For Mrs and Mr Schweizer it is clear: Minister of Health Alain Berset (50) is by far the most powerful member of the state government. A whopping 68 percent of voters currently see him as a high-powered federal councilor. Not only SP voters think so, but also those of the SVP or FDP, according to the SRG election barometer of research institute Sotomo.
SP Federal councilor Berset was ahead in previous polls. Although it lost a few percentage points in the current survey, it still ranks first by a very large margin.
Cassis is considered of little influence
SVP Finance Minister Ueli Maurer (71), who announced his resignation from the Federal Council midway through the investigation, is considered the second most powerful federal councilor at 36 percent. Slightly behind at 32 percent is FDP Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (58). It is followed by SP Energy Minister Simonetta Sommaruga (62) with 26 percent.
Central Defense Minister Viola Amherd (60) is repulsed. Only 12 percent of voters consider them powerful in the Bundesrat. At 9 percent, SVP Minister of Economic Affairs Guy Parmelin (62) is even less. The respondents consider the current Federal President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (61) to be the least powerful. 58 percent see him as a federal councilor with little influence. Unlike his predecessor Parmelin, Cassis could not use his presidential year to be considered powerful.
Amherd is very handsome
Power is one thing, sympathy quite another. And this rating in the SRG election barometer increasingly reflects the personal preferences of those polled. Defense Secretary Amherd is the most sympathetic among the respondents, just ahead of Berset. It is true that the proportion of respondents who find Berset likeable is greater than Amherd’s. At the same time, however, he sees himself confronted with more antipathy than the mid-federal councilor.
Karin Keller-Suter follows in third place, just ahead of Simonetta Sommaruga. Ignazio Cassis is classified as the least likable. The proportion of respondents who find him unsympathetic is the same as for Ueli Maurer, who, on the other hand, enjoys more sympathy.
Business has done little harm to Berset
The good news for Maurer and Cassis: they have gained sympathy compared to previous years. This is in contrast to the other members of the Federal Council. Their values have decreased compared to previous years. In short, the proportion of respondents who find federal councilors unsympathetic has increased somewhat.
What is surprising, however, is that the various public uproar that accompanied Federal Councilman Berset this summer seem to have lost their negative impact. (dba)