SVP group leader Thomas Aeschi announced on Saturday on Radio SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau” that the party wants to field at least two candidates for the succession of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin. According to SRF, the SVP parliamentary group decides on the size and composition of the ticket on November 20; the election takes place on December 9 by the United Federal Assembly. Aeschi named language regions, command of the issues, leadership qualities and assertiveness as criteria and left open whether a woman will be on the ticket. The St. Gallen Councillor of States Esther Friedli had declared on Friday evening that she is not running; SRF, Tages-Anzeiger, NZZ, Blick, 20 Minuten and Le Temps report this in agreement. According to 20 Minuten and Blick, Christoph Blocher puts the SVP asylum chief Pascal Schmid forward. According to the reports there are no official candidacies yet.
The Federal Council is the national government, and every change of seat shifts weight among regions, parties and genders. With Friedli the SVP loses its most frequently named candidate and has to plan anew. That it wants a two-person ticket at least formally gives Parliament a choice.
For the population nothing changes for now. But whoever takes the seat also helps determine who will lead Parmelin’s dossiers in future, if the department does not change. That concerns economic policy and with it trade questions that affect companies and jobs.
A two-person ticket stimulates competition within the party, lets language regions have a say and gives Parliament a real choice.
Without a clear favorite the risk of a dispute in the party and of a weaker candidacy rises. The other parties can also reject a proposal.
Aeschi’s announcement is above all a timetable: the decision comes on November 20, and until then everything remains speculation, including the names Schmid and Amaudruz. We are watching whether anyone officially declares beforehand and whether the party brings a name from French-speaking Switzerland. Single reports such as Pfister’s change of department or doubts about Jans we treat as open until a second outlet confirms them.
SRF · Tages-Anzeiger · NZZ · Blick · 20 Minuten · Le Temps · RSI (Oct. 10/11)
Parmelin succession: SVP wants at least two candidates. Friedli stays in the Council of States
Group leader Thomas Aeschi announces a two-person ticket, with a decision only on November 20. Esther Friedli, the most frequently named favorite, is out; Christoph Blocher calls Pascal Schmid the strongest man.
The SVP wants to contest the succession of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin with at least two people. Group leader Thomas Aeschi said on Saturday on Radio SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau” that the party is going for a two-person ticket but does not rule out more than two names. SRF, bluewin, Watson, RSI and Le Temps report this in agreement. According to SRF, the size and composition will be decided by the SVP parliamentary group at its meeting on November 20; the election takes place on December 9 by the United Federal Assembly, that is, by the National Council and the Council of States together. According to SRF, Aeschi named as criteria appropriately represented language regions, command of the issues, leadership qualities and assertiveness. Whether a woman should be on the ticket, he left open, according to bluewin. Aeschi belongs to the party’s search committee and would have to recuse himself if he ran himself (20 Minuten); whether he will run, he wants to say “in due course”. On Friday evening the St. Gallen Councillor of States Esther Friedli declared that she is not available. According to the reports, she does not want to give up her seat in the Council of States after three and a half years. SRF, Tages-Anzeiger, NZZ, Blick, 20 Minuten and Le Temps report this in agreement; the NZZ writes that she would probably have won the election. The Tages-Anzeiger sees in the refusal an opening for the men in the party.
So the names remain open. Parmelin had announced his resignation for the end of 2026 and had himself named Friedli, the Geneva National Councillor Céline Amaudruz and the Zurich cantonal minister Natalie Rickli as possible successors. According to 24 heures, the trio of women has become a duo; Blick writes that Rickli is lying low for now. Former SVP leader Christoph Blocher, according to 20 Minuten, puts the party’s asylum chief, Pascal Schmid, forward as the strongest candidate. That is one person’s opinion, not a decision. According to the reports there are no official candidacies yet; we did not find the deadline of October 23 mentioned in earlier reports confirmed this time. Under the magic formula the seat belongs to the SVP, but the other parties do not have to follow its proposal. Parmelin heads the Economic Affairs Department; when a seat falls vacant, the seven-member national government reassigns the departments, which is why that question matters too. The NZZ reports that even people on the left doubt whether an SP economics minister would only benefit the trade unions; this refers to Federal Councillor Beat Jans. 20 Minuten reports that Defense Minister Martin Pfister apparently is thinking of switching departments. Both are single reports. In the coming weeks we are watching whether anyone officially declares and whether the party proposes a name from French-speaking Switzerland.