Comrades stand behind Jositsch

The SP leadership’s decision to only hire women as the successor to federal councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (62) is causing problems for the SP. Not only with the Zurich Council of States Daniel Jositsch (57), who himself would like to compete and had described his exclusion as “discriminatory”.

Nonsense, says SP co-boss Mattea Meyer (34): “There can be no discrimination”, she said in the “Sonntagszeitung”. In the same magazine, however, Jositsch is supported by two SP women. Both Solothurn National Councilor Franziska Roth (56) and Aargau National Councilor Gabriela Suter (49) think it is wrong to exclude men from the outset to succeed Sommaruga.

SP tip stays hard

“I find the fixation on a purely female ticket democratic and strategically inconvenient,” says Roth. The SP has capable women who can convince in competition with men. “But now we are reduced to our gender. That bothers me as a feminist.” She is convinced that an internal settlement between women and men would better serve the cause of equality.

The SP leadership, on the other hand, is sticking to the women’s ticket. Although the group would eventually decide: “I can’t imagine that we will get rid of it,” says Cédric Wermuth (36) in the view of Sunday. There have always been a woman and a man in the Federal Council, according to the SP co-chair. The people wouldn’t understand anything else.

National Councilor Suter, on the other hand, can well imagine that the party will be represented in the Bundesrat by two men or two women during a certain transitional period – although no one can say at the moment how long this time will last. In any case, Co-chairman Meyer assumes that Alain Berset (50) will remain in the state government for a few more years.

That’s why Jositsch fights like this

That is also the reason why Jositsch is fighting so hard for a candidacy: it is probably his last chance. After Vaud councilors Nuria Gorrite (52) and Rebecca Ruiz (40), two French favorites, have been eliminated, the Sommaruga seat is likely to be taken by someone from German-speaking Switzerland.

Jositsch wouldn’t be able to walk if Berset resigned – because it’s even safer for a chair to go to Western Switzerland than it has to be a woman now.

The last word has not yet been spoken

Nevertheless, other exponents, such as Eastern Swiss National Councilors Barbara Gysi (58) and Edith Graf-Litscher (58) assume that the women’s issue will still be discussed in the SP parliamentary party – and that the decision has not yet been made.

The outgoing Council of States Hans Stöckli (70) is different: it is of course Jositsch’s right to start this debate about his candidacy, he says: “But nothing changes.” Stöckli supports the party leadership: it was right to limit the ticket “immediately and absolutely” to a woman. The party has many good candidates and after Sommaruga’s surprising resignation, the nomination must be made quickly. “The party cannot afford detours.” (sf)