Switzerland's Social Democratic foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has a subtle approach to the issues that fall within her area of responsibility. When it is a matter of deciding between Swiss business interests and the upholding of human rights, her answer is: "we can do both!" The latest example is the gas deal between the Laufenberg Electricity Company (EGL) and Iran that was signed last week in Tehran in the foreign minister's presence. Calmy-Rey let it be known that she used the visit to Tehran to explain matters of particular concern to her: among them the "pursuit of the human rights dialogue between Switzerland and Iran." For two hours, she debated with her Iranian colleagues about controversial issues like the death penalty and corporal punishment and she sharply denounced Tehran's anti-Israeli rhetoric. And then she gave way to the representatives of Swiss industry, who were able to sign the gas contract without Tehran being required to make any political concessions. Thus Iran will be selling around $1 billion in gas per year to the Swiss company for the next 25 years.
Gas from the Mullahs: Micheline Calmy-Rey and the Swiss-Iranian Gas Deal
