3 December 2015 | As there was nothing to find, Dick Marty found nothing

Dick Marty's investigation therefore ended in huge disappointment for all those who had hoped to find proof that the canton of Valais is riddled with cronyism, wheeling and dealing and favours done for friends in defiance of the law. Not surprisingly, Dick Marty claims the exact opposite. The institutions in Valais work perfectly well. Dominique Giroud has not benefited from any favours, privileges or benevolence on the part of the tax authorities. The same goes for politics. Nothing. Nichts. "Niente', in Dick Marty's language. To illustrate this point, let us quote this extract from the order to close the case: "There is no evidence to support the suspicion that agents of the State have, in any way whatsoever, protected or attempted to shield Dominique Giroud from the tax and legal proceedings" opened against him. This could not be clearer. We take this opportunity to repeat that the courts have, on the contrary, been harsh with Dominique Giroud, making an example of him by convicting him of a criminal offence for an irregularity that has historically been considered benign in Switzerland. And we would like to take this opportunity to repeat that Dick Marty's investigation should never have been launched in the first place. The original complaint was nothing more than the act of a querulous lunatic who ultimately achieved only one thing: to humiliate the Valais and all Valaisans by casting suspicion on them for mafia-like behaviour. A few questions remain unanswered: how much did Dick Marty's stay in Valais cost the Valaisans? So let's give them a hint: rumour has it that it cost 400 hours at CHF 300. Another question: how could this great, supposedly irreproachable and infallible public prosecutor have made such a huge mistake by releasing information that was strictly within Dominique Giroud's private sphere? Was it intentional? Unprofessional (not to say amateurish)? Was it a criminal offence that would be prosecuted ex officio? All these questions are of course of no interest to journalists (the opposite would have been surprising), but they are nonetheless staining Dick Marty's reputation, and one day he will have to answer them officially.