SWITZERLAND

By Adam Zagorin/Washington

The land that gave birth to the cuckoo clock seems finally to have figured out what time it is. Switzerland's new ambassador in Washington, Alfred Defago, has correctly deduced that he needs the best p.r. advice Swiss francs can buy. So he has turned to Jay Footlik, who recently rounded off more than three years as the Clinton White House's chief liaison to America's Jewish community. Footlik has begun helping the envoy orchestrate a campaign of meetings with Jewish groups that began shortly before the High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

A handsome, 31-year-old former actor, Footlik appeared in several forgettable 1980s flicks, including Teen Wolf, with Michael J. Fox, and Iron Eagle, with Louis Gossett Jr., as well as in TV ads for McDonald's and American Airlines. He recently helped pave the way for Defago to appear before the Chicago Board of Rabbis and admit to Switzerland's numerous transgressions during and after World War II. So far, the new ambassador's shtick is playing a lot better than that of his predecessor, Carlo Jagmetti, who resigned in disgrace after saying that Switzerland was in a war it must "fight and win" and that its critics "cannot be trusted."

--By Adam Zagorin/Washington