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Absurd or necessary? The National Council has not yet found the taste for legal regulation of party financing.
The National Council on Thursday rejected the indirect counterproposal to the transparency initiative by 168 votes to 18 and 9 abstentions. The Council of States bill had previously been deactivated, leading the left to reject it.
On the table was a legal text from the Council of States, which was supposed to destroy the sails of the transparency initiative. The amendment to the law requires the National Council and Council of States parties to disclose their income and donations worth more than 25,000 Swiss francs per person once a year.
Also, people running an election campaign should have to disclose their income and expenses if they spend more than 250,000 Swiss francs on it. The State Councilors, on the other hand, should not have to make public how much money they are investing in the electoral campaign and who finances it.
“It is necessary to act”
The transparency initiative goes further: it requires that donations of more than CHF 10,000 to a national political party, election campaign or national voting campaign be declared publicly and no longer made anonymously.
For the State Political Commission of the National Council (SPK), Damien Cottier (FDP / NE) argued in favor of the business. “Transparency and credibility are very important in politics. Rules are needed to strengthen confidence in politics. “Several international organizations have called on Switzerland to create transparency in party funding.” So action is needed. “
SP insists on attribution
Samira Martí (SP / BL) defended in particular the duty to reveal the names of the donations. “Without a name, this is not a counterproposal to the transparency initiative.”
Nadine Masshardt (SP / BE), as Co-Chair of the Transparency Initiative Sponsoring Association, also stated that the SP will only accept the submission if the disclosure of the names of major donors is not removed. : “More transparency in political financing is essential to form a political opinion.”
SVP and CVP against promotion
SVP and CVP did not even want to get into the bill. Gregor Rutz (SVP / ZH) spoke of an absurdity that could hardly be overcome. “You want everyone to take off their pants. Switzerland’s confidence in politics is not bad. Nor have I ever heard of a case of corruption in Swiss politics. “
Marianne Binder-Keller (CVP / AG) spoke of an “administrative monster” that this law will create. Expenses and income did not match. Furthermore, the consequences of such a law, such as possible state funding, should be taken into account.
Keller-Sutter: Better a law than a constitutional article
Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter stated that the Federal Council was still skeptical of regulation at the federal level. “Implementation would be difficult.” Also, the administrative effort should not be underestimated. However, the Federal Council prefers a law, before establishing the rules in the federal constitution in accordance with the transparency initiative.
In the end, all parliamentary groups except the FDP voted against the indirect counterproposal. The proposal is now sent back to the Council of States.
