Federal Council election: Switzerland’s national purpose must be at the centre

Viola Amherd will step down as Federal Councillor at the end of March 2025. The United Federal Assembly (National Council and Council of States) therefore had to elect a successor on 12 March. The focus should be on who is best suited for this demanding office. Externally, the aim is to preserve the country’s sovereignty and restore our neutrality, which has brought us peace and stability and won us the trust of the peoples of the world. Internally, the federal authorities must respect the cohesion of the four cultures, the autonomy of the cantons and communes and the freedom and rights of citizens. As stated in Article 2 of the Federal Constitution: “The Swiss Confederation shall protect the freedom and rights of the people and safeguard the independence and security of the country.”
  What is needed is a person who, together with the other six federal councillors and parliament, is committed to upholding the purpose of the Confederation and wants to lead our country back onto the path of a modest and internationally connected neutral small state.
  It is an open secret that the outgoing head of the DDPS (Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport) has not met these requirements. Instead of devoting herself to national defence, she has let her department get out of control and courted NATO and EU dignitaries such as Jens Stoltenberg and Ursula von der Leyen.

“Martin Pfister is elected”

The vacant seat in the Federal Council belongs to the “centre party”, the former Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP), which dropped the “C” from its name some time ago and has been vacillating accordingly. Markus Ritter, a long-standing and widely known and respected National Councillor, trained farmer and President of the Farmers’ Association, who is rather critical of Switzerland’s integration into NATO and the EU, had already put himself forward as a valid candidate some time ago. He was almost considered unrivalled when the left wing of the party conjured up an opposing candidate who was unknown in Bern: Martin Pfister, member of the Zug cantonal government and Colonel in the Swiss army, who, according to the press, wants to push ahead with military cooperation with the “neighbouring states” (i.e., with the EU and NATO). This tipped the scales: those parliamentarians for whom the preservation of the Swiss farming community and the highest possible level of self-sufficiency are not a priority and who want to integrate our country into the EU and NATO are unfortunately in the majority in recent times.
  The result was accordingly: Martin Pfister was elected to the Federal Council by parliament on 12 March with 134 of 245 votes. The dismantlers of the Swiss model in the Federal Council, the EU and NATO turbos, will receive reinforcements, as the elected candidate has already announced in his statement after the election.

Federal President Keller-Sutter:
‘Our contribution is different
from that of the others’

A small consolation: Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) stands out from her predecessor Viola Amherd in a pleasing way. She was recently in the headlines for her favourable comments on US Vice President J. D. Vance’s speech. It is typical of our media that they do not report a word about the other contents of the interview in the French-speaking Swiss newspaper “Le Temps”. On the homepage of the Federal Department of Finance FDF, which Keller-Sutter heads, you can find in the interview.¹
  When asked by the journalist what contribution Switzerland must make to the security of the European continent, the President of the Swiss Confederation replied: “Our contribution differs from that of the others. There is the humanitarian area, mine clearance, investment in the army to restore defence capabilities. You can’t just rely on others; we have to be a reliable partner within Europe. And there are the good offices.” As long as Switzerland’s activities remain as a “reliable partner” in these areas, there is nothing to object to. Her answer to the question about the greatest current threat to Switzerland is also noteworthy: “Cyber security. I don’t believe in direct aggression.” Unlike FDP party president Thierry Burkart, Mrs Keller-Sutter apparently does not fear that the Russian army could suddenly be on Lake Lucerne …

Little enthusiasm from the
Federal President for an EU agreement

Keller-Sutter’s statements are pleasantly free of ideological phrases (such as “Switzerland belongs to Europe after all” or “we must not seal ourselves off”). The journalist wants to know whether she is prepared to fight for the agreement. Not really: The Federal Council will “do its utmost to explain the advantages and disadvantages of this agreement”, but it is an “agreement in favour of the economy”, so it is “up to companies to explain why they need these agreements”. However, more and more companies are realising that they are better off without the institutional agreement if they want to trade abroad. Many prefer to accept a few small disadvantages in exchange for the closer involvement in the EU’s sprawling bureaucracy and legal system. For a growing number of entrepreneurs, Switzerland’s sovereignty and the political rights of its citizens are paramount.
  Karin Keller-Sutter is clearly also unconvinced by the planned agreement. In the SRF Arena on 10 January, she openly admitted: “If we say yes to it, there will be a certain loss of sovereignty [and in response to the surprised reaction of a panellist:] – yes, that’s the case, because the treaty provides for a dynamic assumption of rights.”
  It is to be hoped that the knowledgeable view of the current President of the Swiss Confederation, which is closely linked to our country, will also set a precedent for other politicians.

Micheline Calmy-Rey: 
Strengthening our defence
capability and our independence

In a recent interview², former Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey (SP) also expressed the Swiss point of view that we citizens expect from a Federal Councillor. As a politically minded person, she draws a line between the geopolitical situation and the place that Switzerland should occupy in it as a small neutral state: “The political and economic tensions between the major powers are growing ever greater, and as a neutral country we are caught in the middle. This is a delicate situation. Switzerland is challenged to negotiate between major powers without abandoning a balanced approach. We are experiencing the transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world order with different centres of power and alliances.” Calmy-Rey answered the question of whether Switzerland should move closer to NATO with clear words: “Joining is out of the question because of our neutrality. However, a certain degree of cooperation makes sense, because it must be possible for our army to cooperate with the armies of neighbouring countries. Switzerland’s contribution to European security is that we have the ability to defend ourselves. According to army chief Thomas Süssli, this is currently not the case. This must not be the case; we must strengthen our defence capability and our independence.”

EU Treaty: “The institutional
price seems high to me”

Micheline Calmy-Rey, who, in her own words, “fought at the forefront for the Bilateral Agreements II” as a federal councillor, is sceptical about the planned institutional agreement with the EU. She lists the difficult issues on which there are fundamental differences in Switzerland – “in particular the adoption of EU law, dispute resolution, public services, the free movement of persons and wage protection”. “It seems to me that the institutional price is high,” she says, describing this vividly: “For example, we would have to dynamically adopt developments in European law. We could still call for a referendum and then vote on it, but we wouldn’t know what would happen if the answer was no. The EU could then punish Switzerland. If we are told: you can vote, but we will punish you if you say no, what is the point of holding a referendum?”
  The contents of the treaty mentioned by Micheline Calmy-Rey interfere so deeply with the Swiss understanding of the state and social peace in the country that the entire package is obsolete – even though the Federal Council’s 1,400-page dispatch is not yet available. Like many other citizens, she finds it strange that the Federal Council has still not announced the text following the conclusion of negotiations with Brussels in December 2024 and that the referendum is not due to take place for another three years: “I’m simply asking questions. The Federal Council doesn’t seem to be one hundred per cent behind this. Did we perhaps negotiate badly? Did we get too little and give too much?” Questions from the experienced politician that should not be passed over lightly in the Federal Parliament. •

¹ Koller, Frédéric. “Karin Keller-Sutter on J.D. Vance’s speech: “It was a liberal speech that was very Swiss in some ways”. In: Le Temps of 15 February 2025 (original French). German translation at https://www.efd.admin.ch/de/interview-brkks-letemps-150225-de
² Bandle, Rico. “Former Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey in an interview. Switzerland must strengthen its defence capability and independence”. In: SonntagsZeitung of 22 February 2025