In the followingmath of the symbolic refusal by Parliament of guarantees from the Confederation to save Credit Suisse, the Swiss press generally castigates the attitude of the National Council. Some believe that the UDC and the left have stuck to their positions out of electoralism.
After two days of extraordinary session, the Parliament finally refused to support the rescue of Credit Suisse by the Federal Council. Backed by the joint votes of the Greens, the PS and the UDC, the National Council twice rejected the project despite timid attempts at conciliation by the Council of States.
If this abandonment has no direct consequence, this symbolic refusal carries a clear message: the representatives of the Swiss people refuse to support the rescue of the big bank. No question of simply turning the page with a pat on the back to the Federal Council and a blame for the bankers.
Accusations of populism
On the side of the press, however, some commentators deplore this parliamentary decision. La Liberté journalist Philippe Castella even speaks of a “distressing spectacle” and accuses the country’s two largest parties of wanting to “draw electoral benefits from popular discontent”. The UDC, the PS and the Greens “were content to stone the fire truck, following waiting wisely in their corner for the fire to be extinguished”, he asserts.
For Stéphane Deleury of the RTS, the federal Parliament has not lived up to the challenge and is scratching its credibility a little more. “He proved unable to find the compromise that would lay the foundations for future regulation too big to fail“, comments the journalist, for which “the four government parties together bear a heavy responsibility”.
“Socialists and UDC rejected the credit guarantee as a heroic act once morest a gangrenous financial system […]. In reality, if this vote was not symbolic and had had any impact on the rescue of Credit Suisse, they would never have dared to take this posture”, he believes. “In contrast, Center and PLR […] have a good game of castigating the irresponsibility of opponents. By draping itself in the clothes of institutional virtue, the center right will not make us forget that it is the main responsible for the current legislative framework.
>> Stéphane Deleury’s full commentary:
The atmosphere is also bitter beyond Sarine. “Instead of being ready to compromise, the left and the SVP went fishing for voters,” writes the Blick in particular. Result: no solution has been found to prevent a large bank from dragging down the entire Swiss economy in the future.
Parliamentary inquiry commission required
The press now expects Parliament to take concrete action, particularly in terms of monitoring and stricter regulation of executive bonuses. “Faced with the powerful banking lobby, this will require a lot of political courage. Which one can doubt given the procrastination of this session”, comments Le Temps.
And above all, a parliamentary commission of inquiry (CEP) is deemed necessary. Such a measure, extremely rare, had been requested by the Bureau of the National Council to shed full light on responsibilities. But that of the Council of States preferred to temporize and that was therefore not on the program for this session.
>> Lire: The National Council wants a parliamentary inquiry into Credit Suisse
In this context, the Romand newspapers of Tamedia are already sensing a reversal of the jacket in Parliament. “While the decision might have been taken during this extraordinary session, the Council of States preferred to postpone it until the beginning of the summer”, comments Florent Quiquerez in 24 hours and the Geneva Grandstandfor whom refusing a CEP would mean that Parliament shirks its responsibilities.
These measures are “what our elected officials owe their voters”, abounds Bayron Schwyn of Arcinfo. “The latter will unfortunately not have the end of the story when they go to the polls in the federal elections this fall,” he said.
Radio subject: Etienne Kocher
Web adaptation: Pierrik Jordan with ats
