Pascal Couchepin shares: “SP and SVP damage political culture”

Your party has 14.3 percent of the votes, the Greens just under 10. Is their claim not justified?
We lost one seat in the National Council and the Greens lost five. And their GLP cousins ​​even have six. I don’t understand how anyone in such a situation could make this announcement.

Speaking of math: what went through your mind when you heard about the Federal Bureau of Statistics’ mistake?
I was just having lunch with former federal councilors and the news was basically served to us for dessert. Most of them smiled.

You mean out of joy?
Of course this glitch is embarrassing. Not least for you, the journalists! A historical event was written about and a change in Swiss politics was reported. And just a few days later the revolution is canceled – until next time.

I appreciate your criticism in the media, but aren’t federal officials responsible for this mistake?
The Federal Statistical Office is located in Neuchâtel, quite a distance from Bern. Independent scientists work there who do not like to be spoken to. It now appears that a little more supervision can’t hurt.

The corrected figures do not help the FDP either. Since 2019, it has lost almost one percent. What went wrong?
The two tightly managed polar parties, the SP and the SVP, are damaging the liberal culture that has always characterized this country. When emotions run high, our direct democracy suffers. The question now arises for the Liberals whether they want to use the same methods to campaign in the future. More discipline and polemics could lead to better results – but would the FDP still be a liberal party?

The SVP party soldiers still receive their orders from Herrliberg.
I don’t know much about geography.

The goal of FDP president Thierry Burkart was to win more seats in parliament and overtake the SP. And failed with this announcement. Do you think he is still the right man at the top of the party?
Thierry Burkart enjoys the trust of the people who deal with him on a daily basis. In Aargau he was re-elected to the Council of States with a brilliant result, especially in a canton where the SVP is in charge. That shows: He is the right man. I hope he continues.

They’re talking about these elections. In the future, the FDP will have one seat less than the center in the National Council.
The CVP had a great tradition and stood for certain content. That’s all gone. What remained was a group that wanted to play referee. Have you ever seen people applauding the referee during a football match? This attitude has no future. Mitte President Gerhard Pfister is a gifted orator. What he says is always smart, never stupid. But he always formulates the content very vaguely.

This seems to be a common recipe for success in politics: identifying problems but not offering solutions.
Precisely! Just look at the center’s cost-saving initiative. It says: If healthcare costs are spiraling out of control, the federal government must take action. But which? It is always said that these are known. As a citizen I answer: anyone can say that!

The SVP takes this principle to the extreme.
The fact that their propaganda catches on always amazes me. The SVP draws up a list of problems: If you don’t want that, vote for the SVP. You search in vain for solutions to these problems. In the past, voters would have laughed, but now they are excited. That should give us food for thought.

Things are not looking rosy for you in the Council of States. A number of FDP candidates will no longer participate in the second voting round. A capitulation for the SVP?
I think that’s a shame, it could also have happened in Solothurn, but the candidates have to decide that themselves. There is still hope in Ticino, things look good in Vaud and Freiburg.

And in your home canton of Valais?
Our candidate Philippe Nantermod said it looked like a football match between Liechtenstein and Spain. If there is even the slightest chance of ultimately leaving the field as a winner, you will participate. Liberals are absolutely right to believe in this possibility. Fortunately, the outcome of an election in a democracy is not clear from the start.

Are you actually comparing the FDP with a football dwarf?

Only in the canton of Valais! We are well represented in the original Switzerland. We have problems in places where liberalism has traditionally been strong. In Bern, for example, but also in Zurich.

Why is that?
It used to be simple: citizens voted for the FDP. Now there is the SVP, which is not a liberal party, but a conservative and probably also democratic party.

You get the impression that your party is leaving the field for this SVP.
How many seats does the SVP have in the Council of States? Seven, maybe eight soon. For an election winner with almost 30 percent of the votes, this is not a great success.

The FDP is the founding party of the state. This downward trend has been going on for thirty years. It’s entirely possible that the middle bracket will actually overtake them in a few years.
I pray to God that I don’t have to experience this debacle again. But that’s not the point. What’s more important is how we solve this country’s problems. SVP and SP will not do it.

Finally, one more topic: the FDP wants us all to work longer. Do you agree with the pension initiative that we will vote on in March?
It is logical that we link the retirement age to life expectancy. Otherwise, one day the bill will stop increasing. Two weeks ago, Mathias Reynard, state councilor of the Valais SP, hired an experienced woman to combat human trafficking. Gabrielle Nanchen is a year younger than me. This gives me hope that the SP will continue to follow our line. But you shouldn’t overdo it.