Post date: May 09, 2012 7:20:48 PM
In an interview with Swiss television on Tuesday (May 8), Bachmann - who pulled out of the race in January for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination - laughed when asked if she would run for office in Switzerland.
"There's a lot of competition ... and it would be very stiff because they are very good," she said.
Bachmann, whose husband is Swiss, recently activated her right to become a dual U.S.-Swiss citizen along with three of their five children.
Now a Swiss citizen, Republican U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann jokes about running for office in Switzerland: "There is a lot of competition behind me that I would have to run against."
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MAY 8, 2012) (SWISS TV USA ) - Republican U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, a former White House hopeful and a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, has a new political option: she can run for office in Switzerland.
Bachmann's husband is of Swiss descent so the congresswomen has been eligible for dual-citizenship since they were married in 1978, according to Bachmann's press secretary Becky Rogness. Because some of Bachmann's children also wanted dual-citizenship, they went through the process as a family.
A spokesman at the Swiss embassy said Bachmann had activated that citizenship in March.
When asked about her favorite place in the country she now holds citizenship, Bachmann said, "It is tough to find a place not to like in Switzerland."
"You know, I really have to say that I love going to the Brienzersee and the Thunersee. It is beautiful, but also, my husband's home. My husband is from Maerstetten and Wil, and that is a beautiful area. And, so I love being there as well," she said.
Bachmann added that when she and her family visits Switzerland, they return with big bags of chocolate "and everyone is very happy."