US elections SVP President Dettling speaks out in favor of the US Republicans
SVP leader Marcel Dettling has spoken out on the US elections and declared his preference for the Republicans. In doing so, he followed SVP Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, who prefers Donald Trump. The majority of federal parliamentarians are in favor of Democrat Kamala Harris.
01.11.2024, 13:07
SDA
When asked who he was voting for in the US elections, Dettling replied in an online video format that it didn't really matter who you voted for in Switzerland, you just have to live with who wins in the end. However, he added: "We in Switzerland have always fared better when the Republicans have been in power, which has put less pressure on Switzerland."
During the presidency of Democrat Barack Obama, for example, the banking center was destroyed. "I'm for the Republicans - whether you're for or against Donald Trump doesn't really matter," he said to the questioner at Dütsch.Dütlich.Dettling.
Rösti "tends more" towards Trump
SVP Federal Councillor Rösti made a similar statement in Basel on Monday, but was even more explicit in his support for the Republican presidential candidate. He replied to a student that he was "leaning more towards" Donald Trump in the US presidential election on November 5. This was reported in the Tamedia newspapers on Wednesday.
The reason given by the SVP minister was that Trump was the only president who had not led the USA into war for four years. However, he emphasized that the personality of the Republican candidate was problematic. He said: "I have difficulties with that."
Political scientist finds statement "problematic"
This statement on an election in another country was criticized in the Swiss political landscape. Political scientist Michael Hermann, for example, described it as "problematic from a diplomatic point of view" in a program on RTS radio and television in French-speaking Switzerland on Wednesday.
"Switzerland is a neutral country, that is also the opinion of the SVP. The Federal Council must exercise a great deal of restraint, not choose sides. This is very awkward, especially shortly before the elections," said Hermann.
President Viola Amherd had given a more traditional answer on Monday, saying that it was the voters in the USA who would vote. "We do not interfere and work together with the democratically elected heads of state," she told members of the Foreign Press Association in Bern.
Meanwhile, Swiss parliamentarians were asked by RTS on Tuesday to state their preferences between the Democratic and Republican candidates. Of the 60 responses received from all parties, a majority were in favor of current Vice President Kamala Harris - including one person from the SVP.
