Last month we reminded you of the upcoming “Save Our Swiss Gold†initiative in Switzerland. This is a direct democracy vote in Switzerland that, if passed, would force the Swiss government to amend its constitution with respect to the way the Swiss National Bank (SNB) operates. These are the major points:
- SNB will repatriate and store all Swiss gold reserves in Switzerland.
- SNB will purchase gold until it makes up 20% of their reserves (currently 7.8%), and it must maintain this level of gold reserves.
- SNB can no longer sell gold reserves.
Switzerland used to be the first country that came to mind when it came to stable currencies and gold holdings. But things have really gone down hill since the turn of the millennium, as you can see in the chart below. It shows the dramatic amount of gold the SNB has sold off since 2000 – well over half of its holdings.
The vote to “Save Our Swiss Gold†will take place on November 30th, and it has garnered more media attention in the last week. We’ve gathered together some of the highlights from the headlines. At the bottom of this post, watch a speech by Lukas Reimann to the Swiss Parliament. Reimann is a member of the Swiss People’s Party – the party presenting “Save Our Swiss Goldâ€. His speech is an excellent summary of the effects of monetary manipulation on currencies and why it is so important that currencies be pegged to hard assets like gold and silver. A full English transcript is provided.
The Daily Mail reprinted a Reuters story reporting on the latest poll of public sentiment regarding the Swiss gold initiative. The numbers are still too close to call:
The SVP gold initiative is opposed by the Swiss government, the central bank and several influential parties. The poll showed support at 45 percent, short of the majority needed for passage. Some 39 percent opposed the initiative, while 16 percent of voters were undecided. Support for such initiatives tends to weaken in the run-up to the vote, as opposition campaigners step up their activities.â€
