed for the third time last November by the member states of the UN Human Rights Council. Now the 261 (!) recommendations and demands of the keepers of the grail of goodness, based on the review, are available: The Central African Republic considers it urgent to improve the Swiss Equality Act, while Turkey criticises the inadequate protection of minorities and the endangered freedom of expression, and South Africa demands an action plan against racism from the Alpine state. Russia is concerned about the conditions (overcrowding) of Swiss prisons, and Angola is calling for better suicide prevention. Thailand expects more commitment in the fight against sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and Kyrgyzstan expects more commitment on gender issues. Mongolia wants more women at the decision-making level, and Iran is concerned about the lack of equality in wage matters. South Africa calls for human rights training for government officials. The Republic of Moldova wants paid paternity leave for Swiss men, China sees a need for action to protect ethnic minorities, Venezuela is saddened by Swiss police violence, and Egypt is concerned about torture practices in the armed forces and calls for an amendment to the Military Criminal Code.

This is only a small selection. The homily continues in the same way for about 30 pages. As always, the grotesque can only be understood by asking who this paper serves. The answer is as simple as it is shocking: it serves the state, which wants to implement two thirds of this wish list, and the NGOs hanging on its teats, which advise, or rather brief, the members of the UN Security Council. More development aid, more minorities to finance, protect and receive, more state benefits and allowances, more powers for the authorities in all the points mentioned by adapting the penal code.

The only people who gain nothing from this, except further curtailment of their prosperity and freedom, are those who pay for it. The Swiss citizens who do not live on the receiving side of society (civil servants or benefit recipients). In other words, it means what politics always means – more power and personnel for the authorities and more money at the expense of others for the growing army of state addicts (in this case NGOs and individuals). A more accurate and sad description of politics is hard to find.

Translated from eigentümlich frei, where the original article was published on 15th March 2018.