SVP-Vogt makes Berner sweat

Daniel Ballmer and Ruedi Studer

Friday is serious. Then the SVP group makes a pilgrimage to peaceful Hérémence VS. In the village of 1,300 inhabitants under the Grande Dixence dam, the People’s Party wants to decide who it actually wants to nominate to parliament as the successor to the outgoing finance minister Ueli Maurer (71).

The parliamentary group board of the House of Representatives decided on Monday that it should be a return ticket – and thus follows the search committee. If you ask around the party, ex-party leader Albert Rösti (55) has as expected the best cards to get a ticket. “We can’t get around him,” was the tenor among the men and women of the SVP. He is also considered “novel-friendly” by representatives of western Switzerland.

Vogt has the advantage

The race for the second ticket place promises more excitement. There is a narrow margin between the Bernese Council of States Werner Salzmann (60) and the former National Councilor of Zurich, Hans-Ueli Vogt (52).

And this is where Vogt is currently in charge. Zurich’s SVP is in the process of provoking his Eastern Swiss colleagues to get enough votes for Vogt. It is seen by many as a fitting complement to rösti, covering the facets of the feast.

Here Rösti: the country bumpkin from a receiving canton. Vogt there: the Urbane from a donor canton. Regionally nicely balanced. Moreover, if Vogt were not nominated, the largest and most important SVP section would be alienated just before the cantonal elections.

Disadvantage of Salzmann: two Bernese is one too many

However, Vogt didn’t just make friends in his party with his cumbersome departure from the National Council when he said he felt like a tennis player on the football field. “As a member of the Federal Council, he should get along with us footballers,” says one. Now that it’s about the fillet, he suddenly reappears, another despises.

Salzmann should not be underestimated. The shrewd military politician wins a maneuver. He has a good reputation, especially among his colleagues in the Council of State and the security politicians in the party. The main argument against him is that he is from Bern – two Berners on the ticket is one too many for many. What discourages some: Salzmann would like to take over the DDPS. “Then the DDPS will stay with us forever,” complains one. The party strategists prefer to focus on an important department such as the energy department.

Even a triple ticket is still being discussed

The limitation to a two-person ticket was undisputed in the group board. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that a request for a three-way card will be submitted at the group meeting – “so that the church remains in the village”, as one SVPer says. However, such an application is likely to fail.

Government councilor Nidwaldner Michèle Blöchliger (55) and councilor Zug Heinz Tännler (62) get little or no chance. Blöchliger has damaged her reputation with her secret British citizenship, and Tännler misses the network in Bern. However, some tried to get Zuger on the ticket to give Rösti even more chances in parliament. They fear that Vogt could score points with the Left Party on December 7 and oust Rösti.

But that appears to be a minority. The majority of respondents assume that Rösti will be elected by parliament to succeed Ueli Maurer. And so they say briefly: “It doesn’t matter who we put on the card next to Rösti.”