Ombudsman: FDP complaint against Swiss Radio DRS supported

Casanova responded to a complaint from the FDP. The party had taken exception to a report on Swiss radio DRS about its Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann. The ombudsman concludes that Schneider-Ammann was mistakenly held personally and solely responsible for the policy of the Federal Council as a whole. "I therefore find a violation of the principle of objectivity," Casanova writes in the final report.

The criticism is directed at a contribution in the "Rendez-vous" program of September 1. In it, the role of the economics minister in dealing with the Swiss franc crisis was highlighted. The day before, the Federal Council had approved a CHF 870 million aid package for the economy. Again two weeks earlier, Schneider-Ammann had held out the prospect of a package worth 2 billion francs. The report's introduction says: "...his (Schneider-Ammann's) announcements draw a less than clear line." Subsequently, statements of the FDP Federal Councilor are played, which he had made at three different media conferences.

Violation of due diligence

In a letter to the ombudsman's office in mid-September, the FDP complained that the article violated the duty of care. The accused Federal Councillor was not given the opportunity to comment, nor were third parties given a chance to speak in support of the thesis. The quotes were also taken out of context.

Lis Borner, editor-in-chief of Swiss Radio DRS, counters in a letter to the ombudsman's office: A federal councilor must be held accountable for his public statements. The report was "undoubtedly very critical of Federal Councillor Schneider-Ammann", but reflected the general perception at the time of broadcast.

In fact, all the media have criticized the Federal Council's policy as lacking a concept, Casanova writes. The fact that this was also critically analyzed by Radio DRS was "journalistically downright compelling. The ombudsman considers it inadmissible that the criticism is focused on a single member of the national government, although he "clearly" represented the opinion of the college. According to Casanova, however, the criticism would have been admissible if the article had been recognizable as a commentary.

The ombudsman's office mediates between the parties involved in complaints against SRG. Its report is only of a declaratory nature; it has no decision-making power or authority to issue directives. In a second step, however, complainants can appeal to the Independent Complaints Authority (UBI) of the Swiss Confederation. (SDA)