Former Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has defended his record in government during the coronavirus pandemic and denies he was ever against vaccines.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
But in interviews with the Le Matin Dimanche and the SonntagsZeitung newspapers, Maurer repeated earlier controversial comments. “Of course there was hysteria around Covid,” he said in the Sunday interviews.
This hysteria was even “on a global scale”, Maurer added. “We said that Covid was fatal, and based on this assumption, we stretched a health net like we had never seen before. Anyone who dared to ask a critical question was dismissed or treated as a conspirator.”
Maurer also expressed surprise at the negative reaction to comments he made in the media two weeks ago. He dismissed the outcry as an “anti-Maurer reflex” from the media.
But the former government minister did take the opportunity to qualify his earlier interview statement that anti-Covid vaccines are “a lot of hot air”.
“Of course, people immediately said that I was anti-vax, which is not true,” he stated on Sunday.
The usefulness of vaccines is undisputed, but Switzerland went too far by telling everyone to get vaccinated, Maurer said. “I am convinced that in the coming years we will increasingly deal with the damage caused by the vaccine,” he added.
Maurer also answered critics who say he let down small businesses by not allowing more financial aid during the pandemic. “The state cannot be responsible for everything. Nor can it protect everyone from death,” he said.
“The state must help protect society, but it can only distribute the money it first takes from people.”
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
November 24, 2024 votes: the results from across Switzerland
Authorities underestimated severe weather risks in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
Violent storms hit the Misox valley in southern Switzerland in June, causing severe damage and two fatalities. New analysis, presented on Monday, shows that authorities underestimated some of the dangers.
Switzerland and Italy announce closer police and migration cooperation
This content was published on
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and his Swiss counterpart, Beat Jans, met in the border town of Chiasso in southern Switzerland on Monday.
This content was published on
Geneva police carried out a major operation in the east of the city on Monday, following reports that a parcel bomb had exploded in an apartment building and injured one person.
Swiss government adopts three-pronged approach to end violence against women
This content was published on
Over the next few years, the federal government intends to take action against gender-based violence in three main areas.
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.