Wednesday is the day: then the two new members of the Bundesrat will be elected. But the real celebrations don’t take place until eight days later, on the afternoon of December 15. Then the celebrations for the new members of the Federal Council take place in their home cantons.
Albert Rösti (55) and Hans-Ueli Vogt (53) want to become members of the Federal Council for the SVP. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (58) and Eva Herzog (60) for SP. Vogt and Herzog are from cities: he from Zurich, she from Basel. Rösti, on the other hand, comes from rural Uetendorf BE, where he is also mayor. Born in the Jura, Baume-Schneider lives in the 1,500-inhabitant village of Les Breuleux. It does not matter whether it is a city or a small municipality, preparations for the election party are already in full swing in all cantons!
Aperitif and banquet
This is also the case in Les Breuleux, Baume-Schneider’s native village. Should the Jura Council of States make it to the Federal Council, a procession would be organized from the late afternoon of December 15 from Breuleux station to the primary school. An aperitif is provided for the residents in the schoolyard. Afterwards, a banquet for invited guests is planned in the multipurpose room of the school building. The Jura State Chancellery reports on request that “a few thousand francs” have been made so far to plan the election festival. If Baume-Schneider were elected to the Bundesrat, the party budget would be increased.
Relocation from Bern to Uetendorf
Preparations are also underway in Uetendorf, Bern, Albert Rösti’s birthplace. Any celebrations of the Federal Council will be organized there together with the Canton of Bern. The celebrations were supposed to start in Bern on December 15, lead to Kandersteg and then to Uetendorf, where the official festival would take place – but exactly what the celebration will look like has not yet been decided. The fixed budget is still unclear.
However, previous Federal Council celebrations would have cost about 120,000 to 140,000 francs each – so it is believed that the cost would be about the same. In Uetendorf, however, the city council was due to decide on a possible cost cap on December 8, the day after the elections to the Federal Council.
In addition, the municipality writes on request that if Rösti were elected, a village festival would take place for the entire population – this is scheduled for January 2. Celebrations would take place in the market hall and on the village square in Uetendorf.
Grand reception and parade
There is also a lot going on in Basel-Stadt, home of Federal Council candidate Eva Herzog. According to government spokesman Marco Greiner, there would be “a great reception among the population” if she were elected. However, they do not want to announce more details until after the possible elections on Wednesday.
According to a letter available to “BZ Basel”, there should also be a parade in addition to the grand reception. The aim would be that various carnival cliques would escort Herzog and their guests to the market square in “musical Basel style” – according to the letter, there would also be celebrations.
Planning in Zurich “in full swing”
In Hans-Ueli Vogt’s home canton of Zurich, people are currently keeping a low profile when it comes to preparing for the elections. However, the canton’s chancellery writes on request that preparations are “in full swing”. However, since “many questions are still unresolved”, the State Chancellery has not yet provided any further information. However, because the election of the Bundesrat is associated with uncertainties, the canton wants to keep party planning costs as low as possible.