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Parties on the right are the big spenders – with the least amount of transparency.
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Swiss Style Corruption
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An attempt to peel back some of the secrecy that surrounds campaign spending in Switzerland indicates political parties on the right are the big spenders – with the least amount of transparency.
Ahead of the federal election in October, political parties were asked to respond to a survey by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), the parent company of swissinfo.ch. The results, published on Thursday, show that more than CHF20 million ($20.5 million) in spending was reported in the run up to the October 18 election, when voters will choose a new Swiss parliament for a statutory four-year term.
But that’s just a fraction of the total amount that parties and candidates are expected to spend during this campaign cycle. Experts say the 2015 election may turn out to be the most expensive in history, possibly costing as much as CHF170 million, which would be a third more than was spent in 2011.
It’s hard to put an exact figure on it, but the survey conducted by journalists with Swiss public television SRF and RTS tried to get an accurate picture. Nearly a quarter of the parties’ cantonal sections, particularly those on the right, refused to answer the survey. Of the amounts reported, the cantonal sections spent CHF13.4 million; their national counterparts laid out CHF7.6 million.
Swiss democracy
The Swiss have a proud tradition of direct democracy, claiming theirs is virtually the only country in the world where the electorate has such extensive decision-making powers. Though Switzerland is often held up as a model of democracy, it is the only country in Europe without campaign disclosure laws.
For that it is regularly criticised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and by the Council of Europe's European Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which monitored the last elections. Transparency International also issues warnings from time to time.
Almost 68% of the 193 respondents from cantonal sections filled out the survey, at least partially. Some 23% refused to provide any figures, while the remainder did not reply at all despite several reminders. There was no way to verify the accuracy of the information that was provided.
Swissinfo
By Valentin Tombez, Timo Grossenbacher and Tybalt Félix
Sep 10, 2015
Ahead of the federal election in October, political parties were asked to respond to a survey by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), the parent company of swissinfo.ch. The results, published on Thursday, show that more than CHF20 million ($20.5 million) in spending was reported in the run up to the October 18 election, when voters will choose a new Swiss parliament for a statutory four-year term.
But that’s just a fraction of the total amount that parties and candidates are expected to spend during this campaign cycle. Experts say the 2015 election may turn out to be the most expensive in history, possibly costing as much as CHF170 million, which would be a third more than was spent in 2011.
It’s hard to put an exact figure on it, but the survey conducted by journalists with Swiss public television SRF and RTS tried to get an accurate picture. Nearly a quarter of the parties’ cantonal sections, particularly those on the right, refused to answer the survey. Of the amounts reported, the cantonal sections spent CHF13.4 million; their national counterparts laid out CHF7.6 million.
Swiss democracy
The Swiss have a proud tradition of direct democracy, claiming theirs is virtually the only country in the world where the electorate has such extensive decision-making powers. Though Switzerland is often held up as a model of democracy, it is the only country in Europe without campaign disclosure laws.
For that it is regularly criticised by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and by the Council of Europe's European Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which monitored the last elections. Transparency International also issues warnings from time to time.
Almost 68% of the 193 respondents from cantonal sections filled out the survey, at least partially. Some 23% refused to provide any figures, while the remainder did not reply at all despite several reminders. There was no way to verify the accuracy of the information that was provided.
Swissinfo
By Valentin Tombez, Timo Grossenbacher and Tybalt Félix
Sep 10, 2015