Pfister praises Amherd as a prudent and hands-on Federal Councillor

"I am glad that we have a prudent, forward-looking and hands-on Federal Councillor in these times of upheaval," said Pfister on Saturday at the Mitte delegates' meeting in Visp, Amherd's home canton. In the last 30 years, no defense minister has been in office as long as she has: "Her predecessors have always changed departments at the first opportunity. But Viola Amherd stayed."

According to the National Councillor from Zug, the Federal Councillor who stepped down at the end of March was concerned with Switzerland's security, but also with a more open and women-friendly army. She had recognized that cooperation with neighbouring countries and international partners was central to Switzerland's defence.

And she had succeeded in increasing the army budget for the first time in decades: "Because for thirty years, during which the DDPS was in SVP hands, the only thing that had been saved was defense capability."

"Defending democracy"

A neutrality that no longer distinguishes between the attacker and the attacked and assumes that others will naturally help defend Switzerland is indecent in his view, Pfister also reiterated earlier statements on the war in Ukraine.

He warned that democracies are also under pressure from within today due to the rise of "left-wing and right-wing populist to extreme" parties: "Our contribution must be to defend democracy and institutions where we can and where we bear responsibility."

With regard to Amherd's successor, Pfister called on the other parliamentary groups in the federal parliament to consider the two candidates Markus Ritter and Martin Pfister and to choose one of them.

The centrist president believes his party is well positioned for the time after his resignation at the end of June. The party is not facing a turning point, but rather an orderly transition. In the long term, the centrist party has the potential to achieve an 18% share of the electorate.

The Center will decide on its new leader at its next delegates' meeting on 28 June. On Saturday in Visp, however, the two "fairness initiatives" formed the thematic focus. With the referendums submitted in March 2023, the center wants to eliminate the disadvantages of married couples in terms of AHV and direct federal taxes compared to unmarried couples.

The program also included a panel discussion with the party's two candidates for the Federal Council.