Jans and Pfister could seek new Swiss portfolios

Swiss Federal Councillors Beat Jans and Martin Pfister may seek new portfolios as the government prepares to redistribute its departments, SRF reports. The debate is unusual because the allocation process is normally kept quiet.

Two months before the Federal Council election, attention is focused on whether Jans, a Social Democrat, will move to the vacant Economic Affairs Department. The department has never been led by a Social Democrat, and business groups have voiced opposition. Economiesuisse president Silvan Wildhaber said it should remain in centre-right hands, while FDP co-president Benjamin Mühlemann also opposed a move by Jans, according to reports. NZZ am Sonntag reported reservations among some union circles.

Pfister, who heads the Defence Department, could also seek a change. If both want the Economic Affairs Department, they could compete for the same portfolio. Neither has made an official statement, SRF reports.

Moving departments after a short time in office often prompts discussion. Social Democrat Elisabeth Baume-Schneider holds the record over the past 40 years: she left the Justice Department after one year. The move was interpreted as an exit from an unpopular portfolio that includes asylum policy. If Pfister moved at the end of this year, he would leave after 1.75 years, making it the second-earliest switch in that period. Jans would have served three years, still an earlier-than-average move.

Department allocations are settled privately by the seven Federal Councillors, including any newly elected member, at an informal meeting without minutes. They state their preferences in order of seniority. Jans would speak third from last and Pfister second from last, with the newest member going last. But speaking first does not guarantee a preferred portfolio: other councillors can oppose a switch and outvote the person seeking it.

Past allocations have produced winners and losers. In 1996, Adolf Ogi moved from the Transport and Energy Department to the Military Department. The move was widely seen as involuntary after disputes over rail expansion, for which Ogi was responsible; the Federal Council also wanted to prevent a Social Democrat from becoming defence minister.

Simonetta Sommaruga was elected on the same day as FDP member Johann Schneider-Ammann and was elected first, allowing her to state her preferred department before him. The Federal Council nevertheless assigned her the Justice Department at the end of 2011.

Tags: Switzerland, Federal Council, politics