Guy Parmelin leaves office after five memorable public moments

As Guy Parmelin prepares to leave Switzerland’s Federal Council, SRF is looking back at five lighter moments that made him a talking point. The outgoing government member has concluded free trade agreements, won referendums and moderated a tariff dispute with the US president, but he has also drawn attention for his early English, distinctive leisurewear and self-deprecating humour.

“I can English understand”

In December 2015, shortly before the Federal Council election, Parmelin told a television microphone: “I can English understand, but je préfère répondre en français” (“I can understand English, but I prefer to answer in French”). His language skills prompted jokes in Switzerland and abroad. The New York Times revisited the quote three years later, when Parmelin took over the economic affairs department.

Since then, he has appeared confidently on the international stage, speaking fluently with diplomats, business representatives and leaders from around the world.

A comic-book fan

In a 2015 interview on Radio SRF, Parmelin said he was a keen reader of biographies, novels and comics, including Asterix, Titeuf and Lieutenant Blueberry. He kept up the hobby. Before the Federal Council’s Christmas break in 2023, he said he was especially looking forward to the latest Gaston Lagaffe story.

A figure of the comic hero now stands on his desk. It was given to him after his election as president of the Federal Council in 2025.

Memorable outfits on the government trip

The Federal Council makes an annual two-day trip. On his first outing in 2016, Parmelin was the only member of the government wearing shorts. His clothes continued to attract attention, particularly a safari hat he wore in 2022. The newspaper Blick later called it the “cult hat”.

In 2026, a “Parsley” shirt also caught on with younger people.

A satirical prize

Since 1988, a satirical magazine in Lausanne has awarded the Prix Champignac to people and institutions in French-speaking Switzerland for especially convoluted remarks. Parmelin came second in 2024 for the line “Il faut bien commencer par un début”, or “You have to start with a beginning”.

He responded by video at the ceremony, sounding pleased and self-mocking. He later collected the trophy in person and said he was glad to join the “French-speaking Swiss pantheon of purveyors of empty phrases”.

“Great since 1291”

Last summer, Parmelin travelled to Canada as president of the Federal Council to attend a World Cup match involving Switzerland’s national football team. He wore a red cap bearing the words “Switzerland – Great since 1291” in white letters.

Some considered the gesture unnecessarily provocative, but he generally received praise across party lines. The cap also became a bestseller, helped by its prominent wearer.