The Minister of Health is resisting a mobile phone antenna because of health concerns. Another story is more explosive.
Apparently he doesn’t quite trust the assurances of his own health department either: Federal Councilor Alain Berset.
Switzerland is making progress with the 5G expansion. Mountain regions in this country can also benefit from the faster mobile communications standard. Nevertheless, the resistance is great. According to a survey by the online comparison service Comparis, 42 percent are in favor of rapid expansion – about the same number are against it.
The 5G skeptics apparently also include Health Minister Alain Berset and his family. As the “Blick” wrote on Thursday, Bersets have resisted the construction of a mobile phone antenna at their home in Belfaux. A Freiburg 5G opponent had obtained the documents with reference to the cantonal public information law and published a letter of complaint signed by Berset to the municipality.
In the letter, Berset’s wife, his mother and the Federal Councilor themselves put forward various reasons against the construction of the antenna: proximity to the school, local location, adverse effects on the landscape. That’s okay. Members of the state government are also allowed to defend themselves against unwelcome projects. However, the letter also contains a sentence that the 5G activist is now using as proof of the alleged danger of radiation. Because the Minister of Health writes verbatim: “Electromagnetic waves of technological origin, especially those that emanate from mobile phone technology, have harmful effects on humans and animals.” Compliance with radiation standards is therefore essential.
With this, Berset not only raises doubts about the radiation limit value passed by the Federal Council, he apparently also does not trust the assurances of his own health department. According to the BAG, the radiation can “warm up body tissue at very high intensities”. However, the Swiss limit values protect against excessive exposure.
Compared to “Blick”, Berset’s media spokesman, Christian Favre, hastened to put it into perspective: health concerns are not the main argument of the letter. Rather, Berset considers the location unsuitable. In addition, he only pointed out that “correct compliance with radiation standards is essential”.
Berset’s specialist for private matters has undoubtedly classified the letter from the Minister of Health correctly. Nevertheless, the antenna story is reminiscent of the flight of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his deputy Robert Habeck to Canada. While Müllers and Meiers have to wear masks on German trains, buses and planes, the two top politicians showed a happy face in the government machine.
It wasn’t illegal, but the damage was done. “Bild” promptly headlined: “Zoff about mask extra sausage for Scholz and Habeck: double standards!” With Berset, the media was friendlier. Only the FDP National Councilor Christian Wasserfallen publicly ranted about the Federal Council’s “aluminium hat rhetoric”.
As with all his larger and smaller affairs, Berset himself remains silent (“chose privée”). But secretly he should be happy that the media rushed to the “Blick” story and not to the recent revelation of “Weltwoche”. This reported on Thursday that the special investigator Peter Marti, who was investigating various indiscretions from the federal administration in the wake of the so-called crypto affair, also questioned Alain Berset. This while the ex-media spokesman, Peter Lauener, was in custody. The antenna story is not a scandal, the Federal Council approved disclosure of official secrets would be one.