Published
Remark“Coronaleaks”: we must save Private Berset
Parliament’s management committees are today deciding what action to take on the Home Department leaks case during the pandemic.
Alain Berset in the premises of 20 Minuten just before the second vote on the Covid-19 law of November 28, 2021.
Marco Zangger
This Tuesday, the management committees of the two Federal Chambers will hold a press briefing at the end of the followingnoon to discuss the links between Alain Berset and his Department of the Interior with the Ringier press group during the pandemic. Under the name of “Bersetgate” or “Coronaleaks”, this affair has been mobilizing the German-speaking media for almost ten days. It is more widespread there than in French-speaking Switzerland, since the opponents of the federal policy of Covid-19 have been much more virulent there.
Today, we feel that the wounds of the pandemic have not yet healed. The fact that Alain Berset, during this period, knew more or less of the regular contacts of his collaborator Peter Lauener with the boss of Ringier, Marc Walder, is perceived with great mistrust and divides opinion.
Two options that are only one
The SVP understood the advantage it might draw from this situation during this election year. Its president Marco Chiesa calls for the resignation of Alain Berset in “Blick”: “As things stand, there are only two options. Either Monsieur Berset knew full well that his spokesperson informed Ringier of government decisions in advance. He would then have to quit his job. Either Alain Berset was not aware that Peter Lauener was leaking information, and did not realize it. In this case, he must also assume the consequences. So there is only one option.
The head of the UDC does not lack nerve vis-à-vis the press, declaring in the same interview: “The reputation of the media is also suffering from this affair. A distrust of the population towards the press can only have bad consequences”. As for knowing to what extent the voices of the SVP have sabotaged the reputation of the media for years, we are delighted to read that, from now on, the party will stop fueling the distrust of the population towards them…
household peace
This time it’s not RTS, but Ringier, a completely private group. His boss Marc Walder had already sparked controversy by declaring in a video, dating from 2021, wanting to encourage the editorial staff of the Ringier group, active in several countries, to support government measures in the context of the pandemic. In other words, the press boss had decided to work for household peace, rather than exacerbate tensions. He did not want to blow on the embers of conspiracy theorists and other movements that had declared war on institutions, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere. But for opponents of federal politics, he had joined the hateful “state media” camp.
What influence on Alain Berset?
Reading some e-mails between Marc Walder and Peter Lauener, we are very surprised by the familiarity between the two men, in particular the fact that the second presents his information to him as confidential, knowing that he is therefore illegal. What was the added value for the Ringier Group? Some scoops probably that increased his audience. But what influence did this have on Alain Berset? During this period, he gave many interviews to all the media and above all held the boat in the storm, juggling the expectations of health circles, cantons, economic circles and the population. No one was as invested as he was in assuming authority in the face of the chaos his opponents were proposing.
In this context, Alain Berset was not “innocent” of the media stakes that the situation imposed. If he succeeded in passing the policy of the Federal Council, it is because he was well informed of the intentions of each party. To reproach him today for having made sure to be able to do his job is either hypocrisy or naivety.