Popular initiatives Federal Council wants to better protect members of initiative committees

Anyone who is a member of an initiative committee should be better protected from stalking in future. This is the demand of a motion from the SP parliamentary group. The Federal Council agrees with the proposal.

According to the motion by National Councillor Jacqueline Badran (SP/ZH), members of initiative committees should no longer have to publish their home address on the signature form, making them clearly identifiable to everyone. The National Council will decide on this next.

The Federal Council agreed with the request to amend the legal basis accordingly. It did not give any reasons for this. It published its favorable opinion on the motion on Thursday.

According to Badran, politically active people are increasingly exposed to personal threats. In addition to abusive and threatening letters, this also includes threats of physical violence, sometimes combined with a call to pay someone a "house call".

A residential address on a signature form is permanently visible on the Internet, she writes, and advocates an alternative, such as the date of birth. The existing option of providing a PO box or a business address is not a suitable solution for everyone.