Now it’s Andreas Meier (60)’s turn. He will be sworn in as a member of the National Council on February 27. The winemaker from Aargau succeeds Ruth Humbel (65), secondary national councilor. She resigned at the end of the winter session – following allegations of bullying against her own party.
Meier does not want to know about the allegations. He was said to be a pusher or bully. “That is not the case. Absolutely not”, he claimed in an interview with the “Aargauer Zeitung”.
Humbel felt pressured
Last summer, the first rumors circulated that Humbel would soon step down. Then came the official confirmation from the center of Aargau and Meier announced his resignation from the Grand Council of Aargau – in order to move up. And what did Humbel do? She said nothing. for now.
She later sharply criticized the events. Apparently the media reports wanted to ramp up the pressure and create facts, Humbel said. There had been talks about an early retirement, but these were confidential. And in the end she decides for herself when she resigns.
date was agreed
In the interview, Meier does not deny that it is Humbel’s right to determine the time of his resignation. The main reason he resigned in the summer was to give his successor Monika Baumgartner a good start after the summer break.
But last year he spoke to Humbel about her early retirement and arranged a date with her. Meier made decisions based on this. Humbel then did not keep to the date.
“We are and will remain friends”
There’s no resentment. “We are and will remain friends,” says Meier. He also knows that Humbel would not make the accusation again today. Nevertheless, the whole thing was a great strain on him, his family and the company.
With Ruth Humbel, the center loses its most important health politician. Meier does not want to follow in their footsteps. As an entrepreneur and vice-chairman of the trade association Aargau, he wants to dedicate himself to SMEs.
By moving up, he can compete in the fall elections with the previous bonus. (Tom)