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- Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin (SVP) was elected the new Federal President with 188 votes. Of the 234 votes received, 202 were valid.
- Ignazio Cassis (FDP) was elected Vice President of the Federal Council with 162 votes.
- “I embody the full potential of Switzerland,” Parmelin said in his speech.
The pandemic has put us to the test, according to the newly elected federal president. «I want to focus on the cohesion of our country. The cohesion between old and young, between city and country, beyond the ditch rösti or polenta, regardless of social position, “continues Parmelin in the speech.
He himself begins because he embodies the full potential of the country. He is not only a farmer from a small town, but also the future president of the Federal Republic of Germany in a big city today, “it is no longer just a French-speaking country, but now also a bit of German-speaking Switzerland. ”.
Appointment during the crown crisis
The new federal president does not take office at an easy time. Switzerland is in the middle of the pandemic and the stagnation of the numbers is affecting the economy and the population. His predecessor, Simonetta Sommaruga, repeatedly managed to awaken optimism for a moment at press conferences or to ask the population to stick together. Will Parmelin be able to lead people safely through the crisis?
As head of the Federal Department of Economics, Education and Research (EAER), Parmelin had to withdraw the heavy artillery this year. Together with Ueli Maurer, he launched the billion-dollar rescue package for companies damaged by Covid. And the financial aid was ready: quickly and easily. As a result, thousands of SMEs and jobs have been saved.
And yet Parmelin is not one to rest on his laurels. “We will not come out of this crisis without economic damage,” the Minister of Economy warned against illusions.
He is not a man of great words
The SVP politician is considered humble and friendly, indecent, for some even pale. In the 2019 SRG electoral barometer, it failed to win any point of sympathy from the population as the Federal Council: nor did they testify that it had a great influence in the Federal Council, nor was its transition from the Department of Defense to the Department of Economy appreciated.
Guy Parmelin’s political career in pictures
“It could be that the language barrier influences Parmelin’s results,” says political scientist Michael Hermann, who conducted the survey in 2019, because “the majority of respondents come from German-speaking Switzerland.”
But the 2021 federal president does not generally consider himself a man of big or direct words. He was often available to answer questions at press conferences; often very few things got stuck. So far, Parmelin has not really been able to get in touch with people, although he has a very close experience.
Farmer and winemaker
The new federal president has gone from being a farmer to the top of Swiss politics. The winemaker has his roots in Bursins en Vaud. Before starting his agricultural school training, he completed his Matura with a focus on Latin and English. Parmelin likes to portray himself as a down-to-earth farmer who takes time for population problems.
As a Federal Councilor, you only dedicate a small portion of your time to your court. However, together with his brother, Parmelin owns a 36 hectare estate, including five hectares of vineyards.
