Confusion over house ban House ban after dinner - municipality examines behavior of Visper politician

A Visp municipal councillor is making headlines after a visit to a restaurant in Solothurn: He was accused of "improper behavior" and the restaurant in question briefly banned him from the premises.

After an outing at the end of September, a member of the Visp municipal council is causing a stir. As reported by the "Walliser Bote" newspaper, the politician is suspected of having behaved improperly during a dinner at the La Couronne restaurant and hotel in Solothurn.

According to a letter obtained by the newspaper, the man is said to have looked at and shown "indecent content" on his smartphone during the meal - while restaurant employees were present.

The reaction was not long in coming: on October 1, the restaurant banned the politician from the premises for an indefinite period and even threatened to take legal action if he failed to comply. The Solothurn municipal police were also informed.

Three weeks later, however, there was a surprising retraction. Restaurant manager Mathias Bargetzi apologized in a letter to the municipal council and explained that the ban was "irrelevant". The case had been "cleared up and closed" - without, however, expressly retracting the original accusations.

Municipal councillor denies the allegations

In Visp, the allegations have kept political circles busy ever since. At the request of the "Walliser Bote", municipal president Niklaus Furger said that the municipality had been informed and was clarifying the incident internally. "In the interests of everyone involved and to protect personal rights, we are not disclosing any further details," he said in a brief statement. Within the administration, employees were also prohibited from speaking publicly about the case.

The accused municipal councillor firmly denies the allegations. It was a misunderstanding, he says. As proof, the politician refers to the letter of apology from the restaurant.

It remains unclear why Hotel La Couronne initially reacted harshly and later backtracked. The president of the Baseltor sponsoring cooperative, cantonal councillor Matthias Anderegg, described the matter as "not that important" and referred to the company lawyer - who did not want to comment for reasons of privacy.