SVP President Marco Chiesa suggests that the SP Federal Council resign
“Berset should draw a line”
The affair about the Corona leaks from the interior department of Alain Berset (50) continues. Now SVP party president Marco Chiesa (48) is making it clear that he believes it would be best for Switzerland if the SP magistrate left office.
Published: 30 minutes ago
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SP Federal Councilor Alain Berset should draw a line for SVP President Marco Chiesa.
Pascal TischhauserDeputy Head of Policy
BLICK: Mr. Chiesa, you say in the “Tages-Anzeiger” that your parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi hastily said that the SVP would re-elect Alain Berset as Federal Councilor. So will your party deny him re-election?
Marco Chiesa: I think it is unlikely that Mr Berset will stand for re-election in December. Switzerland is currently in an institutional crisis. This is due to the information that his former spokesman kept sending the Ringier boss about the corona measures.
Will your party confirm Mr Berset in office, yes or no? If the Greens don’t lose massively, you could prefer a Greens candidacy to the SPler, right?
That’s too hypothetical for me. We don’t know enough yet. As of today, there are only two options: First, Mr. Berset was informed that his spokesman informed Ringier about government activities in advance. Then he has to go. Or secondly, Mr. Berset did not know and did not notice what spokesman Peter Lauener was doing – then he must also take the consequences.
Either way, you are actually asking for Alain Berset’s resignation.
Berset’s withdrawal from government would help. Look to Austria. When Chancellor Sebastian Kurz made his office available, it was a liberation for Austrian politics. What I am currently asking for is complete clarification. If Berset had understandable reasons for his actions, we would like to know them.
I assume that you are also promoting disclosure in the GPK.
Of course, the minutes of Mr Berset’s interrogation must be made public. Just like the data traffic between Mr. Lauener and her boss, Ringier* CEO Marc Walder. And also the exchange between Walder and Berset.
You could get in the way of the judiciary. Shouldn’t this be given priority?
Again: We have a crisis. The population has lost confidence in Alain Berset. The relationship of trust within the Bundesrat has been destroyed. The functioning of this collegial authority is thus called into question. And the reputation of the media has also suffered. If the population distrusts the press, that is a bad assumption. The fourth estate must be independent. In such a situation, transparency is everything. The minutes must be on the table – it’s about our country!
So you believe that the GPK decides to take care of the Corona leaks quickly. Will there even be a PUK?
Fortunately, not only the SVP wants a clarification. Even the Greens have enough. From the leads I have, there is a majority for taking on the case quickly. I don’t think a PUK has no chance either. After all, the GPK is not dealing with Berset for the first time. You shouldn’t be surprised that SP players also admit behind closed doors that they’ve had enough and that Berset’s actions are embarrassing for them. – It can’t go on like this! Berset should draw a line.
*Ringier-Verlag publishes Blick, among other things.