The top Swiss job that nobody wants

Martin Candinas (left) and Gerhard Pfister have both ruled themselves out. Keystone / Eq Images / Yoshiko Kusano

A top position is up for grabs in the Swiss government – but nobody seems to want it. Who will succeed Viola Amherd on the seven-person Federal Council?

Several favourites have expressed their disinterest, including Centre Party president Gerhard Pfister and Martin Candinas. How attractive is the office of Federal Councillor really? Political scientist Michael Hermann analyses the situation.

Michael Hermann 

Michael Hermann is a political scientist and the director of the Sotomo research institute.

SRF News: Is it unusual that several favourites don’t want to take the position?

Michael Hermann: Yes, I’ve never seen not just one, but all four or five of the top favourites say they do not want the position. At least that hasn’t happened in the last 25 years. In the past, you didn’t know exactly who was going to run and who wasn’t. Possible candidates were often discussed behind the scenes. It’s different today.

SRF News: The reasons given by the favourites for their rejection included family or that they had too little fire for the office.

M.H.: It’s really fascinating that several of the top favourites justified their withdrawal with very personal reasons. These reasons were not limited to family-related arguments, but they also cited the lack of passion, for example. Gerhard Pfister also said that he would not be happy in office.

Questions of work-life balance and self-realisation are often attributed to the younger generation. However, these are aspects that are generally much more noticeable in today’s working world. Many people are now more aware that a career in which you are not happy is not the best thing in the world. In the past, such subjective factors were pushed into the background. The duty of the office and the opportunities were seen as more important than the burden.

SRF News: Is being a Federal Councillor still considered a dream job?

M.H.: It is a demanding job. You rush from appointment to appointment, you have to give speeches that you haven’t written yourself and you have very little time to make decisions. Federal Councillors have very little personal freedom and at the same time are under enormous public scrutiny. This has become even more acute with social media.

However, it is certainly still the case that having a position in office is associated with enormous prestige. There is a very special atmosphere when a Federal Councillor makes an appearance. You get a lot of attention in this position; you can help shape things and the work is still exciting.

SRF News: To what extent are the rejections linked to the seat up for grabs? In other words, the centrist seat and the fact that the new Federal Councillor would possibly head the defence ministry?

M.H.: I believe that this definitely plays a role. For a long time, the Centre seats were extremely important. They had a hinge function, were often able to form a majority with the left or right and therefore had a lot of influence. Today, the bloc to the right of centre, with the Radical-Liberal Party and Swiss People’s Party, has formed a strong connection. The parties work well together, so the Centre has lost influence.

The defence ministry has recently gained in importance. It has been strengthened and receives more money. But if you know the structural problems in the defence ministry, then you know that you can’t simply wave the problems away like magic with more money. It is a very thankless job and it is extremely difficult to conduct policy in this context. 

What is your opinion? Join the debate:

Centre Party wants to present a broad selection of candidates for the Federal Council

The Centre Party is setting up a committee to allocate the seat of Federal Councillor Viola Amherd. The party is convinced that it will be able to present a good and broad selection to the Swiss Federal Assembly despite several people walking away from the nomination. The Centre Party has not yet decided on the size of its ticket.

There are numerous qualified candidates from all parts of the country to succeed Amherd, said Centre Party President Gerhard Pfister to the media in Bern early in January.

Translated from German using DeepL/amva