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Federal Council candidate Markus Ritter in his farmhouse parlor in Altstätten SG.
Image: blue News
After years of campaigning for the interests of farmers, Markus Ritter, a member of the National Council from the canton of St. Gallen, is aiming for higher things. A portrait of the most powerful parliamentarian in Bern.
Markus Ritter is considered the most successful lobbyist in the Federal Parliament. His reputation precedes him: he is not impressed by headwinds, wins one vote after another on behalf of the farmers' association and negotiates relentlessly in parliament when it comes to agricultural issues.
Anyone who exposes himself in this way also makes a lot of enemies. Sometimes he is celebrated as the king of farmers, sometimes criticized as a power politician. Now the St. Gallen National Councillor and President of the Swiss Farmers' Association wants to become a member of the national government - and is not only met with enthusiasm.
When blue News meets him at his farm in Altstätten in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, he is just saying goodbye to the journalists from the previous appointment. It is already the third visit of the day. Not a trace of tiredness: "Just come in," he says with his typical broad smile on his lips.
Time and again, the organic farmer has welcomed media representatives into his farmhouse parlor, often in functional gilets and work pants, and talked about all the small and big wins he has been able to record for himself and his people. He has a perfect command of the media game. He knows the effect of rural modesty.
His sons now run the business, but Markus Ritter still helps out on the farm every now and then.
Keystone
His perseverance has brought Ritter a long way. Born in 1967 in Altstätten in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, he trained as a farmer, passed his master craftsman's examination and was soon running his parents' farm. But the land he tills is soon no longer enough for him: Ritter wants to help shape things. To exert influence. "Agriculture is closely intertwined with political issues. That interested me from an early age," says Ritter.
So, at the young age of 25, he stood as a candidate for the Altstätten town council (then still a municipal council). And even then he knew how important a good network was: "I worked as a beer driver for two years and was active in the fire department and on the board of the shooting club. I knew a lot of people," says Ritter. He is elected in the first round of voting.
In the following 20 years on the executive at municipal level, he laid the foundations for his political career. Especially as President of the Building Commission: "That's where I learned what it means to master all the components of a negotiation."
Land acquisition, land ownership interests, objections - there is hardly any other topic in Switzerland that is the subject of as many disputes as construction projects. Most of the interlocutors are significantly older than the young city councillor. "I had to have many difficult conversations. But I always tried to mediate," says Ritter.
CVP in the middle Federal Councillors since 1960.
Markus Ritter is always striving for more. He became president of the St. Gallen Farmers' Association in 2005, followed by a move to the presidency of the Swiss Farmers' Association in 2012 - probably his greatest power base. A year earlier, he was elected to Bern on his third attempt and was elected to the National Council for the then CVP (now the Center Party). All part of a grand plan? Ritter denies it: "You can't plan a political career. Many factors always have to intertwine."
As farmers' president, Ritter quickly rose to become one of the most influential members of parliament and developed the association into an assertive lobbying organization.
Opponents accuse him of taking a hard line and having little tolerance for dissenting opinions within the association. But Ritter pursues a strategy that works for him: forging alliances, making compromises where necessary, but standing firm in the decisive moments. He tirelessly fights efforts for more environmental protection in agriculture. He has been successful in doing so: for example, he defeated the biodiversity, pesticide, drinking water and livestock farming initiatives and prevented additional climate targets in the Agricultural Policy 22+.
"Power is not important to me. Success is," says Markus Ritter. His opponents, on the other hand, repeatedly accuse him of having a questionable claim to power. Companions from his years as a city councillor report publicly on his ruthless dominance and solo efforts. "Anyone who didn't make a move came under pressure," they tell the St. Galler Tagblatt newspaper. "It probably works no differently in Bern than it does in Altstätten."
They may soon be discussing together in the Federal Council: Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and Markus Ritter.
Keystone
Ritter disagrees: "You can't achieve anything on your own - only if you create majorities." When it comes to projects - such as his candidacy for the Federal Council - he always focuses on the goal to be achieved. "Then I look backwards and ask myself: what do I have to do to achieve this?" He listens first and foremost, "but in the end, someone has to take the risk and decide."
Now he is aiming even higher: a seat on the Federal Council. "When Martin Candinas also decided not to run, I said to myself: now I have to take responsibility," says Ritter. Critics complain that another farmer in the government would not give a balanced picture. Ritter is not deterred by this - nor by the numerous army projects that are in massive trouble. He argues with his economic policy expertise, his perseverance and emphasizes his ability to build bridges.
Away from politics, Ritter remains a farmer. However, he handed over his organic farm to his sons two years ago. He is already on the road around 200 days a year. However, he still helps out on the farm when time allows. He describes working with cows and bees or pruning trees as "meditative tasks". Or to summarize: "Farming grounds me."
If he succeeds in being elected to the state government, various construction sites await him in the DDPS. A "Herculean task", emphasizes Ritter. His pace? "Full throttle, always." Whether this will pave his way into the Federal Council remains to be seen. The old Tafelhaus in Altstätten will probably continue to welcome journalists regardless of the result on March 12. And Ritter will continue to polarize.
