From the “Kopp affair” to the Fichen scandal

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Elisabeth Kopp had made history. On October 2, 1984, the FDP politician was elected to the Federal Council. A milestone for equality in Switzerland. She had to resign in 1989. A phone call with her husband had become her downfall.

Kopp had informed her husband of ongoing money laundering investigations against a company of which he was chairman. She had tried to hide the conversation. A Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (PUK) followed – and a scandal that shocked Switzerland even more.

The fichen scandal was perfect

During the investigation of the Federal Public Service Justice and Police (FDJP), the PUK discovered about 900,000 index cards in the register of the political police. The fichen scandal was perfect.

Public outrage about the espionage was great: on March 3, 1990, about 30,000 angry people demonstrated in Bern against the “sniffing state”. From 1990, every citizen had access to the files and files of the federal prosecutor’s office. About 300,000 people have made use of this right. 5560 files were also examined.

“Without sniffing police”

For example, those affected found detailed information about their travels to the eastern states in the files. Contacts with people behind the then ‘Iron Curtain’ were meticulously, but in some cases very incorrectly recorded on the cards. It got to the point where people were denied jobs because of the chips – which they knew nothing about.

In October 1991, in the middle of the Fichen affair, the initiative “SoS Switzerland without Sniffing Police” was introduced, demanding the abolition of the political police. In the referendum of 7 June 1998, however, the citizens’ initiative was clearly rejected by a majority of 75 percent.

In mid-1996, file representative René Bacher completed the file inspection. 35 million francs had been spent on it. The documents were blocked for 50 years and transferred to the Federal Archives. (SDA)

Source:Blick