The SP federal councilor in portrait: Last chance for Elisabeth Baume-Schneider

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Theater in the Bundeshaus West: Minister of Justice Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) welcomes her successor Beat Jans (59) and a dozen media professionals for the staged key transfer. Smile for the cameras, no questions allowed. He gives her a bouquet of SP red flowers, she puts the book ‘The Unfinished Direct Democracy’ in his hand – and on top of that a stack of unfinished files.

After a few minutes the traditional ghost work is over. The journalists leave, the federal councilor moves to the chamber of the National Council to endure for the last time a tirade of abuse from the right in her role as head of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Police (FDJP). As has almost always been the case over the past twelve months, she has been caught in the crossfire over her position on asylum policy.

Geneva SVP National Councilor Céline Amaudruz (44) wants to know when Baume-Schneider finally plans to order systematic border controls like those recently implemented by Germany. So far, the Jura native smiles at the same questions and parries the attacks with charm.

But this Wednesday afternoon something is different: Baume-Schneider is lifting the lid. The magistrate replies that she cannot be blamed for receiving a slap in the face from Germany. Shortly before Christmas, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider’s patience runs out. Time for a new beginning.

A change that makes sense

Baume-Schneider will try this from January as head of the Internal Affairs Department (EDI). Many in Parliament are convinced that this change was their plan from the start. The EYPD office as a waiting room until the first opportunity to escape presents itself. Her predecessors Karin Keller-Sutter (60) and Simonetta Sommaruga (63) took the path of least resistance for Baume-Schneider. They also left early.

Actually, it fits better this way: Baume-Schneider studied social sciences at the University of Neuchâtel, worked as a social worker and headed the University of Social Work and Health in Lausanne VD. As a government councilor, she headed the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. A career that progresses like this can logically only culminate in EDI.

The castling in the Federal Council may be logical, but it still surprised everyone. When she was elected a year ago, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider announced that she would not remain a federal councilor beyond retirement age. The time Baume-Schneider would stay at EDI could be enough to get into the office and start projects. However, the big throw required more endurance.

As a reminder, your predecessor, SP Federal Councilor Alain Berset (51), left no stone unturned for twelve years – and yet achieved only modest success on the complicated construction sites of the health care system or in the field of pension provision. When the keys were handed over to the EDI, Berset gave his successor an hourglass…

‘Baume-Schneider is weak in leadership’

He would immediately go for coffee with Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, says SVP Council Member Franz Grüter (60). As a person there is nothing wrong with the federal councilor, she is easy to get along with and people like her. “That’s why she was elected to the government.”

However, so far she has not done her job well, says Grüter. “Elisabeth Baume-Schneider is a weak leader and ignores the concerns of the population,” is the sobering assessment of the foreign politician from Lucerne. As an example, he cites the events surrounding the asylum seeker center in Chiasso TI last spring: grievances in public space, population growth at the border and a cry for help that has not been heard in Bern for far too long.

In May, when the situation at the southern border was already very tense, social worker Elisabeth Baume-Schneider took part in a day of action against poverty and precariat in Biel BE. The Minister of Justice only traveled to Ticino months later. After her visit in November, Baume-Schneider said she would like to live in Chiasso. What was intended as encouragement for a troubled place was perceived as an insult by opponents.

Elisabeth Baume-Schneider celebrated a success, albeit a small one, with the reform of sexual criminal law. The fact that the Federal Administrative Court a few days ago approved the appeal of two Afghan women against their deportation must have been balm for Baume-Schneider’s soul. Your State Secretariat for Migration has generally been granting asylum to Afghan women since the summer. The council was furious – and when it wanted to reverse the decision, it was waved away during the last winter session.

The debacle with the residential containers

However, the EJPD leader’s short tenure was overshadowed by the housing container debacle. In the spring, Parliament denied the Federal Council 130 million francs that should have been used for the construction of temporary asylum accommodation. It was said that the federal councilor was ill-prepared. Baume-Schneider never recovered from this defeat.

And now the switch to EDI. Baume-Schneider’s box probably also contains a collection of short stories that until last week were still on a bookcase in her old office: “Douze Fables – Twelve Fables”. “The fantastic world of Amélie” inevitably comes to mind. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has a lot in common with film heroine Amélie Poulain, who loves everyone, always smiles kindly – and sometimes seems a bit confused.

When an important issue of the Federal Council was recently discussed in the Security Committee of the National Council, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider stayed away from the de facto mandatory appointment without reason. The episode also caused irritation and some laughter when EBS failed to appear for Question Time in Parliament for several minutes during the summer session and no one knew exactly why. “We are waiting for the federal councilor – and we cannot find her,” surprised the then president of the National Council, Martin Candinas (43).

There is a lot to do in the Home Affairs department

Where will Elisabeth Baume-Schneider be in a year? It is said that the head of the EDI has been poring over her new files for weeks. Your party sees the change as an opportunity. “Four years is enough to determine the stakes,” says Sarah Wyss (35, MP on the SP council of Basel). She is hopeful that Baume-Schneider will make progress in the digitalization of healthcare. And a good trap considering the many votes the Minister of the Interior will have to deal with next year. The 13th AHV pension will commence in March. If it were accepted, it would be more expensive for social services – and not easier for the federal councilor responsible. Wyss is confident that Elisabeth Baume-Schneider brings the skills needed to lead the EDI. “It won’t be a walk.”

One thing is certain: the blacknose sheep bonus has evaporated, this time it must work. Because in Federal Bern the same rules apply as in the sprint: one false start is allowed, after the second you are eliminated.

Source:Blick