Newspapers react to cabinet nominees

Pierre Maudet, Isabelle Moret and Ignazio Cassis at the Radical Party gathering on September 2, 2017 KEYSTONE/ VALENTIN FLAURAUD

The Radical Party’s recommendation of three potential cabinet candidates has yielded approval and predictions in the Swiss media. 

On Friday evening, the Radicals nominated Ignazio Cassis, Isabelle Moret and Pierre Maudet as possible successors to Didier Burkhalter. Here’s a round-up of reactions from various newspapers over the weekend. 

The Tages-Anzeiger, Bund and Le Temps newspapers wrote that the three-person ticket made sense, and as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) put it, the Radical Party had done its job and offered the parliament a good selection. However, the NZZ also wrote that the party had chosen the path of least resistance, and had lacked the courage to narrow it down to the two most qualified: Cassis and Maudet. Then again, the next three weeks would provide Moret with the chance to showcase her skills. 

Tages-Anzeiger and Bund pointed out that after 18 years without a cabinet minister from Ticino, the time was right for Cassis – seen as the favourite. The newspaper Blick also described Cassis as “nearly elected already”, but acknowledged Maudet’s chances as well. Le Temps suggested that Cassis would have an easier time because the votes of parliamentarians from French-speaking Switzerland would be split between Maudet and Moret. The newspaper 24 Heures predicted that parliamentarians from German-speaking Switzerland would favour Cassis. 

La Tribune de Genève said that Maudet was undoubtedly the big winner in the run-up to the election because he is well-respected in German-speaking Switzerland. Yet it, too, acknowledged that Cassis was the favourite. 

Parliament will choose a Burkhalter’s replacement on September 20.