Two new faces in the Swiss government

At the end of last year, the Swiss parliament filled the two seats vacant in the seven-member Federal Council at the same time. The two members of the government who had served the longest, Ueli Maurer from Zurich, representing the conservative SVP, and Berne native Simonetta Sommaruga from the Social Democratic Party (SP), had both announced their retirement. The parliament elected Berne National Councillor and former SVP President Albert Rösti as Maurer’s successor. Sommaruga’s successor is the Council of States member from Jura, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, former director of education for Canton Jura.

This means that the party-political composition of the federal government retains its conservative majority. Traditionally, the largest parties on the left, right and centre of the spectrum are represented in government, to steer the fate of the country together and search for balanced solutions. The concept of a system of majority and opposition is foreign to Switzerland. Both newly elected members were among the candidates put forward by their respective parties, even though the election of Elisabeth Baume-Schneider came as a surprise. As before, there are three women and four men on the Federal Council.