Center President Pfister calls for term limits: after eight years, federal councilors must come to an end

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Eight years is enough. That’s what center party leader Gerhard Pfister (61) thinks. In a column in the online magazine Republik, he calls for term limits for federal council members. Pfister argues that general elections would then have real consequences for the composition of the Federal Council. “An eight-year term would usually mean that several seats in the Federal Council would have to be filled at the same time,” he writes.

The most recent resignations from the Federal Council show that the magistrates will remain in office for a long time: SVP Minister Ueli Maurer (73) had been in office for 14 years, SP Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (63) and Alain Berset (51) had every 12 years. years in office.

A swipe at the FDP

According to Pfister, with the introduction of term limits “it would be less likely that a party would be able to retain its seats despite an insufficient number of voters.”

With this, Pfister teases the FDP, which today occupies two seats in the government together with Karin Keller-Sutter (60) and Ignazio Cassis (62) – even though, from a purely mathematical point of view, the Liberals no longer have the number of voters needed for two seats . seats.

The FDP has already called for the same

The center boss has not yet approached him with his concerns, says FDP leader Thierry Burkart (48). He sees no compelling reasons for his plan: “Parliament always has the freedom not to re-elect members of the Federal Council in the general elections that take place every four years,” he says. Burkart is resisting the Pfister attack and nothing is stopping the Center Party from introducing term limits for federal council members.

However, the current proposal is not that new: in 2009, a liberal in particular – FDP national councilor Filippo Leutenegger (71) – called for such a restriction for the Federal Council. The government itself rejected the motion at the time. However, the idea was never discussed in parliament.

Greens are impressed

With his suggestion, Pfister works on the magic formula. “Elections must have consequences,” says the center boss, justifying his spicy concern. “If parliament does not implement the results of the elections because the parties cling to their claims to power, this will lead to a greater distance between the political elite and the population,” Pfister said.

He would also like the federal council members – with the exception of justified cases – to continue their term of office and not resign halfway through the term. “Their resignations are often planned so that their parties can retain their seats,” Pfister said.

The Greens are unsurprisingly impressed by Pfister’s idea: “I think it is right that we are now talking about unblocking the Federal Council elections,” says Aline Trede (40), leader of the Green Party . Changes, such as admitting a new party into the government, are virtually impossible these days, she tells Blick.

Source:Blick