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Blocher’s Senior Vice President and Federal Judge: Scenes from a Marriage of Convenience
The SVP parliamentary group does not recommend its federal judge Yves Donzallaz for re-election – he once had a powerful advocate.
The tablecloth was cut before the meeting. Federal judge Yves Donzallaz (58, SVP) did not even try to convince his parliamentary group on Tuesday. This is how it is described by the members of the parliamentary group, who are amazed at the appearance of the highest court, which they describe as “distant” or “arrogant”.
Former federal councilor Christoph Blocher once claimed that Yves Donzallaz would become a federal judge. Image: sda
Donzallaz, who has been a full-time federal judge since 2008, was summoned by the SVP parliamentary group to test his conscience. It was supposed to answer the crucial question: What about “SVP values”? The main trigger for the crisis between party and judge was a federal court ruling in 2019 that forced UBS to hand over 45,000 records to France. Donzallaz was one of three judges on the panel of five who voted for the post.
The parliamentary group did not obtain the answers requested by the judge, who stated that he was only bound by the law and the constitution. The parliamentary group decided, by a narrow majority, not to support him in the elections for federal judges on September 23, unless he previously resigned from the party.
Donzallaz had apparently appeared before the SVP to send a protest signal against his party’s influence on the judiciary. In an interview on “NZZ”, he explained his stance at the same time.
SVP leadership has been pressuring Richter for years
The fact is that the SVP leadership has been pressuring its judges at all levels for years to judge what they consider to be important issues in line with the match program.
For about fifteen years, recalls former federal judge Jonny Wiprächtiger (SP), this has been established. It was the first time that the SVP summoned a judge to Bern to justify a decision. That doesn’t exist at other parties. From his SP “I was not always happy with myself”, but that had no consequences, much less public measures.
Donzallaz received no support from his parliamentary group on Tuesday. Not even from his fellow cantons. Valais Senior Vice President National Councilor Franz Ruppen, who did not attend the meeting, says:
“Based on statements by federal judge Donzallaz, it has been shown that their values differ in fundamental points from those of the SVP. In an interview with NZZ, Donzallaz himself said that he did not feel affiliated with any party. Since in Switzerland the parties appoint judges proportionally to the number of voters, the SVP has decided to re-elect Mr. Donzallaz only if he leaves the SVP. “
It was Blocher who hit Donzallaz
But the Donzallaz case has another component. If it relies on veteran MPs like National Councilor Pirmin Schwander (SVP, SZ), Donzallaz was never a vice president. He first tried the CVP-CSP in Valais, but was allegedly not wanted as a federal judge. It was then the Valais SVP foreman, Oskar Freysinger, who “came with Donzallaz” – that was an excellent man, the CVP was too far-right.
So Freysinger was happy to be able to introduce someone, because the senior vice president aspiring had seat claims and thus positions to assign, but few trained staff. There was strong resistance against Donzallaz within the party, the senior vice president said, but then none other than Christoph Blocher spoke about power and, referring to Freysinger’s assessment, punched Donzallaz.
So it was not the “leftists”, as suggested by the leader of the SVP parliamentary group, Thomas Aeschi, after the UBS ruling in the newspaper “SonntagsZeitung”, who put SVP Donzallaz in the eye: Blocher himself was concerned about that.
Judges choose the match based on career opportunities
Consequently, the marriage of the Valais Donzallaz to the SVP would have been a marriage of convenience from the start, a huge misunderstanding. According to observers, the SVP was lucky with her husband, because Donzallaz is considered a capable and hard-working judge.
Anyone who wants to become a judge, especially a federal judge, must belong to a party. Otherwise, it won’t even move. Therefore, it is a well-known phenomenon that future judges choose their match with their career in mind. Some are joining the party that currently has many judging positions to fill. This was observed recently on several occasions in elections to the Federal Criminal Court. An example is Olivier Thormann, who consecutively left the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, who joined the FDP to be elected to Bellinzona.
Social and professional skills must be decisive
Former federal judges like Jonny Wiprächtiger say the system should be adapted a long time ago. Party affiliation should not be the deciding factor in the election of judges. Consider that social skills and professional skills are the most important criteria. “Only when two candidates are equally suitable, party affiliation should play a role.”
Donzallaz will undoubtedly be re-elected as a federal judge by the Federal Assembly on September 23. Apart from the slogan of his SVP, nothing speaks against the judge. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
