National Council recess, burnout, operations Mattea Meyer pulls the emergency brake - and she's not the only one
SP Co-President Mattea Meyer suddenly disappeared on voting Sunday - now she is taking a break due to severe exhaustion. Her withdrawal is one of a series of health-related absences in the Federal Parliament.
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- SP Co-President Mattea Meyer is temporarily withdrawing from politics due to "severe exhaustion" and will not take part in the winter session.
- Co-President Cédric Wermuth supports the decision and asks for respect for Meyer's wish to rest.
- This is not the first health-related withdrawal from the Federal Parliament. Most recently, Jacqueline Badran, Natalie Rickli and Councillor of States Pirmin Bischof also had to take a break.
She was the untraceable one yesterday: several journalists noticed on voting Sunday that SP Co-President Mattea Meyer was unavailable.
The surprising news followed in the evening: Meyer is temporarily withdrawing from politics. In an Instagram post, the 38-year-old wrote that she had realized in recent days that she needed "a break" to regain her strength. She felt "very exhausted" and had to "pull the emergency brake in time". Meyer is therefore not taking part in the winter session and is asking for rest and time in her private life.
Her co-president Cédric Wermuth published a statement on Monday morning. In it, he writes that Meyer has his "full support" for her decision. The decision was "not easy" for her, which he can confirm. He also asked the media and the public to respect her wish for peace and quiet.
The public "Meyer:Wermuth Live Show" on Wednesday evening at the Dampfzentrale in Bern is also affected. National Councillor Tamara Funiciello spontaneously stepped in.
Meyer would have represented important business on Tuesday
On Tuesday, Meyer was to have been the spokesperson for a committee in the National Council on the revision of the income replacement scheme. The bill aims to provide more support for parents, but has met with resistance, particularly from parts of the SVP.
Meyer's withdrawal is not the first health-related interruption in the Federal Parliament. In 2022, Zurich SP National Councillor Jacqueline Badran had to take a break. Her family doctor ordered her to take an "urgent break" due to overwork, as she wrote on Twitter at the time. Natalie Rickli (SVP), now a member of the Zurich cantonal government, also took five months out of politics in 2012 due to burnout.
Currently, Councillor of States Pirmin Bischof (center) is also absent for the entire winter session. His party announced that the 66-year-old is in hospital due to a serious stomach and intestinal infection and has been excused for the entire session "as a precaution".
If a member of the National Council or a member of the Council of States falls ill, they are entitled to appropriate compensation for the lost daily allowance: During the first 30 calendar days it is 100 percent, from the second month it is 80 percent. A medical certificate is required for more than five daily allowance payments.
Meyer has been a member of the National Council since 2015. She was re-elected in 2019 and 2023. She has worked on important committees such as the Finance Committee, the Immunity Committee and the Social Security and Health Committee. She has co-chaired the SP Switzerland with Wermuth since October 2020.
