Federal decree. Political advertising

 
Political advertising The new RTVA with its ban on political advertising has barely come into force before this provision is to be watered down: in the run-up to federal votes, parties and committees will in future be allowed to advertise their causes in the programs of SRG and private radio and television broadcasters. This is provided for in a draft law that the National Council's Political Institutions Committee submitted for consultation last week without dissenting votes (with two abstentions). Political parties will not receive any advertising time before National Council elections or cantonal and communal votes. What is surprising about the proposal is that the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA), which has only been in force since March, contains an explicit ban on political advertising in broadcasting services. It is not actually advertising in the true sense of the word, explains Franz Zeller from the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom). "Parties and committees would not have to pay anything for the broadcasting slots. The law would oblige broadcasters to air the spots free of charge," says the media lawyer.
The place for this provision is not primarily the RTVA, but the law on political rights. The Political Institutions Committee drew up this preliminary draft on the basis of a parliamentary initiative for "fair voting campaigns" by National Councillor Andreas Gross (SP) in 2003. According to the Political Institutions Committee, political spots should be permitted by law again in future.
The politicians have negotiated further measures directly with SBB and the Federal Chancellery to help "improve the formation of public opinion and will". These include free advertising space in the major railroad stations and space for the parties to present themselves in official publications.
UBI and Bakom examineThe framework for broadcasting the political spots, which are limited to a duration of 30 seconds, is tightly defined and already regulated in detail in the preliminary draft. SRG channels to be specified by the Federal Assembly as well as private radio and television broadcasters with a fee share would then be obliged to broadcast the voting spots produced and financed by parties and committees. In extremis, this means that an alternative left-wing local radio station would also have to broadcast the SVP advertisement on the deportation initiative. If a broadcaster has doubts about the legality of an advertising contribution, it can appeal to the independent complaints authority UBI.
Contrary to its current mode of operation, the UBI would not only become active after a broadcast has been made, but beforehand. Bakom would also have a supervisory function. The officials from Biel would have to check whether a commercial product was being advertised in an inadmissible manner in the political message. It is also precisely regulated who is allowed to produce such an advertisement. On the one hand, these are the parties with parliamentary groups in the Federal Parliament as well as initiative and referendum committees. The Political Institutions Committee also goes into great detail when it comes to regulating repetitions: The frequency of broadcasts is determined in proportion to the party strength.
Walpen points to autonomyThe SRG is skeptical about the whole project. The majority of the public is satisfied with the coverage of elections and votes. The SRG therefore sees no need to provide the parties with additional platforms, according to the explanatory report on the proposed legislation. Nevertheless, the SRG has submitted proposals to the State Policy Committee that are intended to address the concerns of SP National Councillor Gross' initiative. These range from the introduction of daily "elephant rounds" with the party presidents to the increased broadcasting of parliamentary debates on SF-Info.
But that is not enough for Andreas Gross and his fellow campaigners (see interview). They want direct access to the broadcasters. However, as SRG CEO Armin Walpen explained at a meeting with the parliamentary delegation, this would contradict the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the state and autonomy of the SRG in its programming.
Still a long way to goIt is anything but clear at present whether voting advertisements will ever be seen and heard on Swiss radio channels. It may be some time before the law "on the participation of political parties in the opinion-forming and decision-making process of the people" comes into force. Affected and interested parties have until the end of November to submit their comments on the preliminary draft. The Federal Council then has until summer 2009 to draw up a draft for submission to Parliament, which will then decide on the introduction of political spots on radio and television. If the bill does not fail before then, there is still the possibility of a referendum.
Nick Lüthi
See interview with Andreas Gross