‘Visibility’ or ‘poisoned chalice’? Reaction to Swiss Council of Europe appointment

The centre of attention: Alain Berset poses for a selfie in the Assembly Chamber of the Palace of Europe on Tuesday. Keystone / Anthony Anex

Swiss politician Alain Berset will be the next head of the Council of Europe – a win not only for Berset himself and the Strasbourg-based organisation but also for Switzerland, say the Swiss media. However, they reckon the appointment could force the country to do some soul-searching.

“The tension was high to the very end,” wrote the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Tuesday evening, just after Berset had become the first Swiss in the Council of Europe’s 75-year history to be chosen as Secretary General.

“Who dares wins” was the headline of the editorial of the Aargauer Zeitung on Wednesday. “The risk has paid off for Alain Berset. After an exhausting election campaign, he made it to the top of the Council of Europe. This wasn’t a given. His candidature didn’t arrive in Strasbourg until the last minute, when a Social Democrat rival was already waiting in the wings. And his fiercest rival, EU functionary Didier Reynders, was better connected.”

The wait: Berset on the phone after the first round of voting. Keystone / Anthony Anex

But the 52-year-old former Swiss interior minister pulled it off, and the Aargauer Zeitung said his election was good for the Council of Europe. “The oldest human rights organisation on the continent is struggling. Following a corruption scandal and the expulsion of Russia, it has lost its appeal. Berset – with his flair for attention-grabbing appearances – can be trusted to give the organisation more visibility and return it to its founding purpose: strengthening democracy and human rights. Especially as he comes from neither an EU nor a NATO member state.”

The Tages-Anzeiger agreed, saying the result was not only a personal victory but also a boost for Switzerland’s standing. “It’s well known that there aren’t many high-profile top jobs for which you can apply as a Swiss. The fact that a former Federal Councillor is now Secretary General of the Council of Europe also helps Switzerland’s visibility,” the paper wrote.

The relief: Berset celebrates his election with Damien Cottier, a member of the Swiss delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Keystone / Anthony Anex

Viola Amherd, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, congratulated Berset on behalf of the government, tweeting that the election “reflects Switzerland’s commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law”.

On behalf of the Swiss government, President @ViolapamherdExternal link congratulates former Federal Councillor @alain_bersetExternal link on being elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe. This reflects Switzerland’s commitment to #HumanRightsExternal link, #DemocracyExternal link and the #RuleofLawExternal link. @coeExternal link https://t.co/h4jU9ci3vAExternal link

— Swiss Federal Government (@SwissGov) June 25, 2024External link

Also on X, Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider sent her party colleague her “warmest congratulations” on his election to a position “which is so important for our democracies, in a Europe and a world that are particularly in need of humanist values”.

‘Expectations are high’

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis wished Berset “every success in his new role”. The foreign ministry said in a statementExternal link that the Council of Europe, which Switzerland joined in 1963, “is the leading organisation for the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Since its establishment in 1949, it has created a common legal framework among its 46 member states, underpinned by the European Convention on Human Rights”.

For Swiss public broadcaster, SRF, Tuesday’s vote showed one thing above all: many members of the Council of Europe “want a strong man at the top this time”. Berset, according to SRF, had presented himself as a candidate “who is able and willing to make decisions”.

“Berset is taking on his task at an exciting but challenging time,” SRF said. “He’ll have to prove himself once again, as he did in Switzerland during the Covid pandemic. Expectations are high.”

For his part, Berset said his guiding principles were democracy, the rule of law and human rights. “Europe must come together again with these values in mind after a period of divergence,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday, citing Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

The team: Berset surrounded by Swiss support on Tuesday, including his wife (to his left), various politicians and Ambassador Claude Wild, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Council of Europe (left). Keystone / Anthony Anex

‘Lost importance’

The native of Fribourg, who takes up his new job in September, certainly has his work cut out.

“The Strasbourg-based organisation has been fighting for its role for years. The Council of Europe is often confused with the EU, with which it has nothing to do at all,” the Tages-Anzeiger pointed out.

“In the shadow of European integration and in competition with the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), for example, the Council of Europe has lost importance. The core business of the Council of Europe with its Human Rights Court remains the protection of human rights and international understanding,” it said.

“The common ground between authoritarian regimes on the continent and Western democracies has recently become increasingly fragile. […] Alain Berset will have to prove himself as a moderator.”

The moderator? Berset addresses the media on Tuesday. Keystone / Anthony Anex

But there was also danger on the home front, the paper warned. “The election win could well be seen as a poisoned chalice. Never before has membership of the Council of Europe been called into question as much as recently, after the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of the Swiss Climate Seniors Association and condemned Switzerland,” it wrote.

On April 9, the European Court of Human Rights decided that the Swiss government was responsible for not implementing efficient climate change policies and had thus violated the right to life of a group of elderly Swiss women. Two months later the Swiss parliament snubbed that ruling, rejecting any additional measures for climate protection.

“Strasbourg is the address for human rights activists in Turkish prisons but also for Swiss climate activists, as the very last safeguard in the rule of law,” the Tages-Anzeiger said.

The paper concluded that Berset’s triumph would force Switzerland to take a closer look at its relationship with the Council of Europe. “It will be interesting to see what the response will be.”