Who gets the Federal Council seat from Ueli Maurer? Five candidates have entered the race for the SVP, but in principle all Swiss can be nominated. The most important questions and answers on the Federal Council replacement election.
Who follows Ueli Maurer? The SVP candidates have positioned themselves.
Ueli Maurer announced his resignation as Federal Councilor on September 30th. The SVP announced on the same day that the sections had three weeks to nominate their candidates for the successor. This period has now expired. What’s next? The most important questions and answers about the by-election.
When will the vacant Federal Council seat be filled?
Ueli Maurer’s successor will be elected by parliament on December 7th. The selection committee of the SVP wants to propose a selection to its parliamentary group by November 11th. Finally, on November 18, the parliamentary group wants to present the definitive ticket for the election.
Who can stand for election?
All Swiss nationals who have reached the age of 18 and who have not are eligible for election “are incapacitated because of mental illness or mental weakness”, as stated in the Federal Constitution (Article 136). Political office is not a requirement. If you want to stand for election, you only have to submit your candidacy. In the case of by-elections, there are often several dozen wild applications.
After the third ballot, no further candidacies are permitted. Anyone who receives less than ten votes in the second or in one of the following ballots is eliminated. From the third ballot, the person who receives the fewest votes is eliminated. If there are several vacant seats, the election is based on the term of office of the previous incumbent.
Who has positioned themselves so far?
As soon as a Federal Councilor announces his resignation, the back-room discussions begin. As a rule, potential candidates keep a low profile for as long as possible. Cantonal parties often nominate their candidates for the attention of the national parent party. This in turn nominates their official candidates. Tickets for two have been the norm since the 1990s. Triple tickets are rare but do occur.
The SVP announced that it wanted to compete with a “strong leader with integrity” who identified with the core issues of the party. Criteria are also a “corresponding degree of awareness and a good reputation”. The latter is ensured by means of a self-declaration and a current extract from the debt collection and criminal records. The following candidates came into play by the end of the SVP period:
- Werner Salzman: The Bernese Council of States was the first to enter the race to succeed Ueli Maurer. Salzmann said on October 7 that he had studied the requirements profile and had come to the conclusion that he fulfilled it. Salzmann is a trained farmer and engineer agronomist FH. From 2012 to 2019 he served as President of the SVP Canton Bern, in 2015 he was elected to the National Council and in 2019 to the Council of States, where he chairs the Security Commission. Salzmann in Rösti’s wounds – or: Who will be the new Federal Councilor of the SVP?
- Albert Rosti: The Bernese National Council only announced its candidacy after ten days of reflection. Rösti has a doctorate in agronomy and mayor of Uetendorf near Thun. He has been a member of the National Council since 2011 and was President of SVP Switzerland from 2016 to 2020. Rösti presents itself as a 360-degree candidate. There is hardly any resistance in sight, he enjoys high sympathy ratings from the other factions who would have to vote for him. Decently decent: Albert Rösti’s candidacy for the Federal Council promises a boring race
- Heinz Tännler: In mid-October, the Zug Government Council announced its candidacy for the Federal Council in the CH Media newspapers. It was the first candidacy that did not come from Bern. Heinz Tännler is a different kind of candidate: not a parliamentarian, not a party soldier in the narrower sense and certainly not someone who wants to be perceived as a nice father of the country. His chances of being elected to the Federal Council are rather slim. He’s not one of the nice guys: Zug finance director Heinz Tännler wants to become a member of the Federal Council
- Michele Bloechliger: The Nidwaldner finance director is still the only woman in the candidate carousel. She was celebrated as a beacon of hope for the SVP women, but the polish was quickly gone: In the press conference, when asked, she denied that she had British citizenship in addition to Swiss citizenship. It later turned out to be a lie. The SVP is critical of dual citizens because of alleged conflicts of loyalty. Federal Council candidates on thin ice – Michèle Blöchliger is not the first to stumble over a delicate statement
- Hans-Ueli Vogt: With his candidacy, the Zurich native caused a big surprise. Because the 52-year-old had actually officially withdrawn from politics, at the end of 2021 he gave up his seat in the National Council. After four years in the Canton Council, six years in the National Council and a failed candidacy for the Council of States, he had apparently finished with politics for the time being – and is now making a comeback. The contradictory Professor Vogt reaches for the most important job in Swiss politics
How is the composition of the Bundesrat regulated?
In multilingual, federalist Switzerland, the composition of the Federal Council plays a central role. Parliament therefore ensures that the language regions, cantons and genders are appropriately represented. In the early days of the federal state, the federal constitution stipulated that each canton may appoint a maximum of one federal councillor. This was intended to prevent the large cantons from dominating. Since 1999, the rule has been formulated more openly in the constitution: “It must be taken into account that the regional and language regions are adequately represented”.
There are still cantons that have never had a Federal Council (Schaffhausen, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden and Jura). French-speaking Switzerland has always been represented in the Federal Council since 1848, but not the Italian-speaking part. After Flavio Cotti (CVP) resigned in 1999, it took 18 years for Ticino to regain a seat in the state government with Ignazio Cassis (FDP).
Why don’t the Greens get the seat?
Despite the losses in the 2019 federal elections, the SVP is still the strongest party in parliament with 25.6 percent of the vote. After winning the elections three years ago, the Greens are claiming a seat in the Federal Council. At an extraordinary meeting on October 18, the party decided not to nominate a candidate to succeed Ueli Maurer. “We don’t want to waste energy in a fight in which the decision has already been made,” said group leader Aline Trede, explaining the decision.
Not a single faction was willing to talk about a Federal Council seat for the Greens. “The Federal Council parties want to secure their power.” The party now wants to await the autumn 2023 elections to decide whether to run in December’s general election. Then the question arises as to which party is contesting a seat.