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Mattea Meyer says he assumes that the promise of the Greens – not to attack the SP seat – still applies. You have to be ‘strong together’.
Cédric Wermuth says there was a brief exchange of information with the Greens today. “But not more than they know about the media.”
This concludes the media conference.
Wermuth is asked if it is compatible to lead a party into the election year and at the same time be a candidate for the Bundesrat? He replies that he has no experience with either. Mattea Meyer says she has other goals in the coming weeks, namely conducting a good election campaign for the SP.
Does Berset’s decision mean that the SP will lose its prestigious Home Affairs department? Mattea Meyer replies that it is a risk. Many things have been done right in the past 12 years.
Wermuth spoke fluent French at the media conference. Is that a sign of a candidacy? Wermuth smiles off the question and thanks for the compliment.
Roger Nordmann adds that all three on stage “didn’t have time” to think about a candidacy.
Alain Berset informed the co-presidency “in recent days,” says Mattea Meyer.
Switzerland needs two Social Democratic Federal Councillors, says Roger Nordmann. Wermuth adds that he wants to become stronger together with the Greens.
Cédric Wermuth is asked whether he will retire early in the election year. He says it was a personal decision by Alain Berset and not a tactical consideration. The SP wants to come out of the elections ‘stronger’. “Everything else will come out when the election comes around.”
Mattea Meyer is asked if it should be a man from German-speaking Switzerland. Much is still unclear: whether there are any other vacancies, who will lead the group – “it is all still unclear”, says Meyer. “We are the party of equality.” The question of whether there are criteria is ultimately decided by the parliamentary party.
As a reminder, when Simonetta Sommaruga was vacant, the party leadership decided early on that it should be a woman again. This has led to resentment.
That period was much shorter then, says Meyer. Today it is another starting point. “Today, potential candidates have months to consider whether they want the office.”
Roger Nordmann explains how to proceed. “We now have more time than with other vacancies,” said the party chairman. The new team will also have a say here. There will be no resolutions today. The deadlines and other questions will be clarified with the new group presidency. “You don’t have to hurry.”
Now the second SP chairman, Cédric Wermuth, is also speaking. He also thanks Alain Berset and repeats Berset’s greatest successes. Finally, a Freudian slip: Cédric Wermuth gives the floor to “Alain Bers…, uh, Roger Nordmann”. He is laughed at that. But he does not want to prejudge any candidacy, he adds.
SP federal councilor Alain Berset (51) will resign at the end of this year. Now the candidate carousel is already turning for his successor. After Simonetta Sommaruga (63) came to the Federal Council with Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) last year, the focus is now on a German-Swiss man.
In men, the Zurich Council of States Daniel Jositsch (58) or the National Councilors Matthias Aebischer (55, BE) and Jon Pult (38, GR) are in the spotlight.
However, Jositsch’s dispute with the party in the Sommaruga successor should be a drawback. For many comrades, the anger has not yet evaporated. However, as his party’s official candidate, he would have election chances well into the middle class camp. Especially since Zurich would then be back in government. Jositsch currently leaves open whether he will participate. “I will communicate in the coming days,” he writes to Blick. “I will discuss this in my environment and with the party leadership and then decide.”
Matthias Aebischer would also have ambitions for the office of the Federal Council. When it came to the Sommaruga successor, the former television man held back, which should now earn him a few points in the match. He is also quite moderate in his politics, which should earn him many votes in the bourgeois camp. However, Albert Rösti (55) is already a Bernese member of the Federal Council, which again reduces Aebischer’s chances.
The desk, which is only 38 years old, could provide a breath of fresh air. The transport politician is considered a solid creator. As chairman of the Alpine Initiative, the native of Graubünden is also a well-known figure throughout Switzerland. However, he has only been a member of the National Council since 2019.
There are also German-Swiss socialists from outside parliament who could be candidates. The Basel district chairman Beat Jans (58) was still politicizing in the National Council until the end of 2020 and is therefore no stranger to Swiss parliamentarians. It is quite possible that he will throw his hat in the ring for the Basel region after the candidacy of SP councilor Eva Herzog (61) failed last year. Jans had strongly represented Basel’s interests.
The field will probably remain open to women, even if there is a male seat available this time. The SP as a women’s party would do well with two federal councilors. That means that – keyword Basel – Eva Herzog is again central.
It is quite the question whether she will participate again after last year’s election defeat. She’ll have to think hard about this. However, she could also benefit from a “compassion bonus”. In the end, Karin Keller-Sutter (59) was only elected by the FDP at the second attempt. However, it is more likely that Herzog will focus on the presidency of the Council of States, which she will take over in December. She herself is not yet on the branches: “I have plenty of time to think about it!”, she writes to Blick.
As for the women, Bernese National Councilors Flavia Wasserfallen (44) and Nadine Masshardt (38) are expected to hold the position of the Federal Council. They are both sized for a government office and would also fit the image of the ‘young mother’ that the SP pushed for the Sommaruga successor. However, as with Aebischer, her origin from Bern is a disadvantage.
It is unclear whether the two want that – because Wasserfallen is a candidate for the Council of States and Masshardt is more likely to run for office in the Bernese government. In any case, both canceled the Sommaruga successor.
In Zurich, National Councilors Min Li Marti (49) and Priska Seiler Graf (54) are likely to consider running for office. In principle, she is considering a candidacy, says Marti when asked. “It also very much depends on the circumstances and the line-up.” Seiler Graf also does not take himself out of the race: “The resignation of Alain Berset came as a surprise to me. Like all my colleagues, I will have to think about it this summer.”
Although the focus is on German-speaking Switzerland, applications from French-speaking Switzerland are not excluded. Former SP boss and current post president Christian Levrat (52) would be an option. With him, a Freiburger would follow the Freiburger Berset.
Group leader Roger Nordmann (50, VD) or National Council member and trade union leader Pierre-Yves Maillard (55, VD) would also be an option.
However, it is unlikely that Swiss candidacies will get as many chances in parliament this time, as there have been three French speakers on the board since the beginning of the year. And with Ignazio Cassis (62) from Ticino, the Latins are even in the majority. This should prevent important French-speaking Swiss, who may have ambitions for later, from standing for election this time. Rather, they are looking at Baume-Schneider’s successor.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
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