New SP Presidium – SP selects Mattea Meyer and Cédric Wermuth for party leadership – News

• The assembly of delegates of the SP has chosen a new leadership of the party. National Councilor Mattea Meyer (ZH) and National Councilor Cédric Wermuth (AG) now share the party chairmanship.
• The duo was chosen by a large majority. Challenger Martin Schwab (BE) had no chance.

The result of the elections was very clear: the new duo of the presidium with Meyer and Wermuth, with a marked left political aspect, received 538 of the 561 valid votes.

Unsurprisingly, 26-year-old rival Martin Schwab from Nidau ​​(BE) didn’t stand a chance. He received only 23 votes.

Clear behavior, no magic

Born in Basel in 1987, Co-President and National Councilor Meyer described herself in her pre-election speech as a “left with a clear position.” She draws the motivation for her political commitment from the hope of working with other activists to create a desired future with social security, equality, climate protection and human dignity.

Mattea Meyer: Co-Chair with roots in Winterthur

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Mattea Meyer, 32, has been a National Councilor for the SP of the Canton of Zurich since 2015. Before that, the business geographer was a member of the Winterthur municipal council and cantonal parliament. From 2009 to 2013 she was vice president of Juso Switzerland.

He lives in Winterthur with his family and a young daughter. His political roots lie there too. He was a member of the SP Winterthur management team for eleven years, five of which as co-chair. In 2010 she moved to the local council, a year later she became a cantonal councilor.

As political motivation, he cites his anger at injustice. By her own admission, she developed this mainspring as a child.

With the assumption of the co-presidency of the SP, she is the first woman to lead the party since Christiane Brunner (2000 to 2004). At the same time, she is the youngest party president in history.

National Councilor Wermuth declared that the democratic socialism he represented was not magic, but defended a society in which everyone worked together and in solidarity to guarantee a full and good life. He said that it is not those who defend change who consider themselves radical, but people who defend real inhuman conditions.

Cédric Wermuth: Determined from Juso to Co-Chair

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Cédric Wermuth, 34, has been a member of the National Council of the Canton of Aargau, SP since 2011. He began his steep political career with Juso. He joined them at the age of 13. He presided over it from 2008 to 2011.

Wermuth, who comes from a socially conscious family and grew up in Aargau, lives with his family in Zofingen. He has two young daughters. Wermuth studied political science, economic and social history, and philosophy at the universities of Zurich and Bern. In 2015 he finished his studies.

He began his career in the party with Juso as co-president of the cantonal section of Aargau. This was followed by the office of the Central Secretary of Juso Switzerland. In 2008 he was elected president and vice president of SP Switzerland.

Initially more of a debating club and pale political profile, Wermuth purposely brought the Young Socialists (Juso) into public view. Under his presidium, the Young Party quickly became a force to be reckoned with with actions and all kinds of events.

After resigning as president of Juso in 2011, he ran for the National Council of which he has been a member ever since. From 2014 to 2018 he was Co-Chairman of SP Aargau.

Virtual party conference

Christian Levrat’s successor should have been sealed in April but was postponed for half a year due to the crown crisis.

First, the SP wanted to hold the party congress in Basel in real terms. On Thursday, however, he decided to go virtual due to the increase in the crown number.

Levrat goes – and thanks

The resigned party chairman, Christian Levrat, thanked his party for the support and cooperation during the last twelve years at the SP party congress. He said he enjoyed every day, every hour.

“They allowed me to get up every morning to work on the implementation of our common ideas, it was a privilege,” Levrat said in front of the delegates who virtually followed the meeting.

“The most important thing for me is to thank all the people with whom I have been able to work together over the years and share the journey,” he said. He especially thanked the vice-presidents, the chairmen of the parliamentary groups and the general secretaries for their “energy and tireless effort”. He was also grateful for the open culture of discussion within the SP.

Federal Councilor Berset pays tribute to Levrat

Federal Councilor Alain Berset thanked the president of the resigned party and fellow Friborg Christian Levrat for a “remarkable commitment”.

Levrat left a solid and respected match. Unlike its sister parties abroad, SP Switzerland remains the second largest force in the country.