Karin Keller-Sutter will be President of the Swiss Confederation next year
Keystone-SDA
Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter will assume the Swiss presidency next year. Parliament elected the St. Gallen native on Wednesday with 168 out of 203 valid votes. This is a below-average result.
Of the 232 ballots cast, 23 were blank and six were invalid. A total of 35 votes did not go to the 60-year-old Finance Minister from the Radical-Liberal Party, but to other people.
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Although the election to the Swiss presidency is considered a formality, it is often used by parliamentarians to express their disapproval or approval of members of the government. Over the past decade, presidents have received 178 votes from parliament on average.
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However, Keller-Sutter’s recent predecessors – Viola Amherd, Alain Berset and Ignazio Cassis – also had below-average results. The best result in recent decades was achieved by Swiss People’s Party cabinet representative Ueli Maurer in 2018 with 201 votes. The worst showing was by Social Democrat cabinet minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in 2011 with 106 votes.
Parmelin is vice-president
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin will be vice president of the Federal Council next year. The Swiss People’s Party politician obtained 196 of 219 valid votes from parliament.
Parmelin was already president in 2021. The 65-year-old was elected to the Federal Council in December 2015 and was initially Minister of Defence. In 2019, he changed roles to head the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
Adapted from German by DeepL/ac
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