Tuesday evening at the Bellevue bar in Bern, the so-called Night of the Long Knives. The President of the Basel District, Beat Jans, is on a promotional tour of his candidate for the Federal Council, Eva Herzog. But even Jans admits that the SP councilor from the city canton does not come across as sympathetic enough. She needs to improve her communication skills.
Such a knife can sometimes end up in the hands of a man with the best of intentions.
Because communication is everything in the 2022 Federal Council elections. While Simonetta Sommaruga said goodbye to parliament on Wednesday morning, candidate Albert Rösti was busy working on the manuscript of his acceptance speech. At 733 words, this will be the longest speech by a newly elected Federal Councilor in living memory. Christoph Blocher was content with 274 words, Uli Maurer – 229. The most silent over the past 20 years was Hans-Rudolf Merz: 69 words were enough for him to announce his consent to the elections.
Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has no sentences in Italian or Romansh when she first addresses Parliament as a federal councilor. But even so, she reads (675 words) the second longest lecture by a new member of the government – immediately after Record-Rösti.
Non-state-supporting liturgical formulas of “building bridges” (Baume-Schneider) or “mutual respect” (Rösti) have implications for the past. The neo-federal adviser Blocher once attempted to find “workable compromises”. And Maurer vowed: “I can assure you that I will do my best to find solutions for our country in the interests of all who live here with us.” Rösti and Baume-Schneider need more time to talk because they get personal: she talks about their charm and clumsiness, and before Rösti, no Swiss judge had ever confessed his love in his wife’s inaugural address.
The tone of Swiss politics has become noticeably tougher in recent decades. During the pandemic, domestic political tension then increased unbearably. It would be too understandable if the past Wednesday marked a conscious counterpoint. The election of Albert Rösti and Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and their appearances before parliament: are they the politicians’ commitment to greater humanity and mutual respect?
Today we are seeing how Russia wants to distinguish itself as a pioneer of a new world order – with far-reaching consequences for our country. Election year is now approaching, and it is the two newcomers to the state government who will be especially vulnerable: Baume-Schneider as Minister of Asylum in the midst of a historic refugee crisis, Rösti as Minister of Energy and the Environment in the midst of the crisis. energy crisis, not to mention the climate crisis.
Can we hope, after a memorable Wednesday, that the SVP will at least not polemicize with Elisabeth Baume-Schneider to the extent that she polemicized with former SP Asylum Minister Simonetta Sommaruga? On the contrary, it is desirable that the red-green camp refrain from simply conducting a clumsy campaign against Albert Rösti. And instead takes a detailed look at where further potential can be seen in expanding the use of renewable energy – regardless of the expected resistance from conservationists and landscape conservationists.
But isn’t all this just a pious fiction? On Thursday, the day after the election, Federal President Ignazio Cassis originally scheduled a 12:30 pm departmental allocation meeting, even though Interior Minister Alain Berset had parliamentary commitments at the time. Surrounded by Berset, he is seen as a show of strength. At the very meeting, four members of the Federal Council from the SVP and the FDP sent two Social Democrats to their places: Berset, although a high-ranking official and who decided to change, was not admitted to the post of Minister of Finance, Baume-Schneider ended up in the department of justice and police without demand.
True, there are indeed departments less attractive to the Social Democracy. However, after 24 hours, nothing remained of the great harmony of the previous day.
Gyeri Kaveti
Source: Blick
I am David Miller, a highly experienced news reporter and author for 24 Instant News. I specialize in opinion pieces and have written extensively on current events, politics, social issues, and more. My writing has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and BBC News. I strive to be fair-minded while also producing thought-provoking content that encourages readers to engage with the topics I discuss.
