Federal Council election 1983

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On December 7, 1983, the general election of the Federal Council took place in Switzerland . The two chambers of the newly elected parliament, the United Federal Assembly , elected the Swiss government, the Bundesrat , for a term of office from 1984 to 1987. The seats were ordered individually in the order of the age of office of the seat holder. Due to two resignations, there were also two replacement elections.

elections

First choice (seat of Kurt Furgler, CVP)

Kurt Furgler

Federal Councilor Kurt Furgler ( CVP ) had been head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) since the beginning of 1983 . As the oldest member of the Federal Council, he was the first to stand for election.

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 246
ballot papers received 246
empty / invalid 16/2
valid total 228
absolute more 115
Kurt Furgler 198
Arnold Koller (CVP) 10
Various 20th

Second choice (seat of Pierre Aubert, SP)

Pierre Aubert

Federal Councilor Pierre Aubert ( SP ) has headed the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) since 1978 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 246
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 23/1
valid total 221
absolute more 111
Pierre Aubert 151
Félicien Morel (SP) 38
Various 32

Third choice (seat of Leon Schlumpf, SVP)

Leon Smurf

Federal Councilor Leon Schlumpf ( SVP ) had been head of the Federal Transport and Energy Department (EVED) since 1980 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 246
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 13/3
valid total 229
absolute more 115
Leon Smurf 189
Werner Martignoni ( SVP ) 13
Various 27

Fourth election (seat of Alphons Egli, CVP)

Alphons Egli

Federal Councilor Alphons Egli ( CVP ) had been Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) since the beginning of 1983 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 244
ballot papers received 243
empty / invalid 15/6
valid total 222
absolute more 112
Alphons Egli 185
Julius Binder ( CVP ) 12
Various 25th

Fifth choice (seat of Rudolf Friedrich, FDP)

Rudolf Friedrich

Federal Councilor Rudolf Friedrich ( FDP ) had been head of the Federal Justice and Police Department (FDJP) since the beginning of 1983 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 17/5
valid total 223
absolute more 112
Rudolf Friedrich 175
Various 48

Sixth election (replacement by Willi Ritschard, SP)

Willi Ritschard, resigned Federal Councilor who died before the resignation date
Otto Stich, newly elected Federal Councilor
Lilian Uchtenhagen, unelected SP candidate

The replacement election of Federal Councilor Willi Ritschard caused greater turbulence because, once again after the election of Hans-Peter Tschudi instead of Walter Bringolf in 1959 and Ritschard instead of Arthur Schmid in 1973, an official candidacy of the SP was overlooked by parliament and the declared aim of the SP, allowing a woman to join the Federal Council for the first time, has been ignored.

Willi Ritschard ( SP ) was elected to the Federal Council in 1973. He was first head of the transport and energy department and moved to the finance department in 1980 . On October 3, 1983, he announced his resignation for the end of the year. However, he died surprisingly just 13 days later on a hike.

For his successor, the SP nominated National Councilor Lilian Uchtenhagen as the only candidate, as the party leadership wanted to get a woman into the Federal Council for the first time. She prevailed in the parliamentary group with 31 votes against the St. Gallen National Councilor Hans Schmid with 22 and the former National Councilor Otto Stich, ported by the SP Solothurn, with eight votes.

Schmid was, however, prevented from running for office by means of a controversial legal opinion by the parliamentary office. His choice was declared incompatible with the cantonal clause in the federal constitution at the time, as he was also a citizen of St. Gallen in addition to the Aargauer. While later the town was the reason, at that time was home significantly. With Kurt Furgler an incumbent Federal St. Gallen was already. Other candidates such as SMUV President Fritz Reimann and Federal Chancellor Walter Buser announced that they were not going to vote.

The pressure exerted by the SP and in particular by party president Helmut Hubacher for the election of Uchtenhagen had the opposite effect in the bourgeois camp and behind the scenes, the election of Stich was organized under the leadership of National Councilor Felix Auer (FDP, BL). Auer also informed Stich about the upcoming election the evening before and advised him to unplug the phone. Stich followed suit to avoid pressure from his party. In the end, Stich was chosen. The SP then discussed going into the opposition. An extraordinary party congress, however, spoke out against it.

The reasons for not voting Uchtenhagen included the person of Uchtenhagen, as well as the appearance of the SP leadership and, in particular, of the party president, Helmut Hubacher , who threatened to join the opposition if he did not vote. Hubacher's statement that "not to be subjugated to any candidate" was seen as a threat by parliamentarians from other parties. This and a Pro-Uchtenhagen campaign by Ringier Verlag are said to have provoked a backlash in the middle-class camp. The renunciation of the candidacy of Federal Chancellor Buser, who was well-liked by the bourgeois parties, was also interpreted as a result of pressure from the SP leadership, while Felix Auer described this in retrospect as a misinterpretation. Buser had been brought to retreat by sympathizers Stichs in the SP parliamentary group.

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 246
ballot papers received 246
empty / invalid 2/0
valid total 244
absolute more 123
Otto Stich 124
Lilian Uchtenhagen ( SP ) 96
Eduard Belser ( SP ) 17th
Various 7th

Seventh election (replacement election of Georges-André Chevallaz, FDP)

Georges-André Chevallaz, resigning Federal Councilor
Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, newly elected Federal Councilor

Chevallaz was elected to the Federal Council in 1973 as a non-official candidate of the FDP parliamentary group . He took over the finance and customs department . In 1980 he moved to the Federal Military Department (EMD) .

In contrast to Willi Ritschard's replacement election, Chevallaz's was more calm. The candidate of the FDP, the Vaudois State and National Councilor Jean-Pascal Delamuraz , was elected in the first ballot. He took over the Federal Military Department (EMD) from Chevallaz .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 246
ballot papers received 246
empty / invalid 2/3
valid total 241
absolute more 121
Jean-Pascal Delamuraz 130
Robert Ducret ( FDP ) 53
Monique Bauer-Lagier ( LPS ) 34
Pier Felice Barchi ( FDP ) 19th
Various 5

Election of the Federal Chancellor

Walter Buser

The incumbent Chancellor Walter Buser ran for re-election and was confirmed in office with 179 votes. Joseph Voyame ( CVP ), whom he had defeated in his first election in 1981 in the fourth ballot , also received a few votes .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 223
ballot papers received 223
empty / invalid 21/0
valid total 202
absolute more 102
Walter Buser 179
Joseph Voyame ( CVP ) 11
Various 12

Election of the Federal President

Leon Schlumpf was elected Federal President for 1984 with 187 votes .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 243
ballot papers received 243
empty / invalid 27/8
valid total 208
absolute more 105
Leon Smurf 187
Otto Stich 15th
Various 6th

Election of the Vice President

Kurt Furgler was elected Vice President with 162 votes.

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 214
ballot papers received 212
empty / invalid 17/5
valid total 190
absolute more 96
Kurt Furgler 162
Alphons Egli 13
Various 13

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The source used for the article states an absolute majority of 115 votes, which is impossible with a total of 222 votes: Parliamentary services: results of the elections for the Federal Council, the Federal Chancellor and the General. (PDF) p. 49 , accessed on February 23, 2020 .
  2. ^ Peter Hablützel, Karl Schwaar: Willi Ritschard . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p. 523-528, here pp. 524-527 .
  3. ↑ Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p. 578-583, here p. 579 .
  4. ↑ Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p. 578-583, here p. 579 .
  5. ↑ Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p. 578-583, here p. 579 .
  6. ↑ Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p. 578-583, here p. 579 . Auer denied that he was the “mastermind” (see Peter Knechtli : “Parliament is not the elite of the people” . In: Weltwoche . March 11, 1993, p. 37 . ).
  7. ↑ Peter Knechtli : «Parliament is not the elite of the people» . In: Weltwoche . March 11, 1993, p. 37 . Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p.  578-583, here p. 579 .
  8. ↑ Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p. 578-583, here p. 580 .
  9. ↑ Peter Knechtli : «Parliament is not the elite of the people» . In: Weltwoche . March 11, 1993, p. 37 . Urs Altermatt : Otto Stich . In: Urs Altermatt (Ed.): Das Bundesratslexikon . NZZ Libro , Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-218-2 , p.  578-583, here p. 579 .
  10. ↑ Peter Knechtli : «Parliament is not the elite of the people» . In: Weltwoche . March 11, 1993, p. 37 .