Transparency demanded – zero francs indicated: SP Bern hides its donations

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Bern was the first Swiss city to introduce party funding transparency rules. Those eligible to vote approved the corresponding proposal in 2020 with a record 88.4 percent yes vote. At the time, the SP presented itself as the main fighter for transparent finances.

Now the parties are providing insight into their treasury for the first time. At the beginning of this week, the city published the figures for 2022. One party stands out as needy: while the Greens (Green Alliance), for example, received 23,200 francs in donations, the strongest party, the SP, declared 0 francs.

So did the SP not receive any donation last year? not really. The party probably used a trick. The urban SP is divided into neighborhood sections, SP co-chair Lena Allenspach explains. The donations of the SP Stadt Bern go through these district sections – but their accounts are not shown. It is therefore unclear how much the party received in donations.

The SVP is outraged by the SP’s actions: “I cannot take this trick seriously,” Thomas Fuchs (57), chairman of the SVP City of Bern, told Blick. “The SP really wanted these rules and does not adhere to them, that is a bad joke.” His party reported donations of CHF 3,530.

The SP defends itself against the allegations that it does not want to make its donations public: “We have seven SP sections in the city and it was unclear how to specify the sections organized as independent associations,” says Allenspach. That’s why we’re still in contact with the city. “Transparency is very important to us and we try to make the information correct,” said the SP boss.

Upon request, the city of Bern makes it clear that donations must also be disclosed to neighborhood departments. This is indicated on the registration form. “The city chancellery is in contact with the SP to clarify this and to clean up the declaration,” she said when asked.

Less income due to transparency rules

SVP-Fuchs is also annoyed that his party’s new transparency rules not only required a lot of work, but also brought in less money from the SVP fundraising campaign: “There was a baker from a left-wing neighborhood who feared that they would receive negative feedback if it became known that they has sympathy for the SVP.” That is why the bakery did not donate anything to the SVP last year. He estimates that the party lost 30,000 francs due to the new rules.

The Bern rules state that the parties must publish the name of the sponsor for donations of CHF 5,000 or more. In addition, any donation in the range of CHF 1,000 to CHF 5,000 must be reported. However, the name of the donor need not be stated.

But even the bourgeois parties have brutally circumvented the transparency rules of the city of Bern. At the end of December 2022, a committee consisting of SVP, FDP and Mitte registered three donations of CHF 4999.50 each within a few days. To ensure that the names of the patrons do not have to be published, all three donors simply transferred 50 centimes less than the CHF 5,000 threshold, the “observer” reported.

Soon also at federal level

The SP has been campaigning for more transparency in political financing for years. And with success: for the elections for the National Council in 2023, the new rules for more transparency at national level will apply for the first time. The new provisions are the indirect counter-proposal to the now withdrawn transparency initiative.

Contributions to parties and committees of CHF 15,000 or more must be made public in the future. Parties must also indicate which elected representatives are supported by party funds.

In addition to disclosing party donations, campaign funds should be reported more transparently in the future. Parliament voted for a threshold of CHF 50,000 above which expenditure must be declared.

Source:Blick