Federal Council election 2011

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The previous Federal Councilor 2011 (from left to right):

Johann Schneider-Ammann
Didier Burkhalter
Doris Leuthard
Micheline Calmy-Rey (Federal President 2011)
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (Vice-President 2011)
Ueli Maurer
Simonetta Sommaruga
Corina Casanova (Federal Chancellor)

On December 14, 2011, the 2011 Federal Council elections in Switzerland were a general election for the Federal Council . The United Federal Assembly , consisting of both chambers of parliament, elected the Swiss government, the Federal Council , for the term of office between 2012 and 2015. Exceptionally, the elections were carried out under the supervision of the President of the Council of States - National Council President Hansjörg Walter had given up the chairmanship of the United Federal Assembly for the electoral business, since he ran as a candidate. The seats were ordered individually in the order of the age of office of the seat holder. With the exception of Micheline Calmy-Rey , who announced her resignation from the Federal Council for the end of the year on September 7, 2011, all previous Federal Councilors ran for a new term of office and were confirmed. Alain Berset , the Freiburg Council of States, was elected in the second ballot as Calmy-Rey's successor .

Starting position

In principle, the results of the Swiss parliamentary elections in 2011 are decisive for the election of the Federal Council with regard to the distribution of seats in the National Council and Council of States. the Federal Assembly, i.e. the electoral body. The changes in the composition of the parliamentary groups are also decisive.

concordance

All major political parties in Switzerland are committed to concordance , i. H. to represent the most important political forces in the Federal Council. How the concordance should be designed in concrete terms is controversial. The main question is whether the SVP should have a second representative in the Federal Council and at whose expense. Discussions are the voting out of an FDP representative and the voting out of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf , who was originally elected as SVP representative. Depending on interests and political attitudes, arguments are based on content or arithmetic concordance.

Disclaimer

The validity of the so-called “exclusion clause” of SVP Switzerland has not yet been clarified. According to an amendment to the party statutes of SVP Switzerland in December 2008, a candidate who is not officially nominated by the SVP parliamentary group will automatically be excluded from SVP Switzerland if the election is accepted. Exclusion from a party is basically a matter for the party, but in this case it de facto leads to the situation that the SVP parliamentary group chooses its preferred candidate - the United Federal Assembly only has to confirm this. Since the clause indirectly undermines the prohibition of instruction and eligibility, SVP Switzerland is accused of extorting the Federal Assembly - also from its own ranks.

Strategies of the factions

SVP parliamentary group

The SVP parliamentary group committed itself to an "arithmetic concordance" in the run-up to the elections, but only to a limited extent. Specifically, this means that the SVP is demanding a second Federal Council seat - the seat of the BDP as the first priority. Should the other parties concede this, the SVP would also stand by the “arithmetic concordance” and support the Federal Council seats of the SP, CVP and FDP. Otherwise she wants to attack all the seats of the other parties. In particular, she has her sights on the second FDP seat (Department of Economic Affairs) and the SP seat (Department of Foreign Affairs) that is becoming vacant.

SVP Switzerland has its goals with its former Federal Councilor Christoph Blocher as Justice Minister u. a. through the restructuring of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) and the Federal Office for Migration as well as with the incumbent Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer as Defense Minister through the decision of the National Council on the army budget and wants to position itself in advance in the hierarchy of the departmental distribution - with a Federal Council in The Department of Foreign Affairs could implement her isolationist course at the top level. It is therefore to be expected that the SVP will already attack the seat of the CVP - since this had contributed to the election of Widmer-Schlumpf, also in the sense of a punishment.

The participation of the SVP in the Federal Council is currently undisputed, a second seat is only granted to the SVP to a limited extent by various parties. You will not be able to fill this without compromise - candidates from the "Zurich wing" are no longer even supported by the FDP in the middle-class camp. However, SVP Switzerland has also put obstacles in its own way with the “exclusion clause”.

SP group

SP parliamentary group : The participation of the SP in the Federal Council with two seats is currently undisputed. The SP will do everything possible to keep its second seat in the Federal Council.

CVP / EPP Group

CVP / EPP parliamentary group : The participation of the CVP in the Federal Council with one seat is currently undisputed. If the CVP had gained more votes than the FDP in the 2011 parliamentary elections, it would be the third strongest party to reclaim its second seat, but it did not succeed. However, she sees the “claim” to “joint two mandates” (together with the other “center parties” BDP, glp, EPP) as justified.

FDP parliamentary group

FDP parliamentary group : The participation of the FDP in the Federal Council with one seat is currently undisputed. The FDP will try with all means to keep its second seat in the Federal Council.

BDP parliamentary group

BDP parliamentary group : As a small party, the BDP is dependent on the support of at least two of the large Federal Council parties in order to hold its seat. In particular, she expects the CVP and calls on the SP to support her Federal Councilor. These parties played a key role in the election of Widmer-Schlumpf to the Federal Council.

Green Group

Green parliamentary group : As in previous years, the Greens claimed a seat in the Federal Council. With reference to the «arithmetic concordance», they emphasize that they were already entitled to a seat in the previous legislature (and with 14.3% of the votes per Federal Council seat). However, they further emphasized that they did not want to win the seat at the expense of the SP and, in return, also demanded support from the SP - the Greens were no longer willing to support the SP “for free”. After the Greens suffered a severe loss of votes in the 2011 parliamentary elections and lost 5 of their 20 seats in the National Council, this demand is unlikely to meet with open ears from the other parties.

glp group

glp parliamentary group : Although the Green Liberal Party emerged as the winner of the 2011 parliamentary elections, as a small party it still has no claims to a seat in the Federal Council. Originally, according to statements by party president Martin Bäumle , the parliamentary group was of the opinion that the SVP, as the party with the largest number of voters, was entitled to two seats and that either the seat of the BDP or one of the FDP seats would have to be ceded to it. After the withdrawal of SVP candidate Bruno Zuppiger and the last minute candidacy of Hansjörg Walter, however , Bäumle and the glp parliamentary group made a U-turn and no longer support the SVP's claim to two seats.

elections

First choice (seat of Doris Leuthard, CVP)

Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard

Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard ( CVP ) has been Head of the Federal Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication (DETEC) since 2010 .

The senior Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard was the first to stand for election.

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 17/1
valid total 227
absolute more 114
Doris Leuthard 216
Various 11

Second choice (seat of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, BDP)

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf

Federal Councilor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf ( BDP ) has been Head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) since 2010 .

In the general election of the Federal Council in 2007, Widmer-Schlumpf was the first SVP woman to be elected Federal Councilor. This surprisingly instead of Christoph Blocher , which led to the establishment of the BDP. However, Widmer-Schlumpf's competence is attested to as Federal Councilor, also as Head of the Finance Department.

The SVP announced that it would attack the headquarters of the BDP. She initially proposed Jean-François Rime and Bruno Zuppiger as candidates . A few days before the election, Zuppiger's candidacy was withdrawn after journalist Urs Paul Engeler revealed possible illegal machinations in an inheritance matter entrusted to him in Weltwoche . The SVP party leadership appointed the President of the Farmers' Union and National Councilor Hansjörg Walter at short notice to replace Zuppiger .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 5/1
valid total 239
absolute more 120
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf 131
Hansjörg Walter 63
Jean-François Rime 41
Various 4th

Third choice (seat of Ueli Maurer, SVP)

Ueli Maurer

Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer ( SVP ) has been Head of the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) since 2009 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 16/3
valid total 226
absolute more 114
Ueli Maurer 159
Hansjörg Walter 41
Luc Recordon 13
Various 13

Fourth election (seat of Didier Burkhalter, FDP)

Didier Burkhalter

Federal Councilor Didier Burkhalter ( FDP ) has been head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) since his election in 2009 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 12/1
valid total 232
absolute more 117
Didier Burkhalter 194
Jean-François Rime 24
Various 14th

After the election of Didier Burkhalter, Caspar Baader , parliamentary group president of the SVP, declared that the SVP was no longer bound by the concordance and would be with Jean-François in the following elections due to the willful breach of the concordance by the center and left parties and parts of the FDP Rime compete against all other candidates. The SP parliamentary group president Ursula Wyss and the FDP parliamentary group president Gabi Huber criticized this approach of the SVP parliamentary group as inconsistent.

Fifth choice (seat of Simonetta Sommaruga, SP)

Simonetta Sommaruga

Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga ( SP ) has been Head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) since her election in 2010 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 3/0
valid total 242
absolute more 122
Simonetta Sommaruga 179
Jean-François Rime 61
Various 2

Sixth election (seat of Johann Schneider-Ammann, FDP)

Johann Schneider-Ammann

Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann ( FDP ) has been Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs ( FDP ) since his election in 2010 .

1st ballot
ballot papers distributed 245
ballot papers received 245
empty / invalid 9/2
valid total 234
absolute more 118
Johann Schneider-Ammann 159
Jean-François Rime 64
Various 11

Seventh election (replacement election of Micheline Calmy-Rey, SP)

Newly elected Federal Councilor Alain Berset
Resigning Federal Councilor Micheline Calmy-Rey

Federal Councilor Micheline Calmy-Rey ( SP ) has been head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) since her election in 2002 .

In the end, the substitute election for the resigning Federal Councilor took place. On September 7, 2011, Calmy-Rey announced her resignation at the end of the current year. The SP selected the Vaudois State Councilor Pierre-Yves Maillard and the Freiburg Council of States Alain Berset as candidates . Berset was finally elected in the second ballot with 126 votes.

1st ballot 2nd ballot
ballot papers distributed 245 245
ballot papers received 243 245
empty / invalid 0/0 0/0
valid total 243 245
absolute more 122 123
Alain Berset 114 126
Pierre-Yves Maillard 59 63
Jean-François Rime 59 54
Marina Carobbio 10 -
Various 1 2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ General election of the Federal Council on December 14, 2011. (No longer available online.) The Federal Assembly - The Swiss Parliament, archived from the original on December 3, 2011 ; Retrieved December 14, 2011 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Patrick Feuz: Widmer-Schlumpf can hope for re-election. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, July 3, 2010, accessed on September 21, 2011 .
  3. ^ Hubert Mooser: Parliament examines SVP exclusion clause. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, December 17, 2008, accessed on September 27, 2011 .
  4. ↑ Andreas Fagetti: Project to power. In: WOZ Die Wochenzeitung (online). WOZ-Verlag, August 25, 2011, accessed on September 27, 2011 .
  5. ↑ a b III. Creation and termination of membership. (pdf) Art. 9, Para. 3, 4 and 5. In: Swiss People's Party (SVP) STATUTES. Swiss People's Party, Brückfeldstrasse 18, Postfach 8252, 3001 Bern, October 4, 2008, pp. 7 - 8 , archived from the original on October 7, 2013 ; Retrieved September 24, 2011 .
  6. ↑ Oswald Sigg : You can force federal councilors on parties: very good ones. The SVP does not have the right to heave its ideal candidate into the Federal Council. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (online). NZZ Media Group , September 5, 2010, accessed on September 28, 2011 .
  7. ^ A b Stefan Bühler, Heidi Gmür, Markus Häfliger: Party statutes as a handicap for SVP candidates. Even […] bourgeois politicians speak of “blackmail”. In: NZZ am Sonntag. NZZ-Mediengruppe, December 7, 2008, accessed on September 27, 2011 .
  8. ↑ Heidi Gmür: The party leadership must get away from the system of political blackmail. An interview with Hansjörg Walter . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (online). NZZ-Mediengruppe, December 14, 2008, accessed on September 27, 2011 .
  9. ↑ a b c tsf / sda: Now the cards are shuffled again. Individuals and parties position themselves for the Federal Council elections. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (online). NZZ Media Group, September 7, 2011, accessed on September 20, 2011 .
  10. ↑ Sandro Brotz : Blocher's adjutant. In: Blick.ch. Blick-Gruppe Ringier AG, December 8, 2007, accessed on July 12, 2019 .
  11. ↑ bru / sda: Blocher literally hacked up the office. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, September 3, 2011, accessed on September 20, 2011 .
  12. ↑ Hubert Mooser: Maurer cracks the jackpot. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, September 15, 2011, accessed on September 20, 2011 .
  13. ↑ cpm / sda: A turbulent Federal Council election is imminent. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, September 8, 2011, accessed on September 20, 2011 .
  14. ↑ a b Martin Senti: The SVP scores with emotions. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (online). NZZ Media Group, September 10, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 .
  15. ^ Chronology of a party split. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, June 13, 2008, archived from the original on October 8, 2012 ; Retrieved September 24, 2011 .
  16. ↑ a b Claudia Blumer: Baader triggers great resistance. In: Tages-Anzeiger Online. Tamedia AG, September 19, 2011, accessed on September 27, 2011 .
  17. ↑ a b Daniel Bochsler, Pascal Sciarini, Alex Fischer: Federal Council and proportionality. (pdf; 371 kB) What an «arithmetic concordance» would require. (No longer available online.) In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (online). NZZ Media Group, October 23, 2007, formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 27, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.unige.ch  
  18. ↑ fkl / sda: We are not allowed to choose Rime. In: News.ch. VADIAN.NET AG, September 19, 2010, accessed on September 25, 2011 .
  19. ↑ Pascal Sciarini: The future lies in the small concordance. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung (online). NZZ-Mediengruppe, January 10, 2009, accessed on September 20, 2011 .
  20. ↑ fest / sda: The "new center" is divided in the Federal Council elections. In: News.ch. VADIAN.NET AG, October 23, 2011, accessed on November 14, 2011 .
  21. ↑ U- turn before Federal Council election: GLP now against a second SVP seat. December 11, 2011, accessed December 14, 2011 .
  22. ↑ Councilor of States Peter Föhn (SZ) was not sworn in at the time of the election and could not participate.
  23. ↑ Hans Grunder first BDP president. In: swissinfo . November 1, 2008, accessed September 20, 2011 .
  24. ↑ cf / awp / sda: CH / tax dispute with Germany settled - final withholding tax. In: Cash.ch. Ringier AG, August 10, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 .
  25. ↑ Widmer-Schlumpf: Cancellation of US ultimatum. In: Bilanz.ch. Axel Springer Schweiz AG, September 5, 2011, accessed on September 21, 2011 .
  26. ↑ Federal President Micheline Calmy-Rey will not run for re-election at the end of 2011. (No longer available online.) In: admin.ch. The federal authorities of the Swiss Confederation, September 7, 2011, archived from the original on September 24, 2011 ; Retrieved September 20, 2011 .