Parmelin rejects link between Seco chief’s resignation and inquiry

Federal President Guy Parmelin told SRF that Helene Budliger Artieda’s resignation as head of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or Seco, was not connected to the ongoing GPK inquiry into the customs dossier.

Budliger Artieda personally handed Parmelin her resignation letter at his office on Tuesday afternoon. He said he was very sorry about her decision and had been surprised by it.

Parmelin said the position involved considerable stress and responsibility. Budliger Artieda had overseen important dossiers abroad and carried out extensive reorganisation work internally, he said. He declined to comment on her specific reasons for stepping down.

Asked whether he had tried to persuade her to stay, Parmelin said no. “If someone wants to leave, it is their decision. That must be accepted,” he said. He also declined to comment on media speculation that he had encouraged her to resign.

Parmelin firmly rejected any connection between the resignation and the GPK inquiry. “These are two separate matters,” he said, adding that the government would await the commission’s report.

He also rejected the suggestion that the departure came at a bad time because an agreement on trade with the United States remained unresolved. Switzerland and the US had issued a joint declaration, he said, and both sides had so far honoured their commitments. The two countries remained in contact and were monitoring developments.

Asked about the end of their joint work on the customs negotiations, Parmelin replied: “That is life.” Changes in government departments occurred regularly, he said, adding that people were replaceable and that preparations for the future would now begin.

A successor will be sought as quickly as possible but carefully, Parmelin said. The process will begin with a search committee. If no successor has been found by the end of March, an internal interim solution will be arranged.