An old Bernese wisdom says: the best does not become a federal councilor. Not necessarily the best either, one should add. Why: How to determine who is the best is another question.
However, everyone agrees: Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (58) is 100% Romandian – even though she also speaks Swiss German in addition. And she is 100 percent SP – so she does not belong to the right-wing fringe of the party like her opponents. EBS, as the alderman is called, not only conquers the hearts of the French parliamentary group members, the joy of the climber from the Jura is also growing in German-speaking Switzerland.
Eva’s knees buckle
In the meantime, it is therefore certain: the question is not whether EBS gets the ticket, but only who has a place next to it. The former government councilor from Jura teaches Basel State Councilor Eva Herzog (60) and Bernese Government Councilor Evi Allemann (44) to fear.
Favorite Herzog should already be flapping the knee, comrades say. She is afraid of losing to Allemann and not getting on the double ticket next to Baume-Schneider. Unlike the SVP, which put National Councilor Albert Rösti (55) on the ticket, the SP would refuse the favored candidacy of the United Federal Assembly without the duke.
First the SVP
That would be an insult to Parliament. This could suddenly create a new dynamic where the parliamentarians, against the promises of the party leaders, move with Herzog to a wild candidate. But whether that is enough is doubtful.
Would Evi Allemann stand a chance? Hard to say: because there is a good chance that her Bernese heritage will harm her. Because before the election of the successor to SP federal councilor Simonetta Sommaruga (62), the successor to SVP federal councilor Ueli Maurer (71) will be determined. If, as expected, the Bernese favorite Rösti prevails, many will probably no longer want to vote for someone from Bern. This raises Baume-Schneider’s prospects even further.
Advantage Bern
Should Herzog be on the ticket next to the Jura, the Basel woman would probably move to the Bundesrat. But even if Elisabeth Baume-Schneider doesn’t get enough for the state government, she will leave the field as the winner. The SP woman, who was elected to the Council of States in 2019 and gained her first political experience in the Revolutionary Marxist League, is enjoying the election campaign. She knows she’s convincing, party friends say. And can increase their popularity.
In any case, the people of Bern are most likely to celebrate after the Federal Council elections on December 7. Because even in the unlikely event that the municipal chairman of Uetendorf Rösti and government councilor Allemann miss the election for the Bundesrat, the citizens can only be happy with their own entry into the government: Baume-Schneider’s father, Jean Schneider, is from Sechten BE .