Jacqueline Fehr (59) could not have chosen a better time for her press conference about the data scandal at the Zurich Ministry of Justice. The SP government councilor first appeared before the media on Tuesday – the day before the Federal Council elections, on the day of the World Cup round of 16 of the Swiss national football team.
Fehr shouldn’t have worried about sharing the attention right now. Because she doesn’t look good in the hard drive affair that Blick and the “Tages-Anzeiger” discovered last Thursday.
The attempt at explanation
Fehr tried to explain why she kept the data scandal a secret from the public for two years. She shifted responsibility to the canton’s data protection officer. They advised not to inquire. A false statement, as Blick’s question to data protection officer Dominika Blonski revealed. “I have not ruled on the publication of the final report of the administrative inquiry,” she clarified.
So did Fehr lie? The government councilor lets her spokesman Benjamin Tommer answer. “There is no contradiction,” he says. “The data protection officer has informed us in writing that it would not be appropriate to inform the individuals affected by the data incident through a public notice.” Publication of the final report would necessarily have meant that the data security incident would also have become public knowledge, says Tommer.
Misread – or lied?
The fact is: the data protection officer did not advise Fehr to make the administrative investigation public. In the said section, which is available in Blick, the data protection officer only opposes disclosure of those affected by the leak. She did not say a word about the final report or whether it should be made public because it was not her responsibility. It remains unclear why it would not have been possible to publish at least a summary of the report without citing those involved.
Either Fehr misinterpreted the data protection officer’s statement – or she said the wrong thing. Politically, the topic will be discussed further. The SVP of Zurich is also interested in why the Justice Committee has not informed. She calls for a parliamentary inquiry committee (PUK) – the strictest monitoring body in politics. Exponents of other parties also spoke out in favor of a puk on Monday.