Enjoying a last moment in parliament's spotlight: Outgoing cabinet minister Pascal Couchepin (left) beside this year's president, Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz. (Keystone/Peter Schneider)
Keystone
The votes finally added up for Burkhalter. (Pool/Monika Flückiger)
Keystone
The other Radical Party candidate, Christian Lüscher, explains his decision to step down after the third round in favour of Burkhalter. (ex-press/Daniel Winkler)
Ex-press
A face that says it all: Christian Democrat Urs Schwaller (left) watched as the lead he held in the first three-rounds disappeared. (Pool/Pascal Lauener)
Keystone
Chiara Simoneschi, speaker of the joint session of parliament, is the first to congratulate the new cabinet minister. (ex-press/Daniel Winkler)
Ex-press
Burkhalter is sworn in... (Pool/Michael Buholzer)
Keystone
...receives a bouquet of flowers... (Keystone/Peter Schneider)
Keystone
...faces the media for the first time as a representative of the Swiss government... (Keystone/Peter Schneider)
Keystone
...before heading off for the official news conference... (Keystone/Peter Schneider)
Keystone
...where he gives his first official statement. (Reuters/Pascal Lauener)
Keystone
He took time afterwards to greet well wishers in front of parliament. (Reuters/Michael Buholzer)
Reuters
There was even a chance for a family photo inside the building. (Reuters/Michael Buholzer)
Reuters
Images of the first few hours after Didier Burkhalter's election to cabinet.
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The 49-year-old from canton Neuchâtel was elected with 129 votes in the fourth round of voting in parliament. His win enables the centre-right Radical Party to retain its two seats in the seven-member cabinet. Urs Schwaller of the centre-right Christian Democrats came second with 106 votes.
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No surprises in cabinet election
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Burkhalter was elected in the fourth round of voting in parliament, gaining the support of 129 out of 245 members. Burkhalter comes from the French-speaking canton of Neuchâtel, which he has represented in the Senate since 2007. He sat in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, and was a member of the Neuchâtel…
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But some posts remain unfilled, as Switzerland’s system of grass-roots democracy is suffering from a shortage of volunteers. Why “very probably”? Because Switzerland, organised on federal lines, does not keep centralised statistics in this field. As for statistics in other parts of the world…. It is, however, established that Switzerland’s resident population of 7.7 million…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.