Operation Libero accuses the FDP of lying

Recently, Operation Libero Co-Chairs Laura Zimmermann and Stefan Manser-Egli (far right), along with Employer President Valentin Vogt (left) and Matthias Müller of the Young Freisans (in a white sweater), cheered for the no al senior vice president. Limitation initiative. Now they are discussing the group’s initiative.

Peter Klaunzer / Keystone

The SVP clearly failed with its latest immigration initiative and has no more petitions about the EU and migration in the quiver. So where should Operation Libero (OL), which in recent years has focused on fighting the right-wing party, now direct its energies? The short-term answer is: the “progressive” movement is campaigning for a yes to the corporate responsibility initiative and thus provoking the FDP and business associations seven weeks before the vote, who consider the initiative to be harmful.

The OL writes on its website that it is committed “by liberal conviction” in favor of a yes. Attack opponents of the initiative head-on: they lack solid arguments. “Consequently, they fight the cause with false and misleading pseudo-arguments: we do not like to passively watch this unworthy parade of perversions and lies. Those who seriously and without blinking believe that effective due diligence to avoid human rights violations and environmental damage are unnecessary or extreme can only be one thing in their eyes, the “Liberos” argue: a “scoundrel.”

How far does the responsibility go?

The FDP cautions that the initiative requires responsibility for all foreign activities of a company with a reversal of the burden of proof, down to the last supplier. According to Co-Chair Stefan Manser-Egli, this is one of the “lies” the OL talks about. “We want to use factual checks to show that the company’s liability is limited and clearly defined,” says Manser-Egli in “Sonntags-Blick.” Liability applies only in case of actual control and only if a group violates its duty of care. Nor could it be a reversal of the burden of proof. “If someone sues a corporation, they have to provide evidence as before that they have been harmed and that the corporation in question is liable.”

During parliamentary deliberations on the initiative, the OL advocated a catchy counterproposal that ultimately did not materialize. The fact that the movement is now opposing the powerful business associations with which it just passed the SVP’s limitation initiative is not a problem for Manser-Egli: “On the contrary, that is proof that we are an independent movement. »The OL was not founded just to fight back, but also to help shape Switzerland.

Common malaise

The clear reference of position by initiative and the harsh criticisms of his opponents enrage bourgeois Switzerland. Matthias Müller, president of the Liberal Youth, wrote on Twitter that Operation Libero could no longer be taken seriously:

Christoph Mörgeli, former SVP National Councilor and current editor of “Weltwoche”, sees business associations in particular in “free fall”. This is because the Employer President Valentin Vogt had just fraternized with Operation Libero against the SVP: