National councilors want to force the Federal Council to be transparent

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The public must not know what was negotiated on Sunday March 19 behind the lowered shutters in the former Nobelhotel Bernerhof. All details about the acquisition of Credit Suisse by competitor UBS, conceived by Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (59), remain secret. That has been decided by the Federal Council.

The state government unilaterally undermined the Freedom of Information Act in the emergency ordinance for the rescue of the megabank. An approach that met with much criticism in the Federal Palace. The state political committee of the National Council now wants to put the Federal Council in its place and remove the exception clause from the emergency law.

What the Bundesrat is doing is “very problematic”

In the Commission’s view, it is unacceptable to deny access to official documents across the board. This approach is “highly problematic”, especially given the scope of the decisions made. After all, it is about a total of CHF 259 billion that the federal government has spoken in the form of liquidity support or default guarantees. The Commission approved the corresponding initiative on Friday by a vote of 18 to 7. It certainly has a chance of being accepted by the National Council and the Council of States.

Based on the controversial exemption clause, the finance department has rejected several requests for access to files from the media. The Federal Council wants to decide for itself what the public does and does not know.

A very idiosyncratic definition of the publicity principle that has applied to the entire federal administration since 2006. It states that everyone – not just the media – has the right to inspect internal federal documents. There are only a few exceptions, for example if the publication endangers Switzerland’s security or reveals business secrets.

Privacy lawyers are also critical

“I have no doubt that there is certainly a lot of information about the deal that must remain confidential,” says SP Volksraadmember Celine Widmer (44). But it is not possible for the Bundesrat to want to completely eliminate the principle of publicity. “Not only Parliament, but also the public has a right to transparency!” Federal data protection officer Adrian Lobsiger (63) also criticized the Federal Council’s approach.

Green National Councilor Greta Gysin (39), Vice President of the Commission, says: “The federal government gives the impression that it has something to hide with its actions. I don’t understand that.” SVP Reich Councilor Barbara Steinemann (46) also fears that the procedure could set a precedent – and that the Federal Council will find more and more excuses in the future not to have to create transparency. National councilors from the center and the FDP are against the initiative.

The Commission also wants to pass the rate on to the Bundesrat for future emergencies. Because it is not the first time that the Bundesrat has circumvented the Public Information Act. The controversial exemption clause was already included in the emergency ordinance on the rescue package for electricity companies.

Source:Blick