Frank A. Meyer – Category: “Ticket”

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>

Indeed, elections to the Federal Council are a very complex matter: seven ministers are elected individually, one after the other. In 1973, Willy Rietshard was elected to the Federal Council instead of the official SP candidate Arthur Schmid, which contributed to the non-election of the official CVP candidate in the next round of voting, which immediately triggered the non-election of the official FDP candidate – a cascade of non-elections.

The profound entertainment value of the Federal Council elections is therefore beyond doubt. Federal Council researchers are thriving. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung, which has always been closely connected with the Federal Palace, or even part of it, this week carefully examined in 106 lines the question of whether a centrist representative could overthrow the FDP federal councilor on Wednesday after next.

It has recently become common practice to treat elections to the College of Seven as an internal, even intimate, matter of the federal House of Representatives. The Social Democrats, whose battered star Alain Berset is to be replaced this time, present their “ticket,” as they call the two comrades offering it to the electoral body, the Federal Assembly. Representatives of the main right-wing parties promise to accept this leftist “ticket” as long as their “ticket” remains intact.

A complex production called “Elections”.

What happened in 1973 with the non-election of Schmid, Franzoni and Schmitt, later with the election of Metzler or the cancellation of the election of Blocher – what can happen to candidates in an election, since it is an election, must be eliminated before the election takes place. .

The Federal Assembly, disciplined by the authorities responsible for the elections to the Federal Council.

The Swiss People’s Party even has a ban on this matter: a SVP parliamentarian elected against the SVP “ticket” loses party membership. Which party most often talks about freedom and democracy on all other days of the year?

In fact, the mandate of a member of the Federal Assembly would be a free mandate, the decision of which would therefore be subject exclusively to conscience. The parliamentarian acts as the citizen’s representative in the most important electoral act under the dome of the federal house – the election of the state government.

This demand for independence is now being transformed into a power play between the parties.

The Social Democrats especially stand out in this regard. The “ticket” was prepared within the party and punished possible violations during voting in the parliamentary group. Colleagues from the bourgeois parties and the populist camp will adhere to the verdict of their comrades – too much electoral freedom can turn into a disaster for their own “ticket”.

Thus, “ticket” tactics remove the election of the Federal Council from discussion in parliament: the electoral process takes place in party committees – and is served to the Federal Assembly as a ready-made dish, as a binding “ticket”. “for approval – in the case of the Union of Right Forces, at least with the possibility of choosing between the two chosen ones.

Party politics instead of parliamentary politics.

Such apolitical behavior has long been commonplace in Federal Council elections. The composition of the government – two ministers from each of the three major parties and one minister from each of the minor parties – is celebrated as the “magic formula”, the formula itself being a game of numbers: the share of voters and the size of the parliamentary group are numerical criteria! – decide on positions in the government.

There is currently a delicate calculation going on between the FDP and the center: has the center overtaken free movement? Should she run for the second seat, the Liberal seat? Or wait until she becomes clearly stronger in four years?

Mathematics replaces politics.

Swiss government: mathematically based “ticket”.

Magic.

Source: Blick