The Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) is in the running to replace Alain Berset as the Swiss Federal Councilor. The candidates who have put their names forward are: Christian Levrat, president of the SP, and Carlo Sommaruga, president of the Swiss Senate. Meanwhile, the other potential candidates have declined to run, including: Christian Dandrès, president of the SP’s Geneva branch, and Pierre-Yves Maillard, president of the SP’s Vaud branch.
Published: Sunday, Oct 29th 2023, 13:41
Updated At: Monday, Oct 30th 2023, 00:54
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Six candidates have applied to the Swiss People's Party (SP) to succeed Alain Berset. On Sunday afternoon, the deadline for submitting federal council candidacies expired. On November 25, the faction will decide its ticket for the federal council election.
The current situation is as follows:
On December 13th, during the winter session, the Swiss People's Party will present a selection of candidates for the election of Alain Berset's successor in the Swiss Federal Council. No criteria have been set for the selection of the candidates.
The Swiss People's Party (SP) is conducting a selection process for its next presidential candidate. A commission of the SP will review the applications until November 4th. Following this, four public hearings will take place in different Swiss cities from the beginning to the middle of November. These hearings will give SP party members and the public the opportunity to get to know the candidates.
It can be expected that due to the West Swiss SP Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, German-speaking Swiss politicians are in the pole position. On Saturday, the Greens decided to not target one of the SP seats, but instead to target a FDP seat.
Who is running?
Eva Allemann, a Bernese government minister and former Member of Parliament (born 1978), is attempting to join the Swiss Federal Council for the second time. The Bernese Director of Internal and Justice Affairs applied for the succession of Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga in 2022, but was not successful in securing a place on the SP party ticket. Allemann is the only woman running for the succession of Federal Councillor Alain Berset. Observers give her rather low chances. Albert Rösti is already a Bernese Federal Councillor. Furthermore, current members of Parliament are better connected in the Federal Palace. Despite her relatively young age, Allemann has a long political career. At 19, she was elected the youngest Councillor of the Canton of Bern. She was a Member of Parliament for 15 years - also the youngest at the beginning - and in 2018 she joined the Bernese Cantonal Government. In the meantime, she presided over the Swiss Transport Club (VCS).
Roger Nordmann, the SP-Nationalrat from the canton of Vaud, is a political heavyweight. In June, he surprisingly stepped down from the presidency of the SP-Bundeshausfraktion after eight years in office. At the beginning of October, he announced his intention to run for the succession of Alain Berset. Nordmann is the only Western Swiss in the race. The Lausanne native has been a Nationalrat since 2004, with a focus on energy policy. Nordmann sees himself as a bridge builder. His candidacy is not that of a Romand, but a language-crossing and a Swiss one, he says. In view of the dramatic turning of the times, there is no need for a Federal Council with regional interests. A third Western Swiss in the government is therefore quite possible.
Swiss National Council member Jon Pult (born 1984) has been suggested as a potential successor to Alain Berset and expressed interest in Berset's seat in early October. Pult, who identifies as trilingual Bündner, has been a member of the National Council for four years and is considered one of the greatest talents of the SP and a skilled rhetorician. Just one year after his entry into Parliament, the SP made him one of their vice presidents. As a government member, the youngest of the candidates would like to strengthen the cohesion of Switzerland. When announcing his candidacy, Pult named the reform of the health care system, climate policy and European policy as the biggest challenges. Pult has not yet held an executive office.
Jans (born 1964) announced at a media conference on September 22nd that he intends to run for the Swiss Federal Council. He expressed great motivation for the candidacy and did not take it for granted that he could apply. He said it would be an "incredible honor" to be able to contribute to the history of Switzerland. Political observers consider Jans to be one of the favorites for the government position. Since 2021, he has been serving as the President of the Government and Head of the Presidential Department of the Canton of Basel-City. From 2010 to 2020, he was a Member of the Swiss National Council. During his time as a Member of the Swiss Federal Parliament, he was Vice President of the SP Switzerland for five years.
Matthias Aebischer, a Member of the Swiss National Council from Bern, announced in mid-September that he believes he has all the necessary qualifications to become a member of the Swiss Federal Council. Aebischer has been active in politics for almost twelve years and is known for his clear will to shape policy, his team spirit, his winning attitude and his commitment to finding sustainable solutions to important issues, such as energy policy. Before his time in the National Council, Aebischer was a presenter for various Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) programs, making him well-known in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. If elected, Bern would be represented twice in the Federal Council.
Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) Senator Daniel Jositsch (born 1965) announced his candidacy at the beginning of September. He said he had thought long and hard about running again, and expressed a "deep respect" for the office of the Federal Council. He said he had entered politics to tackle and shape problems with will and enthusiasm. Last year, Jositsch did not make it onto the official ticket of his party, as female candidates were prioritized for the succession of Simonetta Sommaruga. Nevertheless, Jositsch received several dozen votes on election day. In the end, Jura Senator Elisabeth Baume-Schneider won the race. Jositsch is a strong candidate for the Federal Council due to his experience in Bern and his urban background. He is seen as a representative of the right wing of the SP.
Who has cancelled?
Cédric Wermuth (born 1986), Co-President of the Swiss Socialist Party (SP), has kept his cards close to his chest for a long time. Eventually, he decided against a candidacy for the Swiss Federal Council. He would undoubtedly have brought the experience and political weight for a candidacy. Private and political reasons, however, spoke against it, he told the newspaper "20 Minuten". He wants to continue to lead the SP together with Co-President Mattea Meyer. Becoming a member of the Federal Council was never his life's dream.
The Zurich National Councillor Mattea Meyer (born 1987) had the same considerations as her co-party chairman Wermuth: before a possible candidacy for the Federal Council, it was necessary to lead the SP successfully through the autumn elections, she said so far. A few days after the elections, she ruled out a candidacy. She also told "20 Minutes" that the co-presidency was the place where she felt comfortable and supported at the moment. She wants to continue to fight for a more social Switzerland.
Mustafa Atici, born in 1969 in Turkey, had initially expressed interest in succeeding Swiss Federal Councillor Alain Berset. Atici would have been the first Federal Councillor with a direct migration background. However, his chances of being elected were considered slim. Atici has been a National Councillor since the end of 2019 and until early December. He is a close ally of Basel's government president Beat Jans, who is one of the favourites to succeed Berset. Therefore, Atici withdrew his candidacy in favour of Jans and in favour of his canton, as he said. For him, it was less about his own person than about the message that the forty percent of people who have migrated to Switzerland in recent decades should be recognised at the highest political level.
Eva Herzog, the Basel cantonal councillor (born 1961), announced on September 20th via the short message service X (formerly Twitter) that she will not be running for election. Herzog is set to take over the presidency of the cantonal council next year, which she described as a challenging role with plenty of room for creativity. "If elected, I would like to represent the interests of our population, particularly those of an open and urban Switzerland, and to give visibility to gender equality," she wrote. In December 2022, Herzog was the favorite to succeed Sommaruga, but she was defeated by Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.
Priska Seiler Graf, the Zurich National Councillor and Co-President of the SP of the Canton of Zurich (born 1968), is stepping down for personal reasons, as confirmed by a report in the "SonntagsZeitung". From 2005 to 2015, Seiler Graf was a Cantonal Councillor. In 2015, she was elected to the National Council. The three-time mother had unsuccessfully run for the presidency of the SP Switzerland together with the Valais National Councillor Mathias Reynard in January 2020.
Flavia Wasserfallen, the current National Councillor and future Bernese Councillor, has decided to forgo a candidacy for the Federal Council this year, as she did last year. She has instead chosen to focus her efforts on defending the SP seat in the Council of States.
Fabian Molina, the Swiss National Councillor from Zurich, considered running for a candidacy but ultimately decided against it. He announced this on October 24th via the short message service X (formerly Twitter). He stated that he would continue to dedicate his full energy to his parliamentary work. The former president of the Young Socialists has been a National Councillor since the resignation of Tim Guldimann in March 2018. Molina is also the co-president of the board of trustees of the development organization Swissaid.
Tamara Funiciello, the co-president of the Swiss Socialist Party's Women's Section (born in 1990), initially considered running for office, but decided against it after the national elections. In an interview published on Blick.ch on October 24th, she said that in light of the rightward shift in parliament, she sees her current role as being in parliament. The Swiss-Italian dual citizen is a National Councillor in the canton of Bern and a former president of the Young Socialists. Prior to her time as president of the Young Socialists, Funiciello worked as a warehouse worker, office and service employee, and union secretary.
Nadine Masshardt, the Bernese National Councillor born in 1984, was considered a possible candidate for the succession of Sommaruga, but she declined early on. After Berset's announcement of his resignation, the president of the Consumer Protection Foundation considered running for the position over the summer. Afterwards, she announced that she would not be available. Masshardt is responsible for the candidate selection process.
Baselbieter National Councillor Samira Marti (born 1994) has been identified by political observers as having the potential to become a member of the Swiss Federal Council. She has already had a steep political rise and was elected Co-Faction Leader at the end of August, alongside Waadtländer Samuel Bendahan. She is not available as a candidate for the Federal Council. Marti is responsible, together with Nadine Masshardt, for the candidate selection process.
Jean-François Steiert, the Freiburg Transport Minister (born 1961), has also declined. He said that the French-speaking part of Switzerland is already strongly represented in the Federal Council. Steiert was a Member of the National Council from 2007 to 2017 and had announced that he was considering a candidacy. Currently, the Latin part of Switzerland is overrepresented in the Federal Council with four people. However, Steiert is perfectly bilingual.
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