Georg W. Bush’s term has long-lasting and sorry consequences. The judges he enthroned let now trick themselves by the idea of liberty of expression and provide the financially powerful business lobby with tremendous advantages to influence political decisions. Free competition of interest groups is certainly a good idea but it just doesn’t work if some groups can draw on nearly unlimited funds while others have little financial leverage. It is well established that money can buy votes or opinions if one can afford to repeat the message over and over again. We can expect the financial industry to use the freedom of influence in order to put strong pressure on congressmen to veto any regulation or compensation for the costs burdened by taxpayers and caused by unchecked and risky business practices. Likewise, the health companies (against needed reform) and the energy lobby (against climate protection, pollution acts and for exploration in natural reserves) will have even better cards to bring down any progress in these fields and therefore to solidify the worrisome political blockade of federal policy: ”Either you rethink your position on our subject of concern, or we ”invest” 50m in your reelection challenger.” It is certainly worth asking wether such foreseeable menaces are linked to the freedom of expressions. In all this cases, the opposing interest groups are greatly out-financed and the stipulated fair competition of ideas is not more than a utopia in some conservative judges’ minds.
Similarly, the majoritarian Swiss conservatives are voting down any attempt of making finances of political parties and campaigners transparent. They obviously don’t want to give away their huge financial advantage over challenging interests and political parties. In addition, voters of the conservative people party would most probably not appreciate to learn that their supposedly frank and modest party of choice is prospering thanks to the enormous financial support it receives from a ultra-conservative billionaire.
Source: Zeit
