“The hottest gamble in Solothurn”: Ypsomed boss Simon Michel wants to go to the Federal Palace

Who will win the race is currently “the best bet at the regular tables,” says Solothurn SP councilor Franziska Roth (57). As a leftist, she watches the civil election campaign with interest. Two other respected FDP members from the Olten constituency are running against Michel; like Rufer, they are also association officers.

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Roth knows Simon Michel from foundations and does not hesitate to compliment the candidate entrepreneur. «Simon Michel is an experienced cantonal politician. He has a lot of knowledge, is serious, is involved in the problems,” says the SP woman. Unlike others, Michel is “not a flag in the wind”.

Model employer

Roth also emphasizes his social involvement. Michel promotes sport and has a heart for people with disabilities. “Ypsomed provides accommodation for people with disabilities who have difficulty finding work elsewhere,” says Roth. Young people with abnormalities would also get a second chance at Ypsomed.

Ypsomed is known as a company where people stay for a long time, including retirees who want to continue working after the age of 65. Senior managers were given a lot of freedom in their tasks. The candidate for the National Council appears to be an exceptional professional. Reason enough to meet him.

Politics instead of Mallorca

Michel does not want to rest on his laurels. “I could spend the summer in Mallorca in our house,” he says, but that doesn’t suit him. It became politicized in 2017 with the EU issue. His industry, MedTech, was the first to experience the full brunt of the EU’s eroding bilateral agreements.

It was initially virtually excluded from the EU market. Michel and his colleagues stood on their hind legs. In 2017, Michel co-founded the Swiss Medtech Association, which advocates practical bilateral solutions. He succeeded.

He has dismissed the EU critics

The pro-bilateral movement Progressuisse with 600 members is also Michel’s child. “It is intended to support Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in the negotiations,” he explains. Michel sees them as a counterpoint to the noisy EU opponents in the business camp: Autonomysuisse (logistics expert Hans-Jörg Bertschi & Co) and Kompass Europa (Alfred Ganters Partners Group & Co).

In this context, Michel has achieved something. He brought the opponents on board for briefings so that they were informed of Switzerland’s progress in negotiations with the EU. His strategy is paying off. Both Hans-Jörg Bertschi (67) and Alfred Ganter (56) and their comrades are silent now that the Federal Council is entering the final phase of the EU negotiations. And so it is that Michel is seen in the business community as one of the best-informed EU insiders.

New in the top committee of Economiesuisse

Business representatives would like to see him, the CEO Michel, elected, because his class is scarce in parliament: the rest are Eems boss Magdalena Martullo Blocher (54) and state councilor Ruedi Noser (62). But the latter resigns. And this leaves a hole in the economic competence of the FDP faction. Party strategists hope that Michel will stand as a candidate ‘to replace Ruedi Noser’, as one person puts it.

Michel can claim to have been elected last week as a member of the board of the umbrella organization Economiesuisse. “It is certainly easier to convey companies’ concerns if someone knows this world firsthand,” said Gabriel Rumo, director of Swissholdings, which represents major companies in parliament.

Noser hopes for two seats

Noser says he is happy if Michel is chosen “as my friend and thoroughbred entrepreneur”. However, he does not want to take sides. The canton has four excellent candidates. Director Rufer of the farmers’ association is a “liberal FDP member” with whom he has worked closely. Noser believes that the FDP will win two seats and that there is room for both.

Money also ensures that Michel becomes more famous. “Political marketing shows that the more election leaflets in the mailbox, the more votes you get as a candidate,” says Michel. Personally, he invests “a high five-figure sum.” He received donations, but these remained below the disclosure limit of 15,000 francs.

So far, Michel has been able to direct many things in his life to success. But it is completely unclear whether the infantry will send him to Bern.

35 farmers, two managers

His campaign partner Martin Rufer finds the contrast between entrepreneur and farmer representative inappropriate. The times are “gone when agriculture and business could afford to compete with each other,” he says. To close these gaps, he took on the role of association director in 2020.

“I have made an important contribution to ensuring that today the farmers’ association, Economiesuisse and other business associations come together again and win votes.” Anyone who drives a wedge between farmers and other entrepreneurs only helps left-green ideas. Michel fully agrees with him on this.

And yet the fact remains that there are about 35 farmer representatives in the current parliament and only two representatives who know the big companies inside and out. And that the farmer lobby has prevented important free trade agreements, which is harmful to the economy. If top entrepreneur Noser leaves, Michel would be the most obvious alternative to the FDP in the National Council.