SVP files complaint against “defamatory” crossword puzzle
Published: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 14:00
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The Lower Valais SVP intends to file a lawsuit following a crossword puzzle published in the newspaper "Le Nouvelliste" in which the party was defined as racist, among other things. This was announced on Thursday on local radio station Rhône FM.
The lawsuit is directed against Visarte, the umbrella organization for artists in Valais. On the occasion of Visarte's 50th anniversary, the newspaper had collaborated with the association as part of an artistic partnership.
In the crossword puzzle published by "Le Nouvelliste" on November 18, the search was for a "Swiss, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-ecological, anti-poor and nationalist party" with three letters. The correct answer was UDC (SVP).
The party considered this to be defamatory and expressed its "dismay" at the article in a press release. The newspaper "Le Nouvelliste" subsequently apologized to the party. But this is not enough for the party.
"Limits of the reasonable"
Speaking to Rhône FM on Thursday, SVP MP Alexandre Cipolla said: "Art can have a political dimension, but it must remain within the bounds of reason. "It is our duty to defend a section of the population that has felt attacked, even defamed and slandered," he said.
The affair also has political consequences. The SVP Lower Valais has submitted a postulate to the Grand Council. "We are attacking Visarte because it receives public funds that are used, among other things, to subsidize the work of this artist, and we believe that these funds could be used for other purposes," said Cipolla.
One of the curators of the 50th anniversary celebration of Visarte Valais defended himself on the radio: "It's absolutely not defamatory, people are used to calling a spade a spade, at least in my environment," he explained. And the SVP had been condemned for racism, he continued.
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