Marcel Dettling is the only candidate for the SVP presidency
Published: Monday, Jan 22nd 2024, 12:20
Updated At: Monday, Jan 22nd 2024, 12:21
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The President of the Swiss SVP will probably be Marcel Dettling from April. The 42-year-old National Councillor from Schwyz is the only candidate to succeed Marco Chiesa, who is stepping down from the Ticino Council of States at the end of March, after the party's internal registration deadline.
As the SVP search committee announced on Monday, Dettling is also "the absolute preferred candidate for the party presidency". The fact that only Dettling's candidacy had been received by last Friday evening shows his broad acceptance within the SVP Switzerland.
The 42-year-old farmer from Oberiberg has been a member of the National Council since 2015, a member of the party leadership committee since 2018 and Vice President of the SVP since 2022. Dettling became known to the general public last year as the SVP's national campaign manager.
In the national elections on October 22, the SVP gained nine seats in the National Council and achieved the third-best result in its history. Four years ago, Dettling had rejected a candidacy for the party presidency.
Election on March 23
The SVP's internal search committee will now hold "the usual talks" with Dettling and make clarifications, as the search committee's press release explains. The committee will then submit a proposal to the party leadership committee. The election will take place at a delegates' meeting on March 23 in Langenthal BE.
Dettling announced his candidacy just over a week ago. At the time, he said that as president it would be important for him to focus on issues that concern the population. This was in order to continue the SVP's success in the last national elections. Dettling cited the limitation of "excessive immigration" as an example.
Dettling also described the negotiation of an EU framework agreement as an important issue. Switzerland must bury this in order to defend its freedom and direct democracy. Switzerland should remain free from foreign judges and foreign rights.
Chiesa has ambitions in Ticino
The incumbent SVP President Marco Chiesa announced at the end of December that he would not be standing for re-election at the end of his ordinary term of office in March 2024. Chiesa was elected President in 2020. He is now seeking a seat in the Lugano city government, as was recently announced.
At the end of December, 31-year-old St. Gallen National Councillor Mike Egger and 46-year-old Bernese National Councillor Lars Guggisberg were among those who had shown interest in the presidency. Lucerne National Councillor Franz Grüter did not rule out a candidacy at the time. "If I was approached, I would give it some thought," he said at the time.
Geneva National Councillor and SVP Vice-President Céline Amaudruz was also under discussion at the end of December, while other well-known SVP exponents such as Bernese Councillor of States Werner Salzmann withdrew early on.
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