“The Federal Council must now set an example”

The World Cup kicks off in Qatar in just over two weeks. In the run-up to the event, the venue was criticized for violating human rights in the emirate. Federal councilor Ueli Maurer (71) was not deterred by this, however. While Sports Minister Viola Amherd (60) declined to travel to Qatar without giving any reason, the Finance Minister wants to fly to the World Cup.

A decision that should now attract even more criticism. Because: In an interview with ZDF, ex-national player and World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman (60) described homosexuality as “mental damage” and “sin”.

Kälin: Maurer must speak clearly

Even the highest Swiss views Maurer’s journey critically. National Council President Irène Kälin (35) says: “The journey is a delicate mission anyway. We knew that beforehand.” In principle, however, it is always better to deal with criticism directly on the spot.

“Now it’s up to Federal Councilor Maurer, if he wants to continue attending a Swiss football match, not just to talk to Qatari government officials about financial and fiscal issues, as planned, but to speak clearly after this completely misguided statement from the World Cup special. ambassador,” says Kälin. Otherwise, the wrong signal would be sent that Switzerland accepts Qatar’s position.

Federal Council must stop Maurer from traveling

For the gay FDP National Councilor Hans-Peter Portmann (59), on the other hand, one thing is certain: given Salman’s homophobic statement, Maurer should reconsider the trip. He told Blick TV: “The Federal Council needs to have a serious talk with Ueli Maurer and persuade him not to travel there.” The decision to host the World Cup in Qatar was a big mistake. Switzerland must therefore lead by example and show that as a country it cannot support such a thing. It goes: not to make a good face for the bad game.

Green National Councilor Greta Gysin (39) shares the same view: “In any case, it is completely incomprehensible to me how a member of our government could even come up with the idea of ​​traveling as a representative from Switzerland to Qatar. The statement by the Qatari World Cup ambassador only shows Doha’s attitude towards homosexuals. We’ve known that for a long time. Now, at the latest, the Federal Council must set an example. It would be completely wrong for Mr Maurer to fly to Qatar now.”

SVPler sees it more relaxed

Central President Gerhard Pfister (60) is also quite skeptical about Maurer’s World Cup plans: “I assume that the Federal Council will take these new developments into account and then decide whether Federal Councilor Maurer should travel to the World Cup or whether he should will. revert to this decision.”

SVP Landsraadslid Roland Rino Büchel (57) sees it differently: “Salman is an insignificant, so-called ambassador. He has nothing to do with the organization of the World Cup,” said Büchel. Therefore, his statement should not be given too much importance. “Ueli Maurer must travel to Qatar and not reverse his decision because of such a statement.”

“Biggest mistake in football history”

SP Landsraadslid Matthias Aebischer (55), chairman of the parliamentary party Sport, does not want to comment on Maurer’s visit. But when asked, he says: “The statement from the official World Cup ambassador shows the true face of this organizing committee. And the statement explicitly proves that the World Cup prize for Qatar was the biggest mistake in the history of football.”

To GLP National Councilor Beat Flach (57) Salman’s statements show that “everything said in the run-up to the World Cup was just made up, and that the regime in this country is still homophobic”. However, he does not believe that federal councilor Ueli Maurer will cancel his trip: “Maurer will not be persuaded to go to Qatar. But he also never showed tact when it came to LGBTQ issues.” That was evident in his controversial ‘It’ statement when he resigned.

Peter Minder, spokesman for Ueli Maurer’s finance department, when asked by Blick said: “We have taken note of this topic and will not comment further.”