Amherd successor in the Federal Council Who is still in the running - and who is not
The deadline ends on Monday afternoon: following the withdrawal of Christophe Darbellay, the centrist cantonal parties have little time left to submit nominations. There are not many candidates left.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Shortly before the registration deadline expired on Sunday, Christophe Darbellay announced his decision not to stand as a candidate to succeed the resigned Federal Councillor Viola Amherd.
- In addition to Darbellay, a number of people have already dropped off the candidate carousel.
- However, Markus Ritter, centrist National Councillor from St. Gallen and President of the Swiss Farmers' Union, wants to become a member of the Federal Council and is considered to have a good chance.
- However, Peter Hegglin, a centrist member of the Council of States from Zug, Martin Pfister, a member of the cantonal government from Zug, and Marie-France Roth Pasquier, a member of the National Council from Fribourg, are also still in the running.
Following the announcement of the resignation of centrist Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, the Center Party is awaiting nominations from its cantonal parties by this Monday (3 February). In the meantime, a number of people have jumped off the candidate carousel. An overview of names and positions in alphabetical order:
He wants: Markus Ritter
Markus Ritter, centrist National Councillor from St. Gallen and President of the Farmers' Association, has expressed his interest in succeeding Federal Councillor Viola Amherd. Ritter told the Keystone-SDA news agency that he wanted to take on responsibility and, with his candidacy, help ensure that the Center Party and then the Federal Assembly would have a good choice. The cantonal party nominated him as its candidate for the Federal Council on Tuesday. He has all the qualifications and the necessary motivation. The 57-year-old organic farmer is considered an influential member of parliament, but comes from the same canton as President Karin Keller-Sutter. He has been a member of the National Council since 2011 and has been President of the Farmers' Party since 2012. In the National Council, he is a member of the Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation. Ritter has executive experience from his time as a member of the municipal government of Altstätten SG.
You are still in the game
Peter Hegglin: Peter Hegglin, a member of the Zug Center Council of States, has expressed an interest in becoming a member of the Federal Council. However, he will not be actively running, as he said in an interview with CH Media. This is because he already has many other exciting mandates. "I ran for the Federal Council six years ago, when the party wanted a woman," he said. Today, there is talk of younger candidates, said the 64-year-old. He does not believe that the party leadership will contact him. If they did, he would not turn them down. Being a Federal Councillor would be an "exciting task that I would enjoy", he said.
Martin Pfister: The Zug governMartin Pfister is considering a candidacy and intends to announce his decision by the end of January, as he told the Keystone-SDA news agency. Pfister is 61 years old and has been a member of the Zug cantonal government since 2016, where he heads the Health Directorate. He is a teacher, studied German and history and has worked for associations.
Marie-France Roth Pasquier: The Fribourg National Councillor does not want to comment on a possible candidacy until the beginning of February, as she told the Keystone-SDA news agency. The 56-year-old had previously told the "Freiburger Nachrichten" that the Federal Council was highly polarized, with a right-wing bloc of four making the decisions. This makes it difficult for the center to make policy. The vacant defense department is also not the most sought-after.
Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter: National Councillor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneider from Basel wants to wait and see before making a decision, as she told "Schweiz am Wochenende". She wants to know who will enter the race. However, top jobs in the centrist party should not only be filled by men. The 60-year-old lawyer has been a member of the National Council since 2010 and is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. She is President of the Basel Chamber of Commerce and holds several business mandates, including being a member of the Board of Economiesuisse.
They have withdrawn
A number of politicians have now withdrawn from the race: Center Party leader Philipp Matthias Bregy (VS), National Councillor Yvonne Bürgin (ZH), National Councillor Martin Candinas (GR), State Councillor Christophe Darbellay (VS), Government Councillor Markus Dieth (AG), Government Councillor Lukas Engelberger (BS), State Councillor Stefan Engler (GR), Government Councillor Karin Kayser-Frutschi (NW), Government Councillor Michaela Tschuor (LU), National Councillor Philipp Kutter (ZH), National Councillor Reto Nause (BE), Center Party President and National Councillor Gerhard Pfister (ZG), National Councillor Thomas Rechsteiner (AI), Trade Association President and Councillor of States Fabio Regazzi (TI), Councillor of States Benedikt Würth (SG), Councillor of States Heidi Z'graggen (UR), President of the Government Marcus Caduff (GR) and Councillor of States Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger (LU).
The members of the Center Party search committee chaired by Pfister and Bregy will also not be running. These are Councillors of State Charles Juillard (JU) and Pirmin Bischof (SO) as well as Councillors of State Marianne Binder-Keller (AG) and Isabelle Chassot (FR). Nicolò Paganini (SG) and Regina Durrer-Knobel (NW) are from the National Council.
