Comment – Sense, Sense, Sense! Yes, and yet SP-Levrat is the right man to be the post-president.

The age of party politics is not over with federal corporations. SP Federal Councilor Moritz Leuenberger once placed party friend Ulrich Gygi as executive chairman of the SBB, CVP Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard appointed party friend Urs Schwaller as chairman of the post, and now it is the turn of the federal councilor of the SP, Simonetta Sommaruga, the friend of the party Christian Levrat, the ex-president of the SP, who will be chosen as Schwaller’s successor.

The reaction always comes by express: Sense, Sense, Sense! And it is understandable. In state-owned companies, which face enormous challenges, the party book cannot be decisive in occupying the top positions. Expertise, leadership experience, and political sensitivity are crucial.

But Christian Levrat is the wrong example to get angry about. Because Levrat is one of the best postal experts in the country. He has been involved in the company for more than 20 years; As a young post-unionist he was always combative and at the same time willing to compromise. At that time, the renovation of the largest post office in history took place with the closure of more than 1000 branches. This went off with some noise, but in the end Levrat offered a hand for this change.

Also in parliament, the Levrat Council of States, due to resign in September, was the permanent mail specialist, including as chairman of the two important economic and transport commissions. He was noticed less as an ideologue of the SP than as an expert.

Parallel to Benedikt Weibel at SBB

Levrat’s choice is even smart from a liberal point of view. In his new role, he can’t help but modernize the company alongside former McKinsey man Roberto Cirillo, Post’s CEO. Swiss Post, Switzerland’s third-largest employer, has to keep going with digitization and lose weight in the face of falling letter volume and pressure on margins in the parcel business. Levrat knows this very well. You will have to make uncomfortable decisions and be responsible. Decisions against which his former colleagues from the postal union will protest.

Thanks to his network and social streak, Levrat has the credibility to take the staff with him. The left can sometimes implement reforms better than the bourgeoisie because the rank and file and the unions are more likely to follow suit. We know this from politics: Social Democrats Gerhard Schröder in Germany and Tony Blair in Britain carried out neoliberal labor market reforms that right-wing prime ministers could hardly have had the courage to undertake. And there is also a closer example of this phenomenon: under the leadership of SBB boss Benedikt Weibel, a popular member of SP, the federal railways were dusted, modernized and 10,000 jobs were cut, with no notable strikes.

Levrat, however, has doubts as to whether he has the necessary technical knowledge in terms of digitization. He has yet to prove it. The post office won’t be able to save itself in the future with the emphasis as a mantra on public service, especially as the old Postfinance revenue stream is about to fail and will soon fall into the red. No other federal company faces such serious problems as the Post. Its business model is fundamentally questioned.

The first test for Levrat will come soon: as chairman of Post, he must campaign for the privatization of Postfinance, against which his party is fighting. Then you will show for the first time how well you handle the role change.