Former Director General for “political heavyweight” at the top of SRG
Published: Sunday, Jan 21st 2024, 10:30
Back to Live Feed
Former Director General Armin Walpen has called for a "political heavyweight" to succeed Gilles Marchand at the helm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG). In an interview with "Sonntagsblick", he suggested a middle-class leader.
"There is a lack of political networking on the institutional side of SRG," said the 75-year-old Walpen. He himself headed SRG from 1996 to 2010. The so-called halving initiative for a reduction in the radio and TV fee for private households from CHF 335 to CHF 200 per year poses an existential threat to SRG, said Walpen.
The SRG does not have the problem that it lacks expertise, said Walpen. "Today, however, it absolutely needs someone who is able to take the dialog and criticism seriously and stand up to it - someone who stands up to the attacks against SRG, and also opposes them."
Walpen would consider a "heavyweight" from the ranks of the SVP to be "ideal". In his opinion, it could also be someone from the FDP. In the interview, Walpen mentioned FDP party leader Thierry Burkart or Lucerne FDP member of the Council of States Damian Müller as candidates.
Walpen also criticized the current Board of Directors. "Apart from the Chairman Jean-Michel Cina, do you know of any member of the Board of Directors who has ever stepped forward and is reasonably well known in the country?" The members of the Board of Directors are "political lightweights". The regional associations are no different. "These are people who are probably reluctant to leave their comfort zone - even if, in my view, that's exactly what they're there for." The SRG's governing body needs to be reformed from the ground up.
SRG Director General Gillles Marchand, who has been in office since 2017, announced on Thursday that he would be taking early retirement by the beginning of 2025 at the latest. The media company wants to prepare itself for the media policy discussions of the coming years with a new top management team. In addition to the halving initiative, these include the negotiations on new concessions in 2027 and their decision by 2028.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic