Head of Presence Switzerland resigns over Swissair links

Paul Reutlinger came under fire because of his previous mandates with the Swissair Group Keystone Archive

The president of the government organisation responsible for selling Switzerland's image abroad has resigned, over his links to Swissair.

Paul Reutlinger had come under pressure to step down because of his long association with the airline and his role as boss of the Belgian carrier, Sabena

The director of Presence Switzerland, Johannes Matyassy, told a press conference in Geneva that Reutlinger had handed his resignation to the foreign minister, Joseph Deiss, and would step down at the end of the year.

“Mr Reutlinger has assessed the situation, and given the turbulence that Swissair has just experienced, he felt it was more opportune not to be linked to Presence Switzerland,” Matyassy told swissinfo.

“It was his own decision to resign,” he added.

Reutlinger is to be replaced by Ruth Grossenbacher, who led the Swiss participation at the Expo in Hannover, and is president of the Solothurn film festival.

Calls for Reutlinger to go

A number of politicians, notably from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, felt that Reutlinger’s role in the restructuring of Sabena and as head of Swissair’s French subsidiaries was incompatible with his role at the head of Presence Switzerland.

“To regain Switzerland’s reputation, we have to be absolutely above reproach. Paul Reutlinger might not be personally responsible, but he is part of the image of the company,” one was quoted as telling the daily newspaper, Le Temps

Matyassy, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of Presence Switzerland, says the resignation is unlikely to have any effect on organisation. Reutlinger’s main role was administrative.

by Roy Probert