man instead of superman

Simonetta Sommaruga is the most prudent politician in Switzerland.

It must be because it politicizes from a minority position. This is a significant difference from the middle class in our state government. As a rule, they can count on the fact that with the deal they will find a majority in the Federal Council and Parliament. As a result, they don’t have to worry about the details. Another thing is the Social Democrat Sommaruga. To achieve her goal, she must find allies. So your top officials make a list of possible parliamentary group partners for each proposal, who are then approached and courted at an early stage.

Sommaruga brought this form of applied algebra to perfection. This brought her unexpected success. And sworn enemies. Sommaruga became a favorite target of the right camp.

Do you remember the Eritreans? When Sommaruga was minister of asylum, the political debate was dominated by refugees from an unjust state in northeast Africa. Not a single session passed without advances from the ranks of the FDP and the SVP, which in fact made Sommaruga personally responsible for the fact that people even had the idea to flee from there. Eritreans continue to come here: in the first nine months of this year, 1,387 asylum applications were submitted. However, there are no advances of Eritreans in the parliament. They have disappeared from the agenda since January 1, 2019, the same day that Karin Keller-Sutter took up her asylum case. Since then, the environmental and energy policies of the federal government have come under increasing attack. Responsible Minister: Simonetta Sommaruga.

On Wednesday, the 62-year-old woman stressed to the media that the constant attacks had not affected her. No question: the woman is tough. “Unapproachable” and “distant” were adjectives most often used in portraits after her retirement. And yet she is the federal councilor who least pretends and aspires to her position.

From the beginning of her career as a federal councillor, Sommaruga was more outspoken than anyone else in politics, and so vulnerable. On August 10, 2010, the then Berne Councilor of State announced her candidacy for the top job by inviting people to a press conference followed by a marathon of interviews. After a series of conversations in front of a microphone and camera, she suddenly asked for a day off. She needed to rest for an hour.

At the time, I wanted to ask her if this timeout could be interpreted as a lack of stability. Sommaruga’s answer: “It is clear that after two hours of continuous conversation, a break is needed. Also, I consider it a quality, not a weakness, to admit that you have reached your limits and can no longer think freshly. And: “I think it’s good when members of the government do not have to constantly show themselves to be superhuman.”

Sommaruga is now retiring because her husband, writer Lukas Hartmann, suffered a stroke. Even after twelve years in power, the country’s most calculating politician prefers to be human rather than superhuman.