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State councilors Rebecca Ruiz and Nuria Gorrite have withdrawn from the race to succeed Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga. Who remains from the ranks of the SP? The overview.
Why did the two Vaud women cancel? Rebecca Ruiz announced on Saturday that she wanted to focus on her position as director of health. But she feels honored to have been considered as a possible candidate. State Councilor Nuria Gorrite made a similar statement. The people of Vaud can continue to count on their commitment in the Council of State, wrote Gorrite. She therefore decided not to run for office.
Who wants to run for the SP Federal Council seat? The SP leadership decided that a woman should follow Sommaruga again. So far, no SP politician has clearly stated that she wants to run for office. On the other hand, there have already been several cancellations. The party was surprised by Sommaruga’s resignation. That is why many potential candidates had not given any thought to the office of Federal Councilor beforehand.
Who are the favourites? The media and political scientists see Eva Herzog, a member of the Council of States from Basel, as a favourite. She was a member of the government until the beginning of 2020 and headed the cantonal finance department. Herzog does not rule out a candidacy, as she told the Keystone-SDA news agency. The Bernese SP national councilor Flavia Wasserfallen and the Jura state councilor and former state councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider are also attributed the stature of a federal councillor. Both are considering a candidacy.
The SP candidates for the Federal Council election
Who is in the conversation? The Bernese government councilor and former National Councilor Evi Allemann told the “Berner Zeitung” that she wanted to carefully examine a Federal Council candidacy. According to information from CH Media, former President of the National Council and former Councilor of States Pascale Bruderer wants to decide by November 8 whether to run for office. Other candidates who are considering running for office are the Zurich National Councilors Min Li Marti and Céline Widmer, the Basel Government Councilor Tanja Soland, the Thurgau National Councilor Edith Graf-Litscher, the Freiburg National Councilor Ursula Schneider Schüttel and the Basel National Councilor Sarah Wyss.
Who has already canceled? In addition to the two Vaud state councilors Rebecca Ruiz and Nuria Gorrite, other SP women have already left the race. The two Zurich National Councilors Priska Seiler Graf and Mattea Meyer, the Zurich Government Councilor Jacqueline Fehr, the St. Gallen National Councilor Barbara Gysi, the Bernese National Councilor Nadine Masshardt and the Ticino State Councilor Marina Carobbio Guscetti have canceled a Federal Council candidacy.
Why are no men reporting? The SP party leadership wants an all-women ticket for the Federal Council elections – with at least two female candidates. However, this is also met with criticism. The Zurich SP Councilor of States Daniel Jositsch is considering a candidacy. The fact that the party leadership was planning a women-only ticket from the start was a “special decision,” Jositsch emphasized to Radio SRF.
How does it go from here? The parliamentary group of the SP wants to decide in three weeks – namely on November 26th – who will officially enter the race for the SP. Federal Council elections will take place on December 7th.