Media criticise handling of army chief scandal

The media is not impressed by Schmid's ultimatum for the army chief swissinfo.ch

Defence Minister Samuel Schmid's decision to suspend the head of the armed forces is not enough to restore his credibility, in the eyes of the Swiss press.

Chief commander Roland Nef was given 30 days on Monday to provide hard and fast proof that the allegations of sexual harassment against a former girlfriend are unfounded.

The tabloid Blick headlines its story “Nef out!” and describes Schmid’s move as an effort to save his own skin.

In an editorial it criticises Schmid for taking the easy way out and calls on Nef “to do some damage limitation and step down as soon as possible”.

Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger doubts whether Schmid is still able to lead his ministry and convince members of parliament.

“Schmid would be better off admitting that it is in the interest of the country to move aside. But we fear he is likely to put his own interests above those of Switzerland,” said the Tages-Anzeiger editorialist.

The respected Neue Zürcher Zeitung has some understanding for Schmid’s decision but is not sure whether things will return to normal.

“It has been shown that people who are suspended from high-ranking positions hardly ever come back.

“It is too simple to ask Schmid to go. But it remains to be seen whether he himself will be capable of getting out of the firing line.”

Disaster

Der Bund sums up the case as “A disaster for everybody” and believes that Schmid has lost trust in Nef – his candidate for the post of army chief, who was elected by the cabinet a year ago.

Many papers accuse Schmid of lacking leadership by failing to properly investigate the details of a criminal investigation into Nef.

They say he acted unwisely when he presented Nef to the government as his candidate without informing the cabinet of the pending inquiry.

“Schmid turned a blind eye to the investigation. He did admit he made mistakes but insists that the procedure was correct. That cannot be the end of the story for Schmid,” says the Basler Zeitung.

The French-language Tribune de Genève urges Schmid to do the decent thing and vacate his seat along with Nef.

“Schmid must not hide behind his subordinate as he has often done in the past when decisions had to be made.”

For its part, Geneva-based Le Temps calls on the embattled defence minister to make the best use of the time to find a successor for Nef.

“If Schmid has a special quality then it is that of making surprise nominations. He should proceed with the greatest discretion as he has previously.”

Political moves

Most political parties said Schmid’s move to suspend Nef until August 20 was insufficient.

They called for a cabinet meeting to decide the future of the chief commander.

The security committees of both houses of parliament have scheduled a joint meeting for Friday to discuss calls for the resignation of Schmid and Nef.

In the past both of them have maintained there was a right to privacy for the army chief, who was under investigation for stalking and harassment by email.

But the inquiry was closed and Nef agreed to pay an undisclosed sum of money to the victim as part of an out of court settlement with the public prosecutor.

Details of the circumstances of Nef’s nomination were leaked to the press ten days ago.

swissinfo, Urs Geiser

In brief

The cabinet elected 48-year old Roland Nef as head of the armed forces in June 2007.

He succeeded Christophe Keckeis who retired at the end of last year.

Nef agreed to a temporary suspension from the post pending an examination over the next 30 days. André Blattmann has taken over from Nef ad interim.

The head of the armed forces is responsible for the development and leadership of the land and air forces.

The 220,000-strong armed forces, including reserves, function on a militia principle – not as a fully professional army.

Nef case

The allegations of sexual harassment were leaked to the press earlier this month.

Nef admitted a criminal investigation had been underway against him for coercion of a former girlfriend as he was a candidate for the post of chief of the armed forces.

The case was settled out of court last autumn, and Nef agreed to pay an undisclosed sum of money to the victim as damages.

Nef also said he had not always acted judiciously at the end of his love affair, but refused to give further details.

He is suing a publishing house for alleged violation of personal rights. A complaint has also been filed over suspected breach of official secrecy rules.