Federal Presidency Karin Keller-Sutter will be President of the Swiss Confederation next year

Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter will be President of the Swiss Confederation next year. Parliament elected the liberal St. Gallen native on Wednesday with 168 out of 203 valid votes. This is a below-average result.

Of the 232 ballot papers cast, 23 were blank and 6 were invalid. 35 votes did not go to the 60-year-old Finance Minister, but to other people.

Although the election to the Federal Presidency is considered a formality, it is often used by Council members to express their disapproval or approval of members of the government. On average over the past ten years, the Presidents of the Confederation have received 178 votes from Parliament.

However, before Keller-Sutter, Viola Amherd (center), Alain Berset (SP) and Ignazio Cassis (FDP) also had below-average results. The best result in recent decades was achieved by SVP Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer in 2018 with 201 votes, the worst by Micheline Calmy-Rey (SP) in 2011 with 106 votes.

SDA