The SP leadership’s decision to send a two-way card with two women to succeed Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (62) in the race provides enough material for conversation. In the SRF Arena on Friday, the bourgeois politicians are not afraid of criticism. “It’s gender-political and ideological,” says SVP chairman Marco Chiesa (47), “If you have a man with experience and skills, why shouldn’t he be a candidate?” Chiesa alluded in the Arena show to SP councilor Daniel Jositsch (57) who had raised himself as a possible candidate.
The representation of women and also of the language regions was hotly debated in the arena: on Wednesday, the SP also left the door open for candidates from Latin Switzerland. Although there are already two Italians and one Ticino represented in the Bundesrat. However, that is no reason to exclude candidates from these regions from the outset, as SP Land Councilor Samira Marti (28) explained on the show: A temporary overrepresentation of Latin Switzerland is not a problem. The decisive factor, according to Marti, is the suitability of the candidates.
Two SP men no problem
FDP councilor Andrea Caroni (42) objected: You cannot argue with competence in one case, but at the same time exclude all men from a candidacy. This is “a fetish-like fixation”.
“It is very important to us that there are two women that we will introduce to the Federal Assembly,” said Marti. The SP is the party of equality and therefore cannot fill its two seats in the Bundesrat with men. “Women’s representation” still has “special political significance” in a country that introduced women’s suffrage so late and was almost always ruled by a male majority.
“Missed opportunity”
Which population group is represented and how strongly in the Bundesrat also dominated the further course of the conversation: The civil representatives of Groenraad member Lisa Mazzone (34) accused her party of not attacking the vacant SP seat. “This is a missed opportunity,” says Marianne Binder (64), about the center of the National Council. After all, with about 30 percent of the vote, the left would have no more than two seats.
“The Federal Council parties just want to keep their power,” Mazzone objected. The right-wing parties are also currently over-represented in the FDP and SVP, and the Green voters have a right of representation in the Bundesrat with a share of more than 13 percent. (smt)