Posted on 01/07/2015 5:29:52 AM PST by DeaconBenjamin
US Ambassador to Switzerland Suzi LeVine is being accused of violating diplomatic etiquette by posting critical comments about Swiss ski resorts on her Facebook page.
“I’m trying to understand the chaos in the lift lines at Swiss ski resorts,” LeVine wrote after spending New Year’s Day at the Adelboden ski resort in the Bernese Oberland.
She said she and her family enjoyed a great day at the resort “but I was so puzzled by the scrum heading to the lift (and the inefficiency in terms of how many people were on each lift)”.
LeVine, a former Microsoft employee and Democratic party fund raiser who took up her duties as ambassador in June last year, then sought feedback with questions about whether there was an optimal way to navigate the lift line and “are there specific Swiss resorts doing it best?”
The Blick newspaper said such comments amounted to snubbing Switzerland.
“Ambassadors tell their governments about their host country — in secret dispatches,” the German-language tabloid said.
But they rarely snub the country in public, it said.
The newspaper said LeVine, 42, made matters worse by trying to “round up criticism” about Switzerland by asking readers to share their lift line experiences, good, bad or indifferent, although she did not restrict the issue to Swiss resorts.
Blick said the ambassador’s remarks were an attack on Switzerland’s winter tourism.
The newspaper sought a response from Switzerland Tourism director Jürg Schmid.
“I talked to the ambassador and advised her to wait until the end of the season before drawing a final conclusion about the organization of Swiss ski resorts,” Schmid is quoted as saying.
He also added that the Swiss ski resorts were “not elitist”, unlike those in the US.
LeVine, contacted by Blick, said she did not know whether the ski lift criticism was appropriate for a US ambassador.
But she told the newspaper that social media was a suitable place for serious social dialogue.
She said from her experience Switzerland is “very well organized” but she wanted to know why ski lifts are organized differently in Switzerland than in America.
“I have received some excellent advice.”
Levine is guest speaker at an upcoming luncheon of the American International Club of Geneva on January 15th at the Hôtel Intercontinental.
This administration excels in lack of etiquette. It is one of the few things they are good at.
It’s too bad you can’t pick ambassadors for their skill at performing the job of being ambassadors. Oh wait, you could, if you weren’t just trying to make America look bad.
Many of the lifts are in remote areas on the mountains and are not manned. Your pass is coded that you insert into a turnstyle sort of gate to enter an area to get on the lift. There are no cattle corrals or other designs to make order. One must stand their ground to get on. Your brand new skis will be run over by the Europeans.
I prefer to use cable cars or mountain trains when possible. It is more civilized.
Looks like Janet Reno as a yute.
Huh???
.. because it is wrong to criticize their ski industry but not wrong for them to say things like that about ours.
I’m not a fan of the President or his ambassadorial minions, but this is less than a non-story.
It’s not a Swiss thing, it’s a Euro Thing. If you are in line and they can push you out of the way and get ahead of you they will. Austria, Germany, Switzerland, all the same, aggressive ski lift lines.
LOL! Can’t wait for the daytime soap opera producer to take her new job as ambassador to Dumbassistan or wherever she’s bound. These folks are so knowledgeable don’t you know.
Been there, done that too.
Thanks for stating the obvious.
There fixed that line.
She could launch herself into orbit with those ears.
LOL! Been to Aspen?
“The ambassador acted stupidly.”
Does anyone know how many of Obama’s ambassadors are gay? He is actively exporting homosexuality and some countries do not appreciate it. The destruction by Obama, to America’s credibility in the world, continues at breakneck speed.
Why is a US ambassador posting things on Facebook to begin with? Especially her opinions of her host country. Does everyone have to let the whole world know their opinion on every single thing they encounter every day?
The whole sport is elitist and expensive. Never could understand getting on two sticks and going down a mountain in the cold.
I was recently discussing this with my children, how queuing up in line is essentially an ANGLO concept and for the most part not found anywhere else in the world.
She sure sounds to me like a coddled American in Switzerland complaining about luxury problems. Poor thing.
Well, you are correct to a point. It is expensive these days but fun for a lot of folks. Sadly, after my back surgery, I probably won’t be trekking up the mountains any more for any skiing. :>{
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.