Valais National Councillor Bregy is the new President of Mitte Schweiz

The 46-year-old Bregy was the only candidate for the highest party office. He has been a member of the National Council since 2019 and head of the centrist parliamentary group in the Federal Parliament since mid-2021. Bregy is a lawyer by profession and the father of two children.

In his inaugural speech, Bregy said that he wanted to continue on the path set by Pfister and develop the centrist party into a constructive and even stronger party. He envisioned his presidency to be "open, direct and open to dialog".

The previous party president Gerhard Pfister was bid farewell after a good nine years in office. Former Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard praised him as the "right man at the right time".

During his time in office, the CVP and BDP merged to form the center. Pfister strategically realigned the party and opened it up to new groups of voters, said Leuthard.

In his farewell speech, Pfister said that a strong political center was more important than ever. Polarization was also increasing in Switzerland. "We are countering this with a policy of dialog and respect." His party builds bridges, but also takes clear positions and leads the way with solutions from the political center.