Suddenly “räblets” at the SP! For a long time, the party had to be content with mere refusals to succeed Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (62), but now there is a torrent of pledges. According to information from Blick, Jura SP councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (58) is also currently running for the vacant seat, who wants to officially announce her candidacy this week.
This makes her the third woman of the four candidates. This after the Bernese councilor Evi Allemann (44) and the day after the Basel councilor Eva Herzog (60) had already thrown in their hats. For the Zurich Council of States Daniel Jositsch (57), who is also a candidate, it becomes more difficult to get the SP ticket with each additional female candidate.
First candidacy from Romandie
With Baume-Schneider, a candidacy from French-speaking Switzerland is finally on the table, as the party leadership explicitly wanted female candidatures from all parts of the country. The Jurassic inhabitant chairs the important committee of the State Council for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy and would chair the Stöckli as the current second vice president in the small chamber from December 2023.
In German-speaking Switzerland, the SP woman is relatively unknown. She studied economics and social sciences at the University of Neuchâtel and worked as a social worker before being elected to the canton of Jura government in 2002. From 2003 to 2015, she headed the Department of Education, Sports and Culture. In 2019, Baume-Schneider defended the seat of the Council of States of the resigned Claude Hêche (69) for the SP.
If Baume-Schneider enters, she is more likely to have outsider opportunities as Herzog from Basel is considered a firm favourite. But what she can score with: she speaks Swiss-German well and comes from a canton that has never had a federal councilor.
Political start on the far left
However, the start of her political career could still spark discussions in the bourgeois camp: she started it in the Revolutionary Marxist League before later moving to the SP.
One pick would be an early birthday and Christmas present for the married mother of two. The election will take place on December 7. Baume-Schneider turns 59 on December 24. (Russian)