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Beat Jans, until recently chairman of the government of Basel, was on the SP ticket with the Bundespen SP state councilor Jon Pult as a replacement for Alain Berset. He won the race: he was elected in the third round with 134 votes. 59-year-old Jans grew up in simple circumstances. Unlike many of his comrades, he knows firsthand what he is fighting for. Maybe that’s why – unlike many of his comrades – he doesn’t seem stubborn? Jans, who is very strategic and aware of power, is a politician who stands out as someone who is more concerned with the matter than with his ego. He has leadership and government experience, a versatile curriculum, is considered consensus-oriented, eloquent and dossier-oriented, has a confident appearance and speaks English.
This article was first published in “Bilanz”. You can find more exciting articles at rechnung.ch.
This article was first published in “Bilanz”. You can find more exciting articles at rechnung.ch.
Last but not least: Jans is a city person. He is the first federal councilor from Basel – after fifty years, which is a balm for many Bebbi. Jans, who describes himself as a convinced social democrat, accepted the position on January 1, 2024 and has left the Justice and Police Department (EJPD) with the asylum file, which his party colleague Elisabeth Baume-Schneider got rid of after just one year. and wanted to be taken over in favor of the Ministry of the Interior (EDI) without any significant successes.
The family
Beat Jans is married to American-born Tracy Jans, a numbers acrobat: the 51-year-old is an expert in medical statistics and leads a team of ten at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel. Apparently, family was always a priority for the couple, despite their careers: Beat Jans did housework, took care of childcare and, according to reports, could even cook.
They are the parents of Mia (15) and Zoé (18), both in high school. The Jans are at home in multicultural Kleinbasel and want to stay there in the future. But other things will probably be very different in the future: Jans must be available 24/7.
The campaign team
In the run-up to the elections for the Federal Council, Beat Jans left nothing to chance. A professional campaign team put the ‘Jans brand’ in the right light. Communications professional Stefan Batzli was in charge. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bernese communications agency CRK and is well connected in the federal city. Whether it concerned speeches, interviews or public appearances: with Batzli the threads came together. The two have known each other for fifteen years. During the election campaign, Batzli emphasized Jans’ ‘life experience’ and made it clear that competitor Jon Pult, as a member of the National Council, is more of a newcomer than his client. Lobbyist Fabienne Thomas and Sibylle Schürch were other important members of Jans’ team.
Political advisor Schürch will remain part of his inner circle after the elections. “If Beat needs a second opinion, he calls me,” she said in an interview with the “Tages-Anzeiger”. She is an advisor, supporter, campaigner and contact person in crises. The Jans and Schürch families are also private friends. Fabienne Thomas, on the other hand, was Jans’ trump card when it came to improving the indoor climate, given the strong atmosphere between Jans and the farmers’ lobby. Thomas worked for the Swiss farmers’ association for four years. Her network of connections was useful. Shortly before the elections, representatives of the farmers’ association made it clear that they preferred Jans over Pult. He was able to lose his image of peasant fear at the last moment.
The career
After graduating from high school, Beat Jans chose an unusual path: he apprenticed as a farmer. Why? «After high school I had a lot of energy and didn’t feel like going back to school. “I wanted to go out and do real work,” he said in a “Blick” interview. As a politician, the 59-year-old was a late bloomer. He only became a member of the SP at the age of 34. It was not self-evident for Jans that he would choose the Social Democrats. Before he decided to enter politics, he had contacts with all major parties. The then SP chairman Ursula Koch convinced him with a personal letter.
Before that, he was influenced by his work in the field of development aid. He lived for several years in Paraguay and Haiti. This time he politicized him, Jans says. As the son of a saleswoman and a metalworker, he received a scholarship to study natural sciences at ETH. Afterwards he served for several years on the board of nature conservation organization Pro Natura. There, together with the current director Urs Leugger-Eggimann, he campaigned for the habitat of the beavers. He later became self-employed as a consultant. Jans became a member of the SP in 1998. Just two years later he became chairman of the canton party. From 2021 he was president of the canton.
The opponents
Beat Jans must now find a rank in the Federal Council with the two SVP federal councilors Guy Parmelin and Albert Rösti, especially in the field of agricultural policy. This also applies to the power-hungry farmer president Markus Ritter.
Jans will also put his own opinion aside in favor of the consensus in the Federal Council and will inevitably occasionally enter into battle with his own party, namely against SP co-chairman Cédric Wermuth, who advocates a bold EU course, or against the SP. Vice President Barbara Gysi, who determines the ten percent ceiling for health insurance premiums through a popular initiative. Finally, the stoic Daniel Jositsch has already made it clear that he will intervene if Jans drops out early.
The comrades in arms
Eva Herzog wanted to become a federal councilor herself and was for a long time considered Jans’ internal party opponent. In 2018, both wanted to succeed Anita Fetz in the Council of States. Jans only resigned after internal arguments. The two previously were on different sides when it came to tax policy.
Yet President of the Council of States Eva Herzog was recently one of the pioneers for Jans. She has worked hard within the SP to get him on the map of the Federal Council. Basel’s backers also include National Council President Eric Nussbaumer and former State Councilor Anita Fetz. She is friends with Jans and still has a lot of influence in the SP.
Jans can also count on support from outside his party. In any case, he received praise in advance from Green Party politician Florence Brenzikofer, who said after his election: “Beat Jans can do it.” This is despite the fact that the mood between the SP and the Greens is currently extremely tense, after the comrades refused to support the candidate of the Green Federal Council, Gerhard Andrey. Kind words also come from the middle towards Jans. Lukas Engelberger was convinced that the newly elected federal councilor would do his job “very well”.
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.
