Heinz Tännler (62) must prove to be the greatest realist on Friday. At 2:15 p.m., Zug’s financial director and SVP candidate for the Federal Council sat behind a glass of wine in the village pub of Hérémence VS and said: “Albert Rösti is definitely on the ticket, Michèle Blöchliger and I are the outsiders.”
That’s how it should be. Albert Rösti (55), member of the National Council for many years and ex-party leader, could not ignore it when determining the SVP Bundesrat ticket. The Berner Oberlander was nominated in Hérémence, where the parliamentary group met, on the first ballot with the necessary 26 votes out of 51.
“I feel like a high school graduate”
But unlike Tännler, Rösti was not so sure of himself. Before he has to meet his group colleagues down the hall for the interview, he is visibly nervous, corrects his voice notes and says, “I feel like a high school graduate.”
When he returns after the interrogation, Tännler asks him, “I survived?” Rösti says, “I’m still alive.” Later he asks for a chair and coffee, and finally gets a chair and a glass of red wine.
Rösti and the other candidates – Tännler, the Nidwaldner government councilor Michèle Blöchliger (55) and the Bernese Council of States Werner Salzmann (60) – waited together in the foyer for their appearance.
Vogt waits alone
In contrast to the old Reich Councilor Hans-Ueli Vogt (52) from Zurich. The law professor prepared alone in a waiting room across the street. Which is somehow significant: Vogt is an outsider in his own party.
And yet he is now next to Rösti on the card that the SVP proposes to the Federal Assembly to succeed Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer (71). However: things did not go as smoothly with him as with Rösti. Rather, Vogt and Salzmann fought a neck-and-neck race, which Vogt won on the fourth ballot by a razor-thin margin of one vote.
Even members of the Zurich parliamentary group speak of an “arbitrary majority”. The Zurich bonus (the people of Zurich are strong in the SVP) must have helped, as well as the fact that they didn’t want a Berner besides Rösti.
What made the difference is hard to say, says one group member. And another says: “This shows one thing above all: Vogt will not stand a chance even in his own group on December 7.”
Only a few votes for Tännler and Blöchliger
No chance – and now we come back to the realistic Tännler – were the two government councilors on Friday. Zug’s finance director and his Nidwalden colleague Blöchliger received only a few votes. Which does not have to be due to their presentation. On the contrary, the old Bernese truth has come true once again: you have to belong to the Bundestag to be successful.
In that respect, the nomination for Vogt has been successful. He left the Federal Palace a year ago, partly because he always felt like a tennis player on a football field. Interestingly, when the ticket was announced, he seemed calmer than the visibly relaxed Rösti. Perhaps because he knows that his opponent was, and will remain, the crown favorite until election day on December 7 for Ueli Maurer’s seat.
«We are united by the values of the SVP»
For the media, both men were emphatically collegial. Together you will enter into an exciting duel. You have more in common than differences, maybe slightly different personalities, but you don’t let them divide you. Because: “The values of the SVP connect us above all.”
Next station for the two will be the hearings in the other factions, which will take place on November 29 and December 6.
Sermin FakiDanny SmurfDaniel Balmer
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
