Suddenly Albert Rösti (55) says a remarkable sentence: “I am not selfless.”
Rösti sits in his office in the middle of Uetendorf BE, where he is mayor. Not for long if he gets his way. The SVP National Council aspires to the highest office in the state, in the Federal Council.
And more determined than you give him credit for. “Politics is a kind of calling,” he says. “I wanted to be a politician when I was 18.” It is, of course, part of wanting to serve the country, wanting to contribute to its prosperity. ‘But altruistic, I’m not. Personally, I get satisfaction from serving and making a difference.”
No Bundesrat ego – right?
After Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer (71) announced his resignation at the end of September at the end of the year, it was immediately said: “Albert will inherit him.” It had to be the sociable Albert, the amiable Bernese, who is recognized across party lines as a solid bridge-builder, reliable majority buyer and, well, friendliness in person.
Ambition, the pursuit of power, assertiveness, a big ego – characteristics often attributed to federal councilors – don’t really want to babysit rösti. He’s not one to push, elbow, or stand out with his brilliance. Can someone like that do Federal Council? Especially for the party that is the largest in the country, and especially its most oppositional force?
“I’ve proven enough that I don’t deviate from the SVP line, despite this style – which I see as a strength. I don’t want to do that again in the future,” he says. The friendly blue eyes flash as steely as he makes it clear that he will never agree to any rapprochement with the EU and will always fight to limit immigration. He can, he says, also at the table. He prefers to hide it from the public. Because that would damage his image?
A baby in Kandersteg
Rösti, born in 1967, grew up in Kandersteg BE, a latecomer in a farming family on a dairy farm. His three siblings, eight to 12 years older than the baby, say he is the spoiled one. Which Rosti denies. The parents were nice but also strict, after school he helped like everyone else in the stable.
It was not a childhood full of hardships – as was still the case with mountain farming families in the 1970s. “We were doing well, we always had enough of everything,” says Rösti. “But only because you worked hard.” His mother, he says, would see if she could get the pasta 20 cents cheaper somewhere, even though she didn’t have to.
Childhood lessons
Even though Rösti later obtained his PhD at ETH, studied in the US and is now far away from rural life as a full-time politician and lobbyist, the values of his youth have shaped him. They can be summarized in two key sentences:
- Every franc you spend must first be earned.
- You only achieve something if you work.
Rösti has achieved a lot. From an agricultural teacher at the Hondrich mountain farmer’s school to the post of secretary general of the economic directorate of Bern to the National Council and chairman of the country’s largest party, his path was always uphill. The sun also smiles in private: Rösti is happily married to his high school sweetheart Theres (54) and the father of André (26) and Sarina (22).
In 2019, he stumbled
But in 2019, the rise came to an end. The SVP under his leadership lost the federal election – even though everything had been tried and unsavory methods had been used. Rösti himself approved the controversial apple topic, in which the SVP denounced all other parties as maggots. And used it for Nazi propaganda.
He didn’t know that, says Rösti, and takes full responsibility. He regrets one thing: that the discussion lasted only two weeks and not two months until the elections. Because then it might have been possible to get more SVP voters to the polls.
Are you a morning or evening person?
An evening person.
Where do you get the best ideas from?
In bed before going to sleep. This is then immediately written down so that I can sleep peacefully.
How do you recover from a bad day?
On the couch with a view of the beautiful Oberland Alps. I always think: they were there before me and will still be there after me, no matter what happened today.
What did you want to be as a child?
crane operator. But then I saw how to climb up. That looked dangerous, so I decided against it.
How did you earn your first money?
At the age of 16 he worked as a handyman in the Studer grinding machine factory in Steffisburg.
What’s your superpower?
To see the world from the bright side.
What household chores do you do?
Clean around the house and window sills. As we live in a farming hamlet there are many birds and flies so this is necessary on a regular basis.
What are you better at than your wife?
Play the drums.
What do you always fail at?
To work in a disciplined way when I still have a lot of time for a task.
What’s your favorite food?
Potato gratin with pork steak.
What’s your secret vice?
Unhealthy diet. I drink too much cola and eat too few vegetables.
Where, other than Switzerland, would you like to live?
Most likely in California with its latitude.
Are you a morning or evening person?
An evening person.
Where do you get the best ideas from?
In bed before going to sleep. This is then immediately written down so that I can sleep peacefully.
How do you recover from a bad day?
On the couch with a view of the beautiful Oberland Alps. I always think: they were there before me and will still be there after me, no matter what happened today.
What did you want to be as a child?
crane operator. But then I saw how to climb up. That looked dangerous, so I decided against it.
How did you earn your first money?
At the age of 16 he worked as a handyman in the Studer grinding machine factory in Steffisburg.
What’s your superpower?
To see the world from the bright side.
What household chores do you do?
Clean around the house and window sills. As we live in a farming hamlet there are many birds and flies so this is necessary on a regular basis.
What are you better at than your wife?
Play the drums.
What do you always fail at?
To work in a disciplined way when I still have a lot of time for a task.
What’s your favorite food?
Potato gratin with pork steak.
What’s your secret vice?
Unhealthy diet. I drink too much cola and eat too few vegetables.
Where, other than Switzerland, would you like to live?
Most likely in California with its latitude.
It did not work – and Rösti had to resign from the position, otherwise father Christoph Blocher (82) would have fired him personally. An image that has survived to this day in Bundesbern, but which Rösti has disputed to this day. “If I had won the 2019 election, I might still have been president,” he says. But also: “It’s like a football coach. You can’t lose too much.”
And if, like the SVP, you lose 3.8 percent in 2019? Then you have to wonder how many defeats it can last. Rösti knew it: with the restriction initiative that aimed to abolish the free movement of people, the next one was imminent.
Too soft for the Bundesrat?
Another story that has survived to this day: Rösti could not resist Herrliberg’s pressure. Whoever he met at that moment was shocked: he looked agitated, with deep circles under his eyes, hunched shoulders, a tortured man.
Can someone like that do Federal Council? Or is he in danger of succumbing to the pressure if one day it were said that with his conciliatory character he is only half a member of the Bundesrat?
Rösti knows this impression, it is not the first time he hears it. “I didn’t sleep much during this period, I was outside a lot. But I was always motivated and enjoyed my work.”
More tactical than you think
The man seems to have a wider back than expected. But he hides it well. Because being nice in real life was and is his recipe for success, behind which ambition and the will to power are well hidden. Smart: Because in Bern it’s better to see a good Swiss mediocrity. Rösti understood this and brought it to perfection.
After his resignation from the party presidency, he shifted his activities, fought to get into the important energy and health committees, and positioned himself as a constructive policy maker. A smart move. By turning from maggot poster stirrer to bridge builder, he increased his chances of winning a seat in the Federal Council – the pinnacle of a political career in Switzerland.
“Then you can pay for almost everything”
This coronation is now within reach. In any case, the opinion leaders of the other parties make no secret of the fact that they want hash browns – even if he were to take over the environment and energy department and then want the nuclear power plant ban lifted.
He is just so friendly, reliable and approachable. “That’s interesting, isn’t it,” Rösti muses in his office in Uetendorf. “When you have this reputation, you can afford almost anything and be as tough as you want – it doesn’t change your reputation.”
Sermin Faki
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.
