Zurich SVP finds no candidate for Parmelin’s seat

Zurich’s Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has no candidate for the seat being vacated by Guy Parmelin in the Federal Council, SRF reports. The party says it contacted several potential contenders, but they all declined.

“We had some very good candidates, but unfortunately they all said no,” Zurich SVP president Domenik Ledergerber said. He named cantonal government member Natalie Rickli and politician Thomas Matter as two people who considered running carefully before deciding against it.

The party says its focus is now on cantonal elections scheduled for the spring. Ledergerber said Zurich could accept continuing without a seat in the Federal Council, noting that the canton is strongly represented in parliament and that its influence there can sometimes be greater.

Markus Somm, editor-in-chief of the Nebelspalter and a biographer of former SVP leader Christoph Blocher, said a Zurich candidacy had little chance from the outset. “It is a Latin seat,” he said, adding that he was not surprised by the refusals.

Zurich’s SVP is the party’s largest cantonal branch and comes from Switzerland’s most populous canton. It was long seen as a pace-setter within the party.