Presserat: Kurer rejects complaint against Blick

It was about the secretly prepared rescue of UBS by the federal government and the Swiss National Bank as well as Kurer's statements at the UBS General Meeting on 2 October 2008, when he said that UBS was one of the best-capitalized banks. In an article published on November 6, 2009, Blick reproduced the Federal Council's response to a question from Aargau FDP National Councillor Philipp Müller - under the title: "Federal Council: UBS-Kurer cheated". The text read, among other things: "Now the government indirectly confirms Kurer's false statements at the AGM." In the introduction to the article, Blick wrote "To this day, it is disputed whether Kurer glossed over the situation at the AGM in October 2008. Now Bern says: Yes, but it was 'expedient'."

Kurer complained of reputational damage
In his complaint to the Swiss Press Council, Kurer took issue with the title and the word "false statement" in particular. The newspaper had given the impression that he had lied. This damaged his reputation as a business leader of integrity. Kurer also argued that the newspaper had not listened to him and had not made the requested correction. As the Swiss Press Council stated in its decision published on Tuesday, Blick correctly reproduced the Federal Council's response. The assessments and the title were justifiable. It was not necessary to question Kurer, as the article only reported an official public statement. "Furthermore, the allegations were not new, but had already been published previously," the Press Council states.