Police called to noisy leaving-do at Swiss parliament

The Federal parliament's house band "Fraktionszwang" getting the party started. Local residents were less impressed. Twitter / Jacqueline Badran

The federal parliament building in Bern is known for occasional noisy political debates but less so for its raucous farewell parties for departing parliamentarians. A recent shindig was so loud that Bern police were called to keep the noise down.

September 28 was the final day of the autumn session of parliament. It was also the last official working day for over 30 parliamentarians who were not standing for re-election on October 22.  

At their leaving-do that evening, the departing politicians and a current cabinet minister showed that they know how to party, according to a report in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper.

“The band Fraktionszwang rocked the Galerie des Alpes,” said the NZZ. This refers to a lounge area beneath the Federal Palace dome.

A special mention was given to Aline Trede on vocals and Christa Markwalder on cello, wrote the NZZ.

“Federal Councillor Albert Rösti and possible future Federal Councillor Beat Jans are said to have shared the drums. A Late Summer of Love in Federal Bern,” said NZZ. Beat Jans is hoping to succeed the outgoing Interior Minister Alain Berset in the Swiss cabinet.

Owing to the hot party atmosphere, the windows were opened. Bern police then received complaints about the excessive noise. According to NZZ, the protests came from residents of the Marzili quarter, which lies below the parliament building.

A police patrol managed to restore order in the noisy upstairs gallery, according to the news report. Warnings that the party could be broken up and possible consequences if they did not comply apparently had an effect.

It was an interesting episode. In theory federal politicians enjoy a certain degree of immunity when it comes to “acts directly connected with their official activities and position”. But in this case they bowed to the officers of the law.