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Suddenly there is a buzz in the Brasserie Federal at Zurich’s main station. Jon Pult (39) comes from the photo shoot in the station hall, he looks for his backpack and becomes nervous for a moment. ‘My whole life is in there!’ he says. But: false alarm! It’s almost noon and the hut is correspondingly full. The SRF team accompanying him had to switch tables and leave Pult’s luggage elsewhere. Happy ending.
Pult also had a happy ending last Saturday. His SP placed him on the Federal Council ticket together with Beat Jans (59) from Basel. The two are now official SP candidates for the elections as successors to retiring federal councilor Alain Berset (51).
Blick: Mr. Pult, it is not every day that you are nominated as a candidate for the Federal Council. How did it feel last Saturday?
Jon Pult: It was pure sensation. I am incredibly happy with the nomination and am grateful that I can nominate myself as an official candidate for the Federal Council for the SP.
Now it’s just beginning. The elections are in a week and a half. Is the pressure on you increasing?
I have good nerves and am resistant to stress. And being a federal councilor is a job with a lot of pressure and stress. That’s why I don’t want to complain. But of course: I also need a short break every now and then – to clear my head, do a little exercise, reduce stress, relax. At least I’ve always slept well so far.
Now you have to convince the other factions. How do you approach this?
We must create a new cohesion. This will be one of the most important tasks of politics in general and of the Federal Council in particular in the coming years. That’s my message. Added: I will not bend during the hearings. I don’t want to please with sudden changes of position. And don’t make me bigger than I am.
In Bern, however, you hear exactly these accusations: since you were discussed as a candidate, you have bent over backwards and conceded.
I am aware that as a federal councilor I would have a very different role than I do now. I try to show that so people can trust me to change roles. But I never adapted to the content. In short: I am just who I am and I hope that comes across convincingly.
But who is this Jon Pult, born in 1984 in Scuol GR as a dual Swiss-Italian citizen, raised trilingually in Guarda, Milan, Domat/Ems and Chur, married to journalist Sara, childless, strategy and communications consultant by profession, for 20 years in the politics? The man who is now preparing to become the new SP councilor? Do we know him?
The answer is easy and difficult at the same time. Easy, because you regularly encounter public figures such as politicians over the years. The Bunden resident was hyped early on on the national stage as a local politician: as a gifted orator, as one of the greatest political talents of the Social Democrats and as a future federal councilor.
Demonstrate a political career
Pult had a perfect political career: he entered politics in 2004 when he was elected to the Chur city parliament at the age of 19. At the age of 24 he took over the presidency of the SP Graubünden, at the age of 26 he politicized in the Grand Council of Graubünden and at the age of 29 he became chairman of the Alpine Initiative.
Six years later, on his third attempt, he moved to the federal parliament as a national councilor. At the age of 36, the SP Switzerland appointed him vice-president. In the Grand Chamber he is now chairman of the Committee on Transport and Telecommunications. And now, at age 39, Pult could become a federal councilor.
You would be the youngest federal council member. Why do you dare to take on this position?
I am the right age, full of energy and have the desire and desire to create. I have the confidence to lead a department. And to play a positive role in Swiss politics as a team player with the other six members of the Federal Council.
What would you bring to the Federal Council as a representative of a young generation?
In middle age I have a different view of the world, of Switzerland, of our challenges. Two topics are particularly important to me: the climate crisis and major technical and social changes.
If you get elected, at most you should be the Interior Department. i.e. the EDI. We remember the fax fiasco during the Corona pandemic. Have you ever used a fax machine?
Never. I hope I don’t have to do that in EDI either. The topic of digitalization is a priority that we must promote. As a millennial, I can make a more direct connection here and also bring in the relevant perspectives.
Pragmatism. Rode. Leadership. Reliability. Talent. These are key words that you hear when you talk to other parliamentarians through the office.
Qualities that helped him achieve his greatest success in his home canton in 2017. At the time, the SP and the Greens, led by Pult, rejected cantonal plans for the Winter Olympics – against the efforts of the other parties and business associations.
Bridge builder with regular table knowledge
So who is Jon Pult? The answer to this question is also difficult. You can’t see everything, even if someone is in public. And because the politician Jon Pult has built a thick wall around the private individual Jon Pult. What he reveals is carefully read: that he likes to travel, eat, read, go jogging in the woods, smoke the occasional cigarette, sit in the bar and listen.
Jon Pult enjoys a reputation for exceptional expertise. Even though he doesn’t have a regular meeting place, he still visits the bar every now and then. In Bern, Chur, Engadin or Milan. Because he can talk to people at any table. “Talking to each other means listening, understanding – and also being understandable. This is how you build bridges between each other,” says Pult.
To underline this, Pult greets a politician from Ticino who has just entered the Brasserie Federal and immediately switches to Italian: ‘Ciao, come stai’, a pat on the back, a short conversation. This is how you build bridges.
Then he packs his backpack, his life, he has to move on – to the next interview.
Blick: You grew up in Graubünden. Lived in Italy as a child, speaks Romansh, Italian and German. What is your house?
Jon Pult: Graubünden. I grew up largely in Chur, still live there and feel at home in Graubünden. At the same time I also live in Bern. I feel at home everywhere, in Switzerland and in Europe. I am a European from Graubünden. But as a politician I am 100 percent committed to all of Switzerland.
Where and when do your best ideas come to you?
In the shower or while jogging in the woods.
What career ambitions did you have as a child?
I had two: When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a police officer. A little later pop or rock singer. Now I’m a politician. I don’t know if that is a combination of both wishes (laughs).
How did you earn your first money?
I got my first employment contract when I was 15 or 14. Together with a colleague I placed an advertisement in a neighborhood in Chur.
Which household chores do you do yourself?
A little bit of everything. My wife and I do not have a clear separation. But what I definitely do often is clean up after dinner. Our rule is that when you cook, you don’t have to clean up. And because my wife cooks a little more, I have to clean up more.
What do you often fail at?
Because I don’t exercise often enough. My goal would actually be to jog three times a week and do gymnastics at home. Unfortunately I can’t do that at the moment.
Do you have a secret vice?
Unfortunately I smoke here and there. But I try to limit that, because it is really unhealthy and you notice that.
What’s your favorite food?
I don’t really have a favorite food. But I really like gnocchi.
Interview: Thobias Ochsenbein
Blick: You grew up in Graubünden. Lived in Italy as a child, speaks Romansh, Italian and German. What is your house?
Jon Pult: Graubünden. I grew up largely in Chur, still live there and feel at home in Graubünden. At the same time I also live in Bern. I feel at home everywhere, in Switzerland and in Europe. I am a European from Graubünden. But as a politician I am 100 percent committed to all of Switzerland.
Where and when do your best ideas come to you?
In the shower or while jogging in the woods.
What career ambitions did you have as a child?
I had two: When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a police officer. A little later pop or rock singer. Now I’m a politician. I don’t know if that is a combination of both wishes (laughs).
How did you earn your first money?
I got my first employment contract when I was 15 or 14. Together with a colleague I placed an advertisement in a neighborhood in Chur.
Which household chores do you do yourself?
A little bit of everything. My wife and I do not have a clear separation. But what I definitely do often is clean up after dinner. Our rule is that when you cook, you don’t have to clean up. And because my wife cooks a little more, I have to clean up more.
What do you often fail at?
Because I don’t exercise often enough. My goal would actually be to jog three times a week and do gymnastics at home. Unfortunately I can’t do that at the moment.
Do you have a secret vice?
Unfortunately I smoke here and there. But I try to limit that, because it is really unhealthy and you notice that.
What’s your favorite food?
I don’t really have a favorite food. But I really like gnocchi.
Interview: Thobias Ochsenbein
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.
