"Arena" broadcast with Aeschi statements was appropriate

The ombudsman's office had received 46 complaints, as it announced on Tuesday on its final report. They were directed against the "Arena" of March 18. The ombudsman's office expressly states that it was right to confront the Zug National Councilor and SVP parliamentary group leader with his statement.

The Ombudsman's Office also approved of the confrontational discussion, in which the moderator took the place of the other side. Aeschi had agreed to this one-to-one conversation in advance and had known what was in store for him. In the context of the conversation and the clarifications, it was understandable that Brotz had described Aeschi's statement as "racist".

Aeschi a little too short

But it also concludes that Brotz's conclusion was too conclusive and took too little account of Aeschi's arguments. The "Arena" editorial team already conceded that the battle of words was intense and that the moderator should have given Aeschi's arguments more space.

The ombudsman's office notes, however, that Brotz never condemned the head of the parliamentary group, but relied on the clear opinion of the Federal Commission against Racism (EKR) and thus on experts.

In conclusion, the ombudsman's office states that the audience was able to form its own report and that factual fairness was not violated. SRF television sees the rejection of all complaints as confirmation of the work of the "Arena" editorial team. SRF remains committed to factual reporting, but also to political independence.

SVP boycotts "Arena

SVP faction president Aeschi had said in the National Council debate on the Ukraine war with regard to the expected war refugees: "It must not be that Nigerians or Iraqis with Ukrainian passports suddenly rape 18-year-old Ukrainian women. That must not happen." That was meant to refer to an incident in Germany, according to the statement, which was followed up. The EKR called the statement racist.

The SVP announced after the "Arena" broadcast that it would no longer participate in the discussion round "until further notice. The party described Aeschi's confrontation with his statements as a "gross derailment" by presenter Brotz. He had acted as a judge towards Aeschi.

In mid-April, the SVP declared its willingness to participate again after a three-week boycott. This was preceded by a discussion between SVP President Marco Chiesa (TI), Thomas Aeschi and SVP National Councilor Thomas Matter (ZH) with SRF Director Nathalie Wappler, Editor-in-Chief Video Tristan Brenn and Editor-in-Chief Audio Lis Borner. (Werbewoche.ch reported). (SDA)