No-Billag initiative has no chance in the Council of States
Radio and television should continue to be financed by fees. On Wednesday, the Council of States voted against the initiative to abolish radio and TV fees. However, the opponents do not want this to be understood as a blank check for the SRG.
A vote was not necessary; there was rare unanimity in the Council: the tenor was that acceptance of the initiative would endanger the functioning of democracy. A diverse offering in all language regions is important in a direct democracy, and this can be financed in the small market only with fees.
Many representatives of the professional community particularly pointed out the importance of the current system for the peripheral regions - and that the fees do not only go to the SRG, but also to regional private media. By accepting the initiative, Switzerland would accept that television would only reach parts of the country - "with arbitrary content that only depends on the quota," said Stefan Engler (CVP/GR).
Threat of Berlusconization
In times of "fake news," the importance of an independent, fee-financed medium becomes particularly clear, said Joachim Eder (FDP/ZG) and Damian Müller (FDP/LU). Konrad Graber (CVP/LU) warned that the abolition of fees would threaten a Berlusconization. "No Billag means no SRG," he stated.
SRG bashing is "in", Claude Janiak (SP/BL) noted. Also, the term "state television" is used against better knowledge. However, if the state or private companies were to take over, there would be a great danger of influence on reporting. There are enough examples of this, not only abroad.
"Dangerous and demagogic"
The argument of the initiators that everyone should only pay for what they consume was also met with criticism. In this logic, only those who are ill should pay health insurance premiums, said Raphaël Comte (FDP/NE). Without a minimum of solidarity, the community would not function.
The initiative simply wants to destroy the public service. It is dangerous and demagogic, he said. "And demagogy is to democracy what prostitution is to love," said Comte. Hans Wickli (FDP/NW) put it more soberly: a poorly informed society would be fatal for democracy. And Beat Vonlanthen (CVP/FR) shouted: "No, no and again no to this unspeakable initiative."
SRG on horseback
No one in the Council of States was in favor of a counter-proposal to halve the fees, as could be proposed by the SVP in the National Council. For him, neither the initiative nor a counter-proposal was an option, explained Werner Hösli, SVP member of the Council of States for Glarus.
At the same time, however, he advised SRG not to feel too secure in its "high-to-the-horse" position. Times have changed, he said, and SRG no longer plays a role among young people. The future will mean that no one will want to pay fees on the current scale. "If the Federal Council and the SRG don't take note of this, they will get a bloody nose," Hösli said.
Not a sacred cow
Other speakers praised SRG, but at the same time demanded that it move. "The SRG is not a sacred cow," Comte stated. It must be prepared to adapt, said Josef Dittli (FDP/UR). It was questionable, for example, whether SRG had to do everything it was doing today. Vonlanthen recommended that SRG calm down the situation on the advertising market. The Admeira advertising alliance with Ringier and Swisscom could become a problem in the referendum campaign.
Too left or too right
Criticism of the individual programs was also raised. Werner Luginbühl (BDP/BE) noted that for the left they were too right-wing, for the right too left-wing - and that the center had the feeling that they were not being featured at all. "This general dissatisfaction perhaps shows that SRG is not doing so badly."
The Federal Council agrees. Independent reporting is important and should not be dependent on companies, said Media Minister Doris Leuthard. The population in countries with strong public media is better informed.
A shot in the knee
According to Leuthard, a "yes" to the initiative would also be harmful for the budget of the households. She spoke of a "shot in the knee". Television "à la carte" with pay packages is not cheaper, but more expensive, Leuthard said, referring to the prices for sports programs.
However, the Federal Council is not of the opinion that SRG is doing everything well and that there is no need for action. Leuthard sees this primarily in connection with digitization. She also recommended that the SRG should be more modest.
Turning off the money spigot
The National Council will now decide on the initiative. The initiative is backed by representatives of the Young SVP and the Young Freisinn. The initiators argue that not everyone likes SRG's programs. The fact that everyone is forced to co-finance them via "compulsory fees" is unfair. It is a matter of turning off the money tap to the SRG. Today, 70 to 73 percent of SRG's funding comes from license fees. Out of a total of 1.35 billion francs, it receives 1.235 billion. About half of the fee money flows into information. Private households pay an annual reception fee of 451 francs. With the system change from a device fee to a household fee, this is to drop to 400 francs. (SDA)
