‘Mr Covid’ Alain Berset bids farewell to parliament
Alain Berset during his last appearance in the Senate on Thursday
Keystone / Anthony Anex
Alain Berset, who held the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has defended his very last issue. “Mr Covid”, as he was described by the president of the Senate Eva Herzog, is retiring from politics after 20 years in office, 12 of which were spent in government as interior minister.
On Thursday the native of Fribourg looked back on these two decades, saying that “a lot of things didn’t work out, that’s part of political life”. But even in the most difficult moments, “I have learnt like never before”.
The past few years of his mandate were marked by the Covid pandemic. Berset, 51, appeared at press conferences almost every week to present measures to combat Covid-19 and became a key figure in the daily lives of the Swiss people. He has also made a name for himself with his famous expression “as quickly as possible, but as slowly as necessary”.
The Social Democrat also won the battle against his own camp over the revision of the pension system and raised the retirement age for women to 65. During the winter session, he also finalised the uniform financing of inpatient, outpatient and long-term care. This project was launched in 2009, when he was still a member of the Senate.
“I’m leaving. I’ll be with you in spirit, in friendship”. He could almost have said “I love you”, but “that’s too much for a Thursday morning”, he said with a smile.
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