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Six weeks ago, Russia started the war against Ukraine. But the Federal Council still does not speak with one voice. The impression remains of a state government that does not harmonize and is on the move without a concept. The latest example: the assessment of the atrocities in Bucha.
The Department of Foreign Affairs initially spoke of serious violations of international humanitarian law. When criticism of this formulation became loud, President Ignazio Cassis tightened the wording. In contrast to foreign politicians, however, he still does not speak of war crimes but of suspected war crimes, because that is not a political but a legal term.
Keller-Sutter puts Cassis under pressure
A short time later, his colleague Karin Keller-Sutter spoke up. The images from Bucha suggested war crimes could be involved, she said. The difference is minimal, but one still wonders whether the politician Keller-Sutter wanted to show her more formalist party colleague Cassis how to do it.
The rivalry between the two was also evident early in the war. The Federal Council rejected adopting the EU sanctions. The first to publicly signal a change of course under the growing pressure was Keller-Sutter. Under pressure, Cassis then said more or less the same thing on French-speaking Switzerland television.
Cassis is also involved in another skirmish: Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga came to the Federal Council last week with a proposal because Canada wanted to fly war material from Great Britain to Italy via Switzerland. Such overflights are delicate in terms of neutrality policy. But Cassis intervened with Canada without informing Federal Councilor Sommaruga. The country withdrew the application before the Federal Council dealt with it.
Maurer irritates with praise for foreign ministers
But the two SVP magistrates also play their own role. Ueli Maurer remembers a statement on the first day of the Russian invasion when he called Vladimir Putin a strategic head – “with one of the best foreign ministers who also thinks strategically”.
Finance Minister Maurer never had to justify this statement; imagine if Federal President Cassis had said something like that. And when it comes to Guy Parmelin, many are wondering how persistently his economics department is pursuing the implementation of the sanctions.
These examples do not provide a complete picture, but they do represent examples of the work of the Federal Council during the Ukraine crisis. What should I do? FDP President Thierry Burkart is demanding that the Federal Council no longer just wait for the EU sanctions, but that Switzerland should play an active role at international level.
An interesting suggestion. However, the prerequisite would be that the Federal Council knows what it wants, that the seven want the same thing and also trust each other. But that doesn’t seem to be far off. So the question remains: Is the Bundesrat a dysfunctional body?