Eva Herzog, President of the Council of States, wants to show urban Switzerland
Published: Monday, Dec 4th 2023, 17:00
Updated At: Monday, Dec 4th 2023, 17:00
Back to Live Feed
She missed out on election to the Federal Council a year ago, but now she holds another high office: Eva Herzog (SP) from Basel was elected President of the Council of States on Monday. The 61-year-old former Basel Finance Director has been in the "Stöckli" for four years.
She wants to use the presidency of the small chamber in the Federal Parliament as a "platform for a cosmopolitan and urban Switzerland", Herzog told the Keystone-SDA news agency in advance. "It is important to me to bring modern, open and urban Switzerland into focus."
In the Council of States elections in October, Herzog received almost 42,700 votes, around six times as many as his second-placed rival from the center. Not since Carl Miville forty years ago has a candidate for the Council of States in Basel achieved such a clear result. "It was a wonderful result. I can stand up confidently and say that I represent the city," said Herzog.
Herzog has been a member of the Council of States for four years - she succeeded Anita Fetz in 2019. She considers Switzerland's relationship with the EU, individual taxation, banking regulation, the Basel rail hub and education, research and innovation policy to be important issues. In a recent interpellation, she called for the cities to be included in negotiations with the EU.
A motion is still pending that calls for research to be made possible in bank customer archives. She was also supported in this matter by middle-class politicians such as Ruedi Noser (FDP) and Jakob Stark (SVP). However, her motion on equal pay analyses in companies was rejected by the Council of States.
Failed Federal Council candidacy
Last year, Herzog ran to succeed Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga. In December 2022, she lost the third round of voting with 116 votes to Elisabeth Baume-Schneider from the canton of Jura, who won with 123 votes. Herzog subsequently won Baume-Schneider's seat as Vice-President of the Council of States.
Before her time as a member of the Council of States, Herzog was the defining figure in the Basel government. As finance director, she brought the once highly indebted city canton a series of surpluses. Buoyed by a good economic situation, she was always able to present massive financial surpluses, accompanied by tax cuts and a reduction in net debt.
Herzog grew up in the Basel municipality of Pratteln. She does not like to talk about her private life. What is known is that she has two sons with a former journalist from "Basler Zeitung" and Radio SRF and lives in a terraced house in Basel's Neubad district.
Not always toeing the party line
Herzog has a doctorate in history. "I would study history again," said Herzog. "I find it exciting to see how society is changing and it has also made me want to help shape it myself." Initially, she didn't want to go into politics. However, the Basel Constitutional Council gave her the opportunity to help shape politics at grassroots level. That then grabbed her.
Herzog began her professional career as a member of the management team at Kulturwerkstatt Kaserne. There she was responsible for discursive events from 1995 to 1999. Until her election to the cantonal government in 2004, she worked as a research assistant in the Vice-Rectorate for Research at the University of Basel.
The fact that Herzog does not always toe the party line was demonstrated in 2016, when she was at the forefront of the fight with Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer for the third series of corporate tax reforms, even though her party had launched a referendum against them. The Swiss electorate rejected the reform. However, this did not diminish Herzog's popularity among the Basel SP and the population.
While Herzog takes over the presidency of the Council of States, her SP colleague from Basel, Eric Nussbaumer, becomes President of the National Council. This is why the two Basel cantons are jointly hosting the party in honor of the two parliamentary leaders.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic