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Together they run the 5-star hotel “Schweizerhof”: And together Patrick and Mike Hauser are new members of the cantonal council.
They are a well-known and illustrious pair of brothers in Lucerne: Patrick (61) and Mike Hauser (52). The two own and run the well-known Lucerne Hotel “Schweizerhof” on the lake. And this already in the fifth generation. The Hausers and their 5-star hotel are a real Lucerne hotel dynasty.
Both are very involved in the city of Lucerne: They are represented in the hotel association, the Chamber of Commerce, the guild, and the carnival committee. The younger of the two, Mike Hauser, was even president of FC Luzern for a while.
Suddenly both are gone
Seen in this light, it was not a huge surprise that both were elected to the Lucerne Cantonal Council in May. Both for the FDP, both in the city of Lucerne. While Patrick Hauser has been politicizing in the cantonal council for eight years, brother Mike Hauser is breaking new ground. And is aware: “At the beginning I will have to look over my brother’s shoulders, but also other colleagues from the parliamentary group.”
We no longer decide on our own where the flower vase goes and whether the mirror is clean.
The Lucerne cantonal parliament meets at least two days a month. This is definitely a challenge for the agenda of the two full-blooded hoteliers. So far they have always made sure that at least one of the two is present in the hotel.
Holidays, for example, only come at different times. And who now looks at the hotel when the council meets? Patrick Hauser: “We have now installed a management team that is responsible for the hotel and that we trust.”
Well-known event hotel
You are no longer as operationally active as you were a few years ago. Patrick Hauser has been at the hotel since 1991 and says today: “We no longer decide on our own where the flower vase goes and whether the mirror is clean. And that’s just as well.”
Special hotel concept
Located in the center of Lucerne, the Schweizerhof has positioned itself as an event hotel in recent years. As a 5-star hotel, where concerts, carnival events, discussions and parties also take place.
Legend:
Former FC Lucerne President Mike Hauser (left) is nine years younger than his brother Patrick Hauser.
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So it is clear that tourism and the hotel industry are important to both of them politically. Both have a liberal attitude. For Mike Hauser, however, it is also important to listen to different opinions and to approach others openly: “We were able to achieve prosperity through compromises. Unfortunately, this willingness to compromise is being lost more and more.” He himself has learned in his career not to insist on his own opinion: “If someone shows me with good arguments that I’m wrong, I’ll change my mind. That’s part of life and politics.”
“Pull in the same direction”
Are there any issues on which you don’t agree? After this question from SRF News, both are silent for a moment. Then Mike Hauser says: “We are lucky enough to have been running a company together for 20 years. That’s when we developed the ability to discuss different views and then make a decision.”
Can it be that the concentrated charge “Schweizerhof” in the cantonal council sets the tone? After all, brothers are not allowed everywhere in the same parliament (see box).
This is not a problem for Patrick Hauser: “We are on different commissions and work on different topics.” The goal is that the two voices do not cancel each other out: “We want to move in the same direction and try to create majorities in Parliament.”