BERN - The race to replace Guy Parmelin began less than 24 hours after his announcement. Under the informal magic formula that shares the seven government seats among the largest parties, the economics minister's successor will come from the Swiss People's Party. Candidates have until 23 October to declare, the SVP parliamentary group puts forward its official ticket on 20 November, and the United Federal Assembly elects on 9 December.
The party leadership has not said how many names the ticket will carry. That has not stopped the lists. From French-speaking Switzerland, Celine Amaudruz, the SVP vice-president from Geneva, leads most of them; she pointedly did not stand when Ueli Maurer resigned in 2022. The Vaud chapter of the party is openly campaigning for the seat to stay in the Romandie, and also mentions Yvan Pahud and Nicolas Kolly.
The German-speaking field
Two names dominate east of the language border: Natalie Rickli, Zurich's health director and a former national councillor, and Esther Friedli, the St. Gallen member of the Council of States. From central Switzerland, Monika Ruegger of Obwalden, Marcel Dettling of Schwyz and Thomas Aeschi of Zug are all being discussed in the party's weekend conversations.
The choice matters beyond personnel. Parmelin held the economics portfolio through the pandemic, the Credit Suisse rescue and the tariff fight with Washington, and he was the government's salesman for the EU package that will reach a national ballot on his successor's watch. Whoever takes the seat on 1 January inherits the Bilaterals III campaign, the unfinished Mercosur file and a trade agenda measured in air miles.
A disciplined party, an open question
The SVP has historically punished public freelancing in Federal Council races, which is why the loudest campaigning so far is happening by telephone. The other parties will not field rival candidates of their own if the ticket is seen as within the mainstream of the chamber, a convention that held in 2022. Whether a one-name or two-name ticket emerges on 20 November will say much about how the party intends to govern after its most experienced minister departs. Our report on the resignation has the Friday details.