Karin Keller-Sutter defends her statements "I only spoke about one aspect of Vance's speech"
Karin Keller-Sutter has qualified her controversial comments on the US Vice President's speech in Munich. However, the President of the Swiss Confederation stands by her statements on J. D. Vance's speech.
20.02.2025, 04:10
20.02.2025, 11:42
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- In an interview with French-speaking Swiss television, Karin Keller-Sutter qualified her views on US Vice President J. D. Vance's speech at the security conference in Munich last week.
- However, she stood by her statements on the speech.
- The President of the Swiss Confederation had previously praised Vance's speech as a plea for direct democracy.
- Keller-Sutter was quite alone in this assessment - the US Vice President's speech was heavily criticized in Germany, with Vance interfering in the German election campaign.
- Vance had massively criticized Europe for alleged democratic deficits.
"I was only talking about one aspect of Vance's statements", said Karin Keller Sutter on Wednesday evening on the RTS program "Infrarouge". She deliberately limited herself to Vance's statements about the need to listen to the population and guarantee freedom of expression. "I didn't talk about the rest. It's not up to me to comment or evaluate Vance's statements about the USA or Europe."
In the interview, however, the Federal President stood by her statements on Vance's speech. "Just because someone behaves in a way that you don't like, don't accept or criticize doesn't mean that all their statements are wrong," she continued.
In an interview with "Le Temps", Keller-Sutter had previously stated that Vance's speech was "liberal in a very Swiss sense" when he emphasized the need to listen to the people. "He spoke about values that need to be defended and that we share, such as freedom and the ability to express oneself. It was a plea for direct democracy," she added. In doing so, she deviated from the critical reaction of many European politicians.
"The Swiss model is the opposite of this"
Vance had declared last Friday at the Security Conference in Munich that "the real enemy of Europe is neither China nor Russia, but those governments that do not listen to their people and instead suppress dissenting voices, leading to a regression of freedom of expression".
He criticized an alleged loss of democracy and freedom of expression in Europe and called this more worrying than threats from outside, for example from Russia or China. With regard to the relationship between the other parties and the AfD, parts of which have been classified as right-wing extremist by the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Vance said: "There is no room for firewalls." It was a speech that sparked outrage in Europe and redefined the transatlantic relationship.
Keller-Sutter made it clear that she did not feel addressed by this criticism. "The Swiss model is the opposite of this. The fact that we have a government with four parties, that there are referendums and that criticism can be voiced - even against me - shows that this freedom of opinion works in Switzerland."
Assessment caused criticism
When asked about US President Donald Trump's strategy to end the war in Ukraine, Keller-Sutter said she did not understand exactly what plans the US government was pursuing. "The Trump system is an announcement system, a shock system. You say something and then see how it develops."
This type of policy is difficult for Switzerland: "We are used to making policy within certain framework conditions. If someone suddenly breaks out of this framework, it's brutal."
Keller-Sutter's assessment of Vance's speech sparked debate in Switzerland. Criticism came from former Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin, the Center Party and the Greens, among others.
Trump administration a topic at Von Wattenwyl talks
How Switzerland should deal with the new realities in Washington in future will also be discussed at the Von Wattenwyl talks next Friday, writes the Tages-Anzeiger. The SP has put the topic on the agenda for the exchange between the Federal Council and the party presidency. "We will address Karin Keller-Sutter's questionable statements on J. D. Vance's speech," SP Co-President Mattea Meyer told the newspaper.
According to the government, themain topics of the talks between Karin Keller-Sutter, Federal Councillor Beat Jans and Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi and the leaders of the Federal Council parties will be the relief package, finances and migration.