Two more SVP candidates enter the race

Ticino senator Marco Chiesa, 52, confirmed on Thursday, 22 October, that he is willing to stand for the seat Guy Parmelin is leaving. He made the announcement in an interview with Teleticino and Ticinonews, and the Ticino SVP section issued a statement that evening praising his record. Schnegg, the Bern government president, aged 63, had also declared his candidacy on Thursday, following Geneva National Councillor Céline Amaudruz and Solothurn National Councillor Rémy Wyssmann, who had filed earlier. Bern political circles expected the Zug SVP group leader Thomas Aeschi and Aargau government member Jean-Pierre Gallati to join the field before the cut-off, and at least one more bid was expected from Valais and one from Zurich. Chiesa presided over the SVP Switzerland from 2020 to 2024 and has sat in the Council of States since 2019.

Describing his motives, Chiesa told the Ticino outlets:

“Switzerland is our home, and it would be an honour to be able to help take care of it.”

Ticino and the question of representation

Ignazio Cassis of the FDP already sits in the Federal Council for Ticino, and Chiesa acknowledged that point. He argued that the country needs to think about "medium-term representation", adding that people from Ticino must know all of Switzerland, speak its languages and understand its cultures. His ideal ticket would pair him with Thomas Aeschi, although Zug is already represented in the Federal Council by Martin Pfister of the Centre. Chiesa said the campaign weighed on his family, and he said he feared "all the others" among the rivals, while calling the criticism Céline Amaudruz had recently received "particularly ungenerous".

When he announced in late December 2023 that he would step down as party president the following spring, Chiesa said a government seat was not his personal goal:

“Becoming a Federal Councillor is not a personal goal of mine.”

Schnegg and the Romandie argument

Schnegg, from the Bernese Jura, ran a software company and chaired a hospital board before serving two years in the Grand Council for the SVP. He entered the Bern government in 2016. He said several people had asked him to run, and that he reached his decision after long discussions, including with his family. If elected, he would sit alongside Albert Rösti, which would give Bern two seats in the government. Schnegg said he did not believe two Federal Councillors from one canton were too many, noting that this has happened before. He also described himself as a Romand and argued that French-speaking Switzerland should keep two seats in the Federal Council.

Timetable to 9 December

Cantonal SVP sections have until 12:00 on Friday, 23 October, to submit their candidacies to the search commission. The commission then passes its proposal to the parliamentary group leadership by 13 November, and the group is due to choose the ticket on 20 November. The Federal Assembly elects Parmelin's successor on 9 December, and the new Federal Councillor takes office on 1 January.