Romands insist Parmelin’s seat should stay in western Switzerland

French-speaking politicians are arguing that Guy Parmelin’s seat on Switzerland’s Federal Council should remain in western Switzerland as he leaves the government, SRF reports.

Parmelin is a member of the French-speaking region, and his departure would leave only one other representative from western Switzerland in the government: Elisabeth Baume-Schneider. Some politicians in German-speaking Switzerland have called for a broader range of candidates, including people from other linguistic regions.

In an October interview with Blick, FDP co-president Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher said the Swiss People’s Party should consider linguistic diversity and regional distribution when putting forward its candidates. She said the ticket should include someone from Latin Switzerland and a woman. In her view, a politician from Ticino, such as Marco Chiesa, could represent linguistic minorities instead of a woman from western Switzerland.

That proposal has drawn criticism in western Switzerland. Jacqueline de Quattro, a Liberal Party National Council member from Vaud, said all regions should be adequately represented. She said she did not understand the idea of having one minority represent another.

Jean Tschopp, a Social Democratic National Council member from Vaud, said it was unfair to pit regional minorities against one another. He said Romansh speakers, people from Ticino and the French-speaking region were all distinct minorities and should not be grouped together in a way that weakened their position.

Lionel Dugerdil, president of the Geneva branch of the Swiss People’s Party, also ruled out a Ticino candidate to replace Parmelin. He said the Lake Geneva region was one of Switzerland’s most important economic centres and should continue to have a seat in the government. Dugerdil supports the candidacy of Céline Amaudruz, a Geneva National Council member from his party.

Balancing the Federal Council’s regional representation is difficult. Based on population, a region would need to account for just over 14 per cent of the country to warrant one seat. Western Switzerland makes up almost a quarter of the population, so one seat would leave it underrepresented while two would in principle give it more than its population share. Ticino, which accounts for about 8 per cent of the population, already has a Federal Council member: Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. A second seat for the canton would not be justified by the figures, SRF reports.