“Young mothers are needed in the Federal Council!”

For Tamara Funiciello (32) the case is clear. “Young mothers are needed in the Federal Council!”, says the Bernese National Councilor and SP women’s chairman. “This is the only way to move forward with equality.”

With this, Funiciello is fueling the debate about the successor of Simonetta Sommaruga (62). So far, all federal councilors have been childless — whether their children were adults or teenagers.

The lack of representation in the Federal Council is bad for women, Funiciello says: “It’s no wonder that young mothers in Switzerland are still disadvantaged – at work, the division of household tasks, childcare.” Until now, these issues have not been at the top of the Bundesrat’s list of priorities. “Young mothers would be an asset to the state government because their reality is different.”

There are many suitable candidates

She receives support from SP Landsraadslid Samira Marti (28). “It would be good for Switzerland if mothers with small children were in the Federal Council,” says the Basel bidder. “You see abroad that it is possible to be prime minister as a young mother.”

This does not apply to Eva Herzog (60). The state councilor and former councilor of the Basel government is considered a pragmatic politician – and a favorite for Sommaruga’s successor. But she is certainly not a young mother: her two daughters are already grown.

Among the other potential candidates, on the other hand, there is an impressive number of young mothers. Above all, the Bernese national councilor Flavia Wasserfallen (43). Her children are six, ten and fourteen years old. Wasserfallen regularly takes them to the football stadium, but sometimes also to a climate demonstration.

Until she took office as a member of the National Council, Wasserfallen and her partner shared childcare. “Now he is definitely taking on more duties,” she said three years ago. “Compatibility is a constant problem for many families.” Wasserfallen will decide next week at the earliest whether she wants to join the debate as a federal councilor.

Bundesrat is more than a full-time job

Another candidate is Pascale Bruderer (45), former councilor of Aargau and mother of two school-age daughters. Amélie (8) wants to become a car mechanic. Her mother is happy about this break with role models. After her resignation from the Council of State, Bruderer became an entrepreneur – saying, “Federal councilors live almost exclusively for politics, I can’t imagine such a life.” Maybe it looks different now. Bruderer will let you know on Tuesday whether she intends to run for office.

The Bernese government councilor Evi Allemann (44) is also an option for the SP ticket. Her name is mentioned less often, which suits the silent worker. The mother of two school-age children has been in charge of the Bern Ministry of Justice since 2018. A drawing of her daughter hangs in her office on Münstergasse. “Family ties are important to me,” Allemann told the audience a few years ago. “I try to be home very often at night.” Although that will be difficult as a federal councilor, Allemann does not rule out a candidacy.

One thing is certain: the Federal Council is more than a full-time job. The working days are intense and are often far from over by 7 p.m. Federal councilors are often out and about in the evenings and on weekends.

That is precisely why the middle member of the Council of States Pirmin Bischof (63) decided six years ago not to stand for election. At the time, his party was looking for a successor for Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard (59). Bishop wanted to know from Minister of the Interior Alain Berset (50) how he could combine family and work. The answer apparently scared him off. Bishop concluded “that a position as a federal councilor is out of the question for me and my family. The sacrifice would have been too great.” Instead, he became a father for the third time this summer.

“You don’t see your family anymore”

The Appenzeller Council of States Andrea Caroni (42) – he is the father of two children – also sees it that way. As an employee of former federal councilor Hans-Rudolf Merz (79), he saw how little free time the members of the state government had. “Merz always said he had half an hour a week off – on Sunday mornings,” recalls Caroni. It was therefore impossible that he would exercise such an office with small children. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, you don’t see your family anymore.”

An employee of a Federal Council environment disagrees. It is possible to combine family and office. But: “You have to be very well organized and set clear boundaries.” This means that you might only go to one event per week instead of three. “However, this can quickly be interpreted as a lack of commitment,” the insider admits.

But it is not only the high workload that causes problems for parents. In the case of young mothers, there’s also the fact that as federal councilors they violate the still-widespread role model: the woman’s place is at home with the children. “The first young mother to become a federal councilor will be under extreme observation,” sociologist Katja Rost (46) said. She is sure: “The accusation of not being a good mother will come soon.” Such a magistrate certainly needs a thick skin.

internal resistance

The problem of work pressure can in any case be solved, says SP co-chairman Cédric Wermuth (36). “We need to talk about how to set up the office in such a way that a private life is possible in addition to work,” says de Aargauer. He proposes increasing the number of federal councilors to nine or redistributing certain wards that are very large.

Young mothers in power? It’s not a guaranteed success. The resistance comes from the SP itself. Member of Parliament Daniel Jositsch (57), who has been monitoring the Federal Council office for years, feels so offended that he openly describes a purely female ticket as ‘discrimination’.

SVP chairman Marco Chiesa (48) applauds this – Jositsch’s comrades frown at this statement.

You see the discrimination in a very different place. For young mothers, for example.