Everything Is Derivative --- Political Rap in Switzerland

A lovely trilingual country with cowbells ringing in distant mountain valleys, trains that run on time and bars that close at 7pm. I was struck by an article in today's NYTimes by Michael Kimmelman "In Quiet Switzerland, Outspoken Rapper Takes On the Far Right." I was drawn to the piece since it's always been a personal fascination to see how various American cultural icons are interpreted by other countries. There's the Harajuku section in Tokyo where on Sundays Japanese youth dress up in 1950s US-inspired vintage outfits or have you ever heard rock-n-roll tunes sung by the French? Ugh, sorry, but nobody does it better.

Though expecting to see how the Swiss wrecked rap, I was surprised to see another facet of American life: how the bully pulpit of the ultranationalist Swiss People's Party under the leadership of Christoph Blocher who won the highest percentage in the last election, modeled its "bully" platform on the American model. "We call it the Americanization of of Swiss politics. Crime has remained the same in recent years, but Blocher and his allies cultivate a sense of insecurity by running a permanent political campaign, particularly against immigrants, and this resonates with Swiss people who fear change...," according to University of Geneva political science chair Pascal Sciarini. Osama bin Laden's name even came up. Another part of their platform is that the left controls both the arts and universities, and so "...there needs to be a counter model, more American, with private foundations, not public subsidies..."

Yikes, this is deja vu all over again, to borrow Yogi Berra's famous quote.

So, 30-year-old Stress, as he calls himself, has made some noise by taking on the political establishment. One line goes "My Switzerland doesn't see mosques and minarets as threats." Ironic that he's an immigrant, was employed by a multinational firm and is married to a former Miss Switzerland.

And though his last album went double platinum, I'm afraid to listen to it.

Maryann McKenzie