The SP women are modest when it comes to the successor of federal councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (62). Although several SP politicians have shown interest, none have thrown in the hat. Instead, there were denials — most recently from ex-State Councilor Pascale Bruderer (45).
A man would have been ready long ago if his party would just let him: the Zurich SP councilor Daniel Jositsch (57). He has been working on a candidacy for the Federal Council for years. But the party leadership ties him back and proposes to the SP faction to send an all-female ticket into the race.
Jositsch doesn’t like that. He finds the restriction to a female ticket “discriminatory”. He therefore wants to request that men also be admitted to the selection process. Or does he even go one step further and announce a wild candidacy? Will there be another break with the party?
Today, Tuesday at 1 p.m., Jositsch wants to explain what he is up to at a media conference (Blick reports live).
Little support for male candidates
One thing is clear: Jositsch’s skins are swimming away. With his actions, he broke a lot of crockery in the party. If you ask around among the comrades, the opening request for men doesn’t stand a chance. Partly for tactical reasons: Italian men in particular, who flirt with a candidacy when federal councilor Alain Berset (50) resigns later, like to let a Swiss-German woman precede this time.
However, there are also women who support Jositsch’s concerns. The national councilor Franziska Roth (56) of the SP Solothurn, for example. “It is my deep social democratic belief that everyone should be welcome to the internal march,” she tells Blick. “It doesn’t serve equality if men are now expected to do what we women were supposed to do: only report when they are wanted.”
By the way, she herself is not available for candidacy. “I’m very happy in the legislature and it should stay that way,” she says. The Federal Council office is not aligned with its nature. “I’m not running.”