Swiss parties: unequal distribution of campaign funds
The money spent on voting and election campaigns in Switzerland is distributed extremely unevenly. This is the conclusion of a study published on Tuesday. In the case of referendums, expenditure can vary by a factor of four between the supporters and opponents of a proposal.
This ratio applies to two out of three votes, as reported by the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) in a press release. According to the study conducted by the Zurich research center Sotomo, the ratio of resources used is only less than 1:2 in one out of six votes.
Despite this unequal distribution of campaign funds, the influence of money on political decisions should not be overestimated, according to the FDJP. Expensive referendum campaigns are sometimes unsuccessful. And in the 2011 elections, the Green Liberal Party (GLP) and the Civic Democratic Party (BDP) were successful despite minimal advertising budgets.
The study was commissioned after a group of states against corruption (GRECO) recommended that Switzerland regulate the financing of political parties and election campaigns by law.
The Federal Council now intends to incorporate the results of the study into its response to the GRECO states. The Federal Council intends to decide in the spring what conclusions it will draw from the study. (SDA)
