Council of States rejects limit on party advertising

 
The Council of States has rejected by 28 votes to 6 a limit on party spending on advertising before national elections. The majority of the small chamber said that an upper limit on advertising expenditure would be paternalistic and over-regulated. In January, the Committee of the Council of States had already rejected the limit (see: ). The corresponding parliamentary initiative by former member of the Council of States Pierre Bonhôte (SP/NE) is therefore off the table. Commission spokesman Rolf Büttiker (FDP/SO) did not deny the existence of "politically questionable boils" in election campaigns. However, Bonhôte's proposal does not provide a solution to this problem. The effort required for a check would be too great. He also said that voters could not be bought by campaigns. Büttiker considers election advertising to be ineffective.
On behalf of the minority, Liliane Maury Pasquier (SP/GE) said that transparency in party funding was necessary. Controls could certainly be introduced. This Jenny (SVP/GL) saw the motion as a tie-back mentality. The successful parties should be put on the chain. Maximilian Reimann (SVP/AG) accused the initiative of only focusing on election campaign budgets instead of advocacy journalism, which he accused the SRG of using for one-sided interviews and topics.
Bonhôte justified his parliamentary initiative by arguing that restricting spending on election advertising would be easier to implement than a limit on party donations. Because advertising is visible, it is easier to monitor.