Migration policy leaves Switzerland’s justice minister little room to manoeuvre

The Swiss People’s Party appears open to taking over the Justice Department, but its head would have limited influence over migration policy, political scientist Georg Lutz told Swiss broadcaster SRF. Speculation about changes to the federal departments has grown since President Guy Parmelin announced his resignation.

The Justice Department oversees the State Secretariat for Migration. SVP parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi said on SRF’s Samstagsrundschau that the department needed someone prepared to take firm action.

Lutz, a professor at the University of Lausanne, said the SVP’s interest was surprising because the department had served as a stepping stone for ministers over the past 20 years. Taking responsibility for it would also make it harder for the party to criticise migration policy as sharply, he said.

The number of asylum applications depends largely on international crises that trigger migration, Lutz said. The number of people who leave Switzerland depends on return agreements negotiated with other countries, leaving little room for the minister to act alone.

A minister can choose how prominently to put migration on the political agenda and try to advance changes. But recent asylum restrictions were supported by parliament, while their implementation is the responsibility of the cantons. Returns also depend on other countries’ cooperation. Courts and international agreements, including the European Convention on Human Rights, set further limits, Lutz said.

Former justice minister Christoph Blocher raised asylum policy forcefully but did not directly affect the number of applications, Lutz said. Blocher led the department in a confrontational manner, including in dealings with the cantons, and repeatedly strained the principle of collective responsibility. Four years later, parliament did not re-elect him, with its majority viewing him as insufficiently collegial and willing to seek consensus.