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On the 30th anniversary of the “Arena”, former presenters looked back on memorable moments from the show. The central question was whether and how the culture of debate had changed over the years.
It was a memorable evening in Studio 8: In addition to Sandro Brotz, the current moderator, all the former moderators also came together in the “Arena” for a kind of class reunion. The guests reminisced about past “Arena” editions.
Filippo Leutenegger was the first “Arena” moderator to launch the show. It was first broadcast in 1993. At that time, a political discussion in this form on the screen was a novelty. People Egger in the anniversary program: “Previously, the debate was mainly seated. Standing, however, allows more committed and free discussion. That’s why I wanted to be in the new show.” At that time, this took place in a studio whose construction was supposed to be reminiscent of picking sticks.
While the studio has been constantly renewed since then and the moderation has changed several times, certain program content has remained the same over the years. These long-running topics, such as the relationship between Switzerland and the EU, were discussed by young politicians in the anniversary program.
When asked whether the culture of debate had changed compared to before, Leutenegger replied: “When I listen to the group today, the culture of debate hasn’t changed much.” But this is part of the essence of Switzerland. This is the only way to find a consensus. “You have to listen to the opinion of the other side. Sometimes it’s unbearable, but we have to endure it.”
Sonja Hasler, who took over the co-moderation of the “Arena” with Urs Wiedmer from 2011, also recognizes parallels between the past and the present. In the anniversary show, she drew a comparison between the shows about the rescue of UBS at the time and those about the rescue of Credit Suisse in the recent past: “You could superimpose the shows from then and now and the argument would come out almost the same,” says Hasler.
Reto Brennwald experienced a special showdown on May 16, 2008: Christoph Blocher, who had been voted out, met his successor in the Federal Council, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, in public for the first time. “It was a turbulent show in which the participants were almost untamable. The situation was unique, a historic moment, »said Brennwald. The voting “arena” for the naturalization initiative still holds the quota record with over 800,000 spectators.
The cameras in the “Arena” always capture everything: heated discussions, missteps and even scandals. At the beginning of March 2016, Dieter Freiburghaus caused a stir. In the program of the then “Arena” moderator Jonas Projer, the Europe expert left the studio for a short time. “It takes a lot of size to make the decision to come back in such excitement. That made an impression on me,” says Projer. This is due not least to the recording manager behind the scenes at the time, who was able to calm Freiburghaus down.
Thanks to all these and other anecdotes from 30 years of “Arena”, there was an almost exuberant atmosphere in the anniversary show. It was the last show before the summer break. Editor-in-chief Franziska Egli gave a small preview of the second half of the year: “We have a lot planned for the autumn elections and will start on August 25 with a party presidential round. Then the hot phase of the election campaign begins.”
In addition, Egli hinted at a new format and revealed so much: “We have something very big in mind. There will be three additional programs in the main evening – it’s about politics, party presidents and elections. »