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Middle class, senior, high school and male? Then the chance that this parliamentarian will reveal what he earns for his office is small: 73 percent of women in parliament reported their extra income to the online platform Lobbywatch, but only 49 percent of men were willing to do so, according to the platform Notice. . This means that female politicians are much more transparent than their male colleagues in the Federal Council.
But in addition to a question of gender, it is also about how transparent someone is in office: the longer someone sits in parliament, the less he can warm up to the new openness about extra income. 67 percent of all councilors who have served in the federal parliament for less than one term declare their income. But only 52 percent of those who have completed four or more terms.
The younger, the more open
And yes: young people are more transparent. Across all parties, 74 percent of councilors under the age of 40 declare their income. The least transparency exists among 51 to 60 year olds. Only 49 percent indicate how much they earn from mandates.
In total, 58 percent of all members of the National Council and the Council of States disclose how much they earn from companies and associations. On the latest transparency list from Lobbywatch, the differences between the factions are also large, but there is mainly a shift: the SVP has overtaken the Liberals when it comes to transparency. This means that the FDP is the new bottom.
143 of the 246 council members indicate in detail how much they earn from their position on boards, association committees or advisory boards. By comparison, in the last full survey of 2018, only 25 percent indicated how much they earned. Before the parliamentary elections on October 22, 2023, 56 percent of those running for re-election had declared their income. However, the Lobbywatch page does not provide a user-friendly overview of the total additional income of the council members; instead, the figures must be checked per individual parliamentarian in each office.
Greens just ahead of SP
Our parliamentarians are not required to declare their income. According to the law, you only have to indicate whether a mandate has been paid or not. And Lobbywatch limits this: professional activities were not included in the evaluation, that is, if MPs did not disclose the wages of their employment.
If you look at the different parties, the Greens and the SP stand out positively: with 96 percent of party members disclosing their income, they are the most transparent. Closely followed by the SP with 94 percent. The Green Liberals still have 64 percent transparency, the central EPP group has 48 percent transparency.
This means that the center is no longer far ahead of the SVP, where Lobbywatch has 41 percent of transparent parliamentarians. For the first time since the platform started collecting the figures, the FDP is now at the bottom of the rankings. Only 31 percent of liberals are willing to disclose their income.
And what is not surprising: the Council of States, which is considered more conservative, is considerably less transparent than the National Council. Only 39 percent of the members of the Council of States make their income public, but 63 percent of the National Council members do so. In short: a Green National Councilor will most likely be more willing to provide information than a citizen from the Stöckli.
On the right track
As Lobbywatch writes, Swiss politics is finally on the right track when it comes to transparency. “Parliament is apparently slowly starting to realize that councilors must make their income public,” says Otto Hostettler, co-chair of Lobbywatch. “The logical next step would now be a legal regulation so that all council members have to declare their income,” he thinks. (pt)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
