Swiss president remains tight-lipped on ‘Covid leaks’
Alain Berset told his ministerial colleagues on Wednesday that he had no knowledge of leaks from his department to the media. In public however Berset remains reluctant to give further information.
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Government spokesman André Simonazzi said on Wednesday that the seven ministers had had lengthy discussions about alleged leaks by Berset’s former head of communications to the Ringier media group, notably involving planned Covid-19 measures (the leaks go back several years).
The alleged leaked information included a reported tip-off about Swiss plans to buy vaccines.
It was the first government meeting since the allegations emerged in the Schweiz am Wochenende newspaper on January 14.
According to Simonazzi, the government as a whole condemns “indiscretions”, which damage its work, its credibility, and the national interest. However, it intends to continue to operate on the basis of “restored trust”, he said.
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Berset has consistently said that the investigation of such affairs need to be done “within the framework of the institutions”, and as such has refused to give substantially more information to journalists.
On RTS public television on Wednesday evening, Berset declined a request to repeat the denial he gave the government earlier in the day, and said it was not the role of the media to conduct a trial.
Earlier this week an oversight committee in parliament said it would open an inquiry into the affair, to look at Berset’s role and that of the government. Other legal investigations are ongoing, including into Berset’s former communications chief.
Berset said on Wednesday he welcomed the opening of the parliamentary inquiry, and that he would tell it “all that he knows and all that he knew”.
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Swiss president decries ‘illegal leaks’ implicating his office
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Health minister Alain Berset, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, refused to comment on information from an “illegal leak”.
Swiss parliament opens inquiry into alleged Covid-19 leaks
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A parliamentary inquiry will investigate allegations of leaks from Alain Berset’s interior ministry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.