A personal decision

Franz Grüter, a National Councillor for the SVP from Lucerne, will not stand to succeed Guy Parmelin on the Federal Council. The 63-year-old made the decision public in an interview with the Bote der Urschweiz, published on Thursday, 22 October. He said he had weighed the question carefully and that personal reasons were decisive, reached together with his family. Grüter has sat in the National Council since 2015, and he said neither his age nor the situation in his region played a determining role. He also said he had seriously considered the question of Parmelin's departure before answering it. Parmelin, 66, is stepping down from the government.

“A seat in the Federal Council means practically giving oneself entirely to the service of the country for many years.”

What the seat would cost his family

Grüter said that a Federal Council member has hardly any private life left, and that the whole family would have to accept that price. He added that family ties do not end when children reach adulthood. According to the interview, the family regularly does activities together, and they weighed the choice honestly before deciding against it. He stressed that the question was not one of organisation but of how the family wanted to live in the coming years.

Business experience and the party

Grüter argued that the Federal Council should include someone from the business world. He built a company with several hundred employees and ran it for almost twenty years. People who pay wages and carry risks, he said, view bureaucracy, regulation and taxes differently, and he hopes parliament will weigh that when it elects a new member. He said many people from the public, from business and from his own party had urged him to stand. Asked about other prominent names that have declined, he rejected the idea that the SVP lacks people, saying the party has capable figures from every region.

Staying in the National Council

Grüter said he will keep working in the National Council, where he wants to commit fully to independence, direct democracy and the sovereignty of Switzerland without the duties attached to a government post. He said he would bring his entrepreneurial experience there as well. He framed his position in these words:

“As a National Councillor, I can commit myself with full force and free from the obligations of a government post to the independence, direct democracy and sovereignty of Switzerland.”

Candidates and timetable

Geneva National Councillor Céline Amaudruz, 47, and Solothurn National Councillor Rémy Wyssmann, 59, have so far announced their candidacies. Cantonal SVP sections have until noon on Friday, 23 October to put further names forward to the selection committee. The parliamentary group will decide on 20 November which candidates to propose, and the Federal Assembly is due to elect the new Federal Council member on 9 December. Asked which successor he preferred, Grüter declined to name one and said he would voice his view inside the group.