Federal Councilor Albert Rösti (55) has made his choice. Yves Bichsel (51) will be the new Secretary General of the Energy Department. Bichsel is already familiar with the federal administration: from 2006 to 2007 he was Deputy Secretary General of the then Minister of Justice Christoph Blocher (82), in 2009 he became Chief of Staff of Ueli Maurer (72) at the Ministry of Finance.
In 2016, the newly elected SVP government councilor Pierre Alain Schnegg (60) brought him as secretary general to the health department of the canton of Bern. Schnegg and Bichsel not only share party politics, but also the proximity of the free ecclesiastical environment.
In terms of content, Bichsel stands for classic SVP functions. But how exactly does the PhD student work?
God-faithful «Chrampfer»
He was “a shrimp”, says Bernese SP councilor Ursula Zybach (55), member of the health and social committee. “He is a file thinker, a top cast in the front office.” Accordingly, the duo Schnegg and Bichsel set to work determinedly, motivated by a religious image of man: “Both are convinced that everyone can help themselves if they really want to with God’s help.”
True to this logic, in 2019 Schnegg and Bichsel tried to reduce social assistance in the canton of Bern by up to 30 percent. It should have been the prelude to nationwide budget cuts. “Bichsel was the driving force,” says a Bernese alderman. “He wanted to tighten up the social system across the country.” But the attempt failed in Bern. The people rejected the request.
Bichsel’s zeal is to be appreciated
Bichsel not only stands for strict content, says the alderman, but also for hard methods: “The Bernese health service ignores relevant actors and likes to avoid annoying consultations. This idiosyncratic approach to democratic procedures bears Bichsel’s signature.”
Stéphane Beuchat (47) fought as co-director of Avenirsocial, the professional association for social work in Switzerland, against the revision of the Social Welfare Act in the canton of Bern. The health department is acting unprofessionally, he says. “It regularly works with decisions that are communicated unilaterally, without taking into account the rules of participation. There can be no question of a conciliatory attitude.”
Bichsel’s diligence should also be appreciated in his new workplace. There, however, he has to work with officials from the Sommaruga era, who do not always share his opinion. And consultation is not something to be trifled with in federal politics: the estates jealously guard their right to have a say – including the canton of Bern.