On Wednesday, the initial situation at the SP was largely clarified. National Councilor Flavia Wasserfallen is not running for the Federal Council, Evi Allemann is standing in for it. This leaves one big favorite left: Eva Herzog, a member of the Council of States of Basel.
She wants: Evi Allemann, SP government councilor in the canton of Bern, would like to switch to the state government.
A young mother in the Federal Council: For some, this seems to be the need of the hour. In the discussions about the successor to SP Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga, there is so much talk about gender, children, career and crèches that the impression arises that, from a social democratic point of view, only a woman with small children would be able to fill the high office with dignity .
But since early Wednesday evening, the likelihood that the wish will come true is less than before: National Councilor Flavia Wasserfallen announced on Tele Bärn that she would not be available for the upcoming Federal Council elections. (Note the word “upcoming” she explicitly mentions in her statement.)
She doesn’t want to (yet): The big favorite Flavia Wasserfallen has also decided not to run for the Federal Council out of consideration for her family.
The 43-year-old from Bern was one of the big favourites. As a former co-secretary general of SP Switzerland, she belonged to the innermost circle of the party. With three children between the ages of 6 and 14, she also fulfills the ideals of the SP in terms of family policy. There is no doubt that the Federal Council Office would appeal to her.
Nevertheless, she cancels. In her statement, she states that “at this point in time” a candidacy for her “would not be right”. Instead, she wants to become a member of the Council of States in 2023. Wasserfallen emphasizes that “at the moment she is leading a work and family life that corresponds to my personal ideas”. Your waiver is therefore also to be understood as a decision “against significant changes in this balance”.
Relief for the SP tip
After Wasserfallen’s withdrawal, it looked as if the SP could run out of young mothers entirely. But it wasn’t long before another Bernese woman announced her candidacy in an interview in the Tamedia newspapers that same evening: government councilor Evi Allemann. The 44-year-old is the mother of two children aged 12 and 7. She has been a member of the Bern cantonal government since 2018 and thus already has relevant experience in the combination of family and executive.
Now she is apparently determined to also test the family compatibility of a Federal Council office. However, Allemann starts with a relevant handicap in the rest of the race: It rarely happens that Parliament elects “external” people who are not personally known in the Federal Palace. In Allemann’s case, this disadvantage is mitigated by the fact that she was a member of the National Council from 2003 to 2018. During this time, the former VCS President made a name for herself primarily in transport policy.
And at least the Sukkurs of the SP tip Evi Allemann should have for sure. The candidacy is a great relief for the presidential duo Mattea Meyer and Cédric Wermuth. They came up with the idea of allowing only women to take part in the internal nomination process. But it soon became apparent that the candidates weren’t exactly queuing up.
Bernese against Basel
At the moment it looks most likely to be a duel between Evi Allemann and Eva Herzog. The Basel State Councilor was traded as the second big favorite alongside Flavia Wasserfallen right from the start. Herzog has scheduled a media conference in Bern for Thursday, which is why it can be assumed that she will also run for office.
As a former government councilor in Basel-Stadt, she has extensive management experience. Because of her pragmatic tax policy, with which she repeatedly offends the left, she enjoys a high reputation in middle-class circles. Duke has two children. However, those who absolutely want a young mother should not be completely happy at their age, 60. Nevertheless, she would probably have better cards in the duel with Allemann because she is better networked in the Federal Palace and can count on more sympathy on the right of the SP.
However, the decision would be completely open in another, rather unlikely case: if the SP faction, contrary to the wishes of the party leadership, also nominated a man. The Zurich Council of States Daniel Jositsch is ready. If he were allowed to compete against Herzog and Allemann, the Federal Council elections on December 7th could still be exciting.