FDP's Marcel Dobler and SVP's Jean-Luc Addor to leave Swiss National Council

Dobler's decision

Marcel Dobler, a 46-year-old FDP member from St. Gallen, announced on Friday, 13 November, that the December session will be his last in the National Council. He first made the decision public on Instagram and on X, and said he had informed the executive of FDP St. Gallen a week earlier. Dobler was elected in 2015 with the aim of serving ten years, and he says the eleven years he has now served went beyond that goal. He summed up his exit in one sentence on X:

“The December session will be my last as a member of the National Council.”

Dobler told the Linth24 portal that it is hard to run a company when sessions, committee meetings and holidays keep you away about 20 weeks a year. A former Digitec co-founder who spent 13 years as CEO of Digitec Galaxus, he said he has several ideas in mind and will make concrete plans over Christmas. He added that he will remain a political person and will follow future sessions from the second row.

Addor's departure

Jean-Luc Addor, a 62-year-old SVP politician from Valais, said on Thursday, 12 November, that he will leave the National Council on 28 February 2027, before completing his third term. He announced it on the regional broadcaster Canal9, where he said:

“It is time to make room for the next generation.”

Addor entered the chamber in 2015 as the successor to Oskar Freysinger, who is 66. He hopes that his successor, then a sitting member, can help the party win a second seat in French-speaking Valais. His announcement came one day before Dobler's.

Who takes the seats

Andrea Abderhalden, a businesswoman from Nesslau in the Toggenburg region, is set to succeed Dobler. She has sat for the FDP in the St. Gallen cantonal parliament since 2021, and she is president of the Nesslau school board and chair of the organising committee for the Schwägalp wrestling festival. Christof Züger, the first replacement candidate, declined to move up for professional reasons. Addor's seat goes to Cyrille Fauchère, the first SVP replacement from the 2023 National Council elections. Fauchère sits in the Valais cantonal parliament and on the municipal council of Sion.

Timing and open questions

The sources do not agree on when both men leave. Tages Anzeiger reports that both resign at the end of February, while Dobler's own statements, quoted by SRF and swissinfo, name the December session as his last. Addor's exit date of 28 February 2027 comes from SRF. Dobler told Keystone-SDA that a National Councillor must decide the right moment alone, and that this moment has now come for him. The timeline below sets out the announcements and dates given in the sources.

Party and personal reactions

The FDP St. Gallen said in a communiqué that Dobler focused on digitalisation, security and health during his time in parliament. It noted that he used a motion in 2017 to call for the introduction of the e-ID, and that he worked on cost containment in healthcare. In a social media statement, Dobler wrote:

“It was a great honour and joy to help shape the future of our country.”

He said he will miss the work in parliament and the friendships that developed over the years.