‘I’m used to pressure’, says embattled Swiss president

Swiss President Alain Berset talks to reporters at the 53rd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17, 2023. © Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

Alain Berset, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, says he is ready to face parliamentarians’ questions over allegations of leaks from his office to the media during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Berset, who is the minister in charge of the Federal Office of Public Health, told reporters that he was ready to be interviewed by parliamentary management committees over allegations.

“When a question arises, it must be settled within the framework of the institutions,” he told the Keystone-ATS news agency on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday evening.

Parliament said on Monday that it would look into the alleged leaks revealed by the press at the weekend. Parliamentary management committees will decide next week on the exact procedure.

The Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper reported on Saturday that Berset’s former head of communications had repeatedly passed confidential information about Covid measures planned by the government on to Ringier, one of the major media houses in Switzerland.

In addition to the parliamentary oversight, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has also reportedly requested a special prosecutor to look into the alleged leaks to Schweiz am Wochenende.

Berset said he did not wish to comment on the proceedings.

“There is an ongoing procedure which does not concern me, but which is running against other people, against third parties. It is very unfair to them that everything is being discussed openly in the media,” said Berset. “This is not really the idea of a democracy.”

He said he was not too worried about the controversy, which comes during a parliamentary election year.

“I have experienced a lot in these three years [since the arrival of Covid-19]. I’ve really given everything so that we can get out of this very difficult situation with the pandemic,” Berset toldExternal link Swiss public television, SRF, in an interview on Tuesday.

“I’m used to pressure and the fact that there are always questions, including legitimate questions.”