Daniel Jositsch positions himself

The highest political body in Switzerland without any representation in Zurich, is that possible? With regard to the Federal Council, it actually looked bleak for the canton of Zurich until Wednesday. The only Zurich government member, the resigning Ueli Maurer, is likely to be replaced by a Bernese: Albert Rösti is the clear favorite of the SVP.

But with the resignation of the Bernese SP Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga announced on Wednesday, a door has now opened again for the economic canton.

And Zurich would also have an SP candidate who wants, can and would be eligible: Daniel Jositsch. But the Zurich Council of States and law professor has a problem. He is a man.

Immediately after Sommaruga’s resignation, SP co-president Mattea Meyer announced that the party leadership believed that only female candidates were eligible. So there should be two women on the SP ticket. But the parliamentary group decides whether it really happens. Could it still work out for Jositsch with the candidacy? Or is he more interested in Alain Berset’s seat?

Jositsch against a pure women’s ticket

In any case, Jositsch has not yet given up his Federal Council ambitions, despite the decision of the SP leadership. The versatile, media-savvy politician, who has had a meteoric career, wants more: He told Radio SRF that if his parliamentary group also allowed a man to run, he would consider an application.

When asked, Jositsch specified that, from a purely legal point of view, the Bundesrat ticket represents a proposal from the respective party. However, the Federal Assembly is free to choose who it will elect to the Bundesrat. He always represented that. Incidentally, it is possible to apply for a candidacy even before the decision of the parliamentary group. Jositsch left open whether he was aiming for this.

In his opinion, did the decision of the SP presidium to nominate only women come too early? “I was at the meeting of the party and parliamentary group leadership on Wednesday morning and made a different request,” replies Jositsch.

Before Federal Council elections, everyone talks about gender and which canton someone comes from. But as soon as Finance Minister Ueli Maurer announced his resignation, he said he didn’t care whether Zurich was still represented in the Federal Council, says Jositsch. “It is much more important whether someone has the necessary skills and fits into the committee.”

Hardly anyone doubts that Jositsch has what it takes, even though he was only a member of a municipal executive as the school president of Meilen. And with his commitment to the social-liberal wing of the SP, he would also be a good candidate for parliament.

EJPD a case for Jositsch?

Does the prospect of Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter moving to another department appeal to him? Then the Justice and Police Department (EJPD), which is otherwise not very popular, would suddenly be free. And this one would be tailored for the criminal law professor. Jositsch laughs: That really is thinking too far, and the distribution of the departments is open anyway.

Another consideration is that Jositsch is counting on Alain Berset’s foreseeable withdrawal from the Federal Council. In any case, it was striking how he singled out two SP women from western Switzerland as extremely capable candidates on Tele Züri on Wednesday evening: his Jura colleague Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and the Vaud government councilor Rebecca Ruiz, with whom he had worked well on a National Council commission.

In the event of an election, three members of the Federal Council and both SP representatives would come from Romandy temporarily and contrary to custom. But Berset’s resignation at the end of the legislature or in a few years would clear the way for an SP man from German-speaking Switzerland, i.e. Jositsch.

His prominent campaign against the Frontex proposal last May, combined with dedicated criticism of the responsible Minister of Justice, recently fueled speculation that the Zurich Council of States was preparing the ground for the left wing of his party to support a Federal Council candidacy.

“I don’t know what I did, that everything I do is judged with a view to running for state government,” replies Daniel Jositsch. That was the case with Frontex, but also when he co-founded the social-liberal reform platform of the SP years ago. The association of the right wing of the SP continues to exist, but no longer with him as president, but under the direction of Biel mayor Erich Fehr.

Successful in the first ballot

The Frontex template shows how different political biographies can develop despite similar origins. Jositsch once had a lot in common with Zurich security director Mario Fehr; both pursued a moderate social-liberal line on their way to the highest offices. In the referendum campaign six months ago, they represented diametrically opposed positions. Fehr and the SP became increasingly alienated. Two years ago he left the party and is now running as a non-party candidate for the governing council.

In addition to his academic career, Daniel Jositsch experienced rapid political rise. He was elected to the cantonal council in 2007 as SP president of the district of Meilen and school president in Stäfa. In the same year he was elected to the National Council. He has also been President of the Swiss Commercial Association since 2001.

In the 1990s, he was the managing director of the Swiss-Colombian Chamber of Commerce and worked as an independent lawyer in the South American country. In 2017, the public was surprised to learn that Jositsch had also acquired Colombian citizenship. In contrast to the SVP, this is not an obstacle to a candidacy for the Federal Council in the SP.

In 2015, Jositsch ran for the Council of States for the first time. Surprisingly, he was successful right away in the first ballot. Previously, the Zurich SP had tried in vain for 30 years to get a seat in the small chamber. In an interview with the NZZ, the former EU turbo admitted that the bilateral path was surprisingly successful for him, acknowledged the energy transition and emphasized similarities with the liberal competitor Ruedi Noser. The duo harmonized well for a long time afterwards.

Prominent cancellations from Zurich SP women

However, the good starting position is of little use to Daniel Jositsch if, after the presidency, the SP parliamentary group decides to only nominate women. In this case, the Zürcher SP would have some candidates who can count on a good chance of a seat in the state government. Above all, government councilor Jacqueline Fehr, who was nominated by the SP for the Federal Council in 2010, but lost out to Sommaruga at the time.

Twelve years later, Fehr now has executive experience in addition to her experience as a member of the National Council. But Fehr took himself out of the race on Thursday.

She announced on Twitter that she did not want to run for the Federal Council. Her goal is re-election to the Zurich cantonal government on February 12, she wrote. «The strong role played by the Canton of Zurich and its pioneering role in many areas make the Zurich Government Council the best possible place to shape politics. Doing this is and will remain my great passion.»

A candidacy for Fehr would also have come at the wrong time for the Zurich SP. With security director Mario Fehr leaving the party, the Social Democrats have already lost a seat in the canton government. The goal of the party is now that Jacqueline Fehr holds the seat and candidate Priska Seiler Graf conquers a second one. A possible election to the Federal Council would jeopardize this because a new candidacy would have to be set up in the short term.

This also spoke against a Federal Council candidacy for National Councilor Seiler Graf. On Wednesday, when asked by the Keystone-SDA agency, she said that she first had to organize her thoughts and think about it in peace. On Thursday, the rejection came via Twitter: “My heart beats for Zurich,” she writes. Together with Jacqueline Fehr, she wants to work on the government council for a social, ecological and socially just canton of Zurich. “That’s why my goal remains to bring back the second SP seat in the government council on February 12!”

Mattea Meyer from Winterthur is also not interested in running for office. The national councilor was only re-elected a few days ago as co-president of the SP and currently wants to concentrate on this office.

The cantonal sections have until November 21 to report candidates to the national party. A few more prominent names are likely to figure on the Zurich SP list, such as those of National Councilors Jacqueline Badran or Min Li Marti. Maybe Jositsch will start the race after all. The Zurich party leadership is currently still covered. However, co-president Andreas Daurù says that the SP Switzerland has decided in favor of a woman candidacy and that they will also support it.