The elections for the Bundesrat are in a hot phase. In a hearing marathon, both the SP candidates Eva Herzog (60) and Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (58) and the SVP candidates Albert Rösti (55) and Hans-Ueli Vogt (52) try to convince parliament.
It is not yet clear who will support the Federal Assembly on December 7. But behind the scenes, the distribution battle for the individual departments has already begun. And that could get into trouble for SP interior minister Alain Berset (50).
Press Berset – straight from the SP
Because if Berset stays in his department after ten years in the Federal Council, the pressure on him to resign after his year as president will increase – especially from his own party. There are reportedly enough interested parties in the SP who want to follow him in the government and are already scratching their heads.
When Berset transfers to another department, he is relieved of the pressure. It would make little sense to say goodbye to the Bundesrat after just a short training period. Berset would be firmly in the saddle for at least the next five years.
And in fact, it has long been said that Berset has a desire to change. He has to keep an eye on the financial department, which will become vacant with the departure of SVP federal councilor Ueli Maurer (71). It’s a key item – there’s no big deal that the Treasury Secretary can’t control.
The problem: FDP Minister of Justice Karin Keller-Sutter (58) is said to have kept an eye on the finance department. And their chances are good. “The change has actually already been decided,” say insiders from their party.
The federal councilors can express their wishes regarding the distribution of the departments according to seniority, which means that Berset will be the first to act. But if the members of the government disagree, the majority decides. And the majority in the Federal Council has the bourgeoisie. Means: The finance department can probably take Berset’s makeup. He would have already realized that the bourgeoisie will not give up the key department under any circumstances.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains occupied
So where should Berset go? An alternative would be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which could also be part of the SP Bundesrat. But here too: FDP federal councilor Ignazio Cassis (61) does not intend to change anything, according to his environment. He still has ambitions in the Europe dossier. His party would also urge him to stay.
The situation at the Department of Economics is comparable. Guy Parmelin (63) apparently has no plans to change, as he only came to live here from Defense in 2019.
options are running out
Another rather unlikely option is that Berset inherits the environment, transport and energy departments from his outgoing fellow party member Simonetta Sommaruga (62). To this day, he never seemed interested in the trouble either.
In addition, there are more and more signals that Federal Councilor Viola Amherd (60) is committed to the department. As Defense Secretary, she packed the new fighter jet; the significantly higher army budget is also going on the sled. So the time for change is right.
Only defense and justice remained. They are seen as less important posts in the Federal Council and so in the past they were usually left to the newcomers. Such a step back in the hierarchy would hardly correspond to Berset’s self-image. The SP Bundesrat moves in circles. He will probably have to stay in EDI – and may leave soon.