Toni Brunner (48) can breathe easy. The former SVP president will not “have to dine with the wife of the Indonesian foreign minister as the husband of a federal councilor” as he feared. His partner, National Councilor Esther Friedli (45), has decided not to run for office to succeed SVP Finance Minister Ueli Maurer (71). Instead, she is aiming for the vacant seat of the Council of State in St. Gallen, as she announced to the media on Friday.
Cancellations on the current meter
With its regular opposition course, the SVP has the reputation of a naysayer party. And at the moment the SVPers more than live up to this reputation: no, no and one more time. With Friedli, another hopeful race for the Bundesrat cancels.
Besides Brunner, the preferred candidate of SVP sire Christoph Blocher (82), Blocher’s daughter Magdalena Martullo-Blocher (53) also rejected early on. Members of the National Council Franz Grüter (59), Marcel Dettling (41) and Monika Rüegger (54) also do not want to be in government. Just like councilor Diana Gutjahr (38), Bernese councilor Pierre Alain Schnegg (59) and Stadler Rail boss Peter Spuhler (62), to name just a few.
So far, only two Bernese have thrown in their hats – state councilor Werner Salzmann (59) and national councilor and ex-party leader Albert Rösti (55). Both are considered good choices. Still: Only two people interested in the highest political office in the country are very modest for by far the largest party – especially since President Marco Chiesa (48) announced that he wanted to hand over at least one two-person ticket to parliament.
desperately looking for a candidate
The cantonal part of Zurich, which has left its mark on SVP Switzerland for years, seems almost desperate. After cancellations by government councilor Natalie Rickli (45) and national councilor Gregor Rutz (50), the party has to work with potential candidates not to give up the almost historic seat of Zurich in the Bundesrat without a fight. She seems completely surprised by Maurer’s dismissal, which was foreseeable given his advanced age.
There are still individual party members who have kept themselves inconspicuous to this day. However, all of them would only be considered outsiders or even “place fillers”. This even applies to party leader Thomas Aeschi (43) or board member Thomas Matter (56). They are far too polarizing in parliament to stand a chance of elections.
Recruiting staff failed
The SVP cannot ignore the fact that the development of willing and capable candidates has been neglected in recent years. Even after Rösti left, she struggled for a long time to find someone to lead the party. To this day, the Ticino Council of States Chiesa would only be a stopgap solution.
What the SVP should be concerned about, however, is acknowledged by many with only a shrug. The problems are homemade. The Zurich wing resists too often and rarely offers solutions. And the impression that the party is still ruled by Blocher is too strong.
The Berner has to solve it
It is therefore foreseeable: the once proud Zurich wing will have to give way to the Bernese. The SVP was not exactly happy with his last Berner in the Federal Council: Adolf Ogi (80) was not liked by many in his own ranks as an EU friend. Samuel Schmid (75) was even mocked as “half the federal councilor” and eventually expelled. But the tide has turned: now the party leadership can be happy that the Berner is still there.