Cancellation after cancellation These candidates are still in the race for the centrist Federal Council
Agricultural engineer Christophe Darbellay was a member of the National Council from 2003 to 2015; today he is a member of the Valais cantonal government, the State Council. According to Smartvote, Darbellay is a moderate, cautiously conservative politician. In parliament, he was in the middle of his party. He later also campaigned for green issues.
Image: KEYSTONE/Cyril Zingaro
Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger has been a member of the Council of States for the canton of Lucerne since 2019. The qualified secondary school teacher was a member of the National Council from 2015 to 2019. In her political work, she is particularly committed to a comprehensive education system, a sustainable tax policy, strengthening the welfare state and a balanced asylum and migration policy.
Image: Keystone/Gaetan Bally
Philipp Kutter from Zurich has been a member of the National Council since 2018 and, according to his website, focuses on education, the economy and the climate. He is the mayor of Wädenswil ZH and a former member of the Zurich cantonal parliament. Together with his wife, he runs a communications agency.
Image: KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally
Thomas Rechsteiner has represented the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in the National Council since 2019 and is a member of the Social Security and Health Committee. According to his own statement on Smartvote, he has visions for the future of healthcare policy, pensions and security. He runs a general insurance agency.
Image: KEYSTONE/Alessandro della Valle
St. Gallen National Councillor Markus Ritter is an organic farmer and has been President of the Swiss Farmers' Association since 2012. He has been a member of the National Council since 2011 and is committed to economic policy and creating good framework conditions for Switzerland as a business location.
Image: KEYSTONE/Peter Schneider
Lawyer Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter has been a member of the National Council since 2010 and is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. According to her own statement on Smartvote, she is committed to freedom, solidarity and responsibility.
Image: KEYSTONE/Anthony Anex
Agricultural engineer Christophe Darbellay was a member of the National Council from 2003 to 2015; today he is a member of the Valais cantonal government, the State Council. According to Smartvote, Darbellay is a moderate, cautiously conservative politician. In parliament, he was in the middle of his party. He later also campaigned for green issues.
Image: KEYSTONE/Cyril Zingaro
Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger has been a member of the Council of States for the canton of Lucerne since 2019. The qualified secondary school teacher was a member of the National Council from 2015 to 2019. In her political work, she is particularly committed to a comprehensive education system, a sustainable tax policy, strengthening the welfare state and a balanced asylum and migration policy.
Image: Keystone/Gaetan Bally
Philipp Kutter from Zurich has been a member of the National Council since 2018 and, according to his website, focuses on education, the economy and the climate. He is the mayor of Wädenswil ZH and a former member of the Zurich cantonal parliament. Together with his wife, he runs a communications agency.
Image: KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally
Thomas Rechsteiner has represented the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in the National Council since 2019 and is a member of the Social Security and Health Committee. According to his own statement on Smartvote, he has visions for the future of healthcare policy, pensions and security. He runs a general insurance agency.
Image: KEYSTONE/Alessandro della Valle
St. Gallen National Councillor Markus Ritter is an organic farmer and has been President of the Swiss Farmers' Association since 2012. He has been a member of the National Council since 2011 and is committed to economic policy and creating good framework conditions for Switzerland as a business location.
Image: KEYSTONE/Peter Schneider
Lawyer Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter has been a member of the National Council since 2010 and is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. According to her own statement on Smartvote, she is committed to freedom, solidarity and responsibility.
Image: KEYSTONE/Anthony Anex
After Viola Amherd announced her resignation, the candidate carousel is spinning. Several people have now dropped out. None have yet confirmed their candidacy. An overview.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Viola Amherd has surprisingly announced her resignation from the Federal Council at the end of March 2025.
- Now the question arises: who could be her successor?
The Center Party has set up a search committee to fill the seat of Federal Councillor Viola Amherd. It will be chaired by Center Party President Gerhard Pfister and parliamentary group leader Philipp Matthias Bregy. Candidates must register by February 3.
Gerhard Pfister told the media in Bern on Monday that there are numerous qualified candidates from all parts of the country for the office of Federal Councillor. The parliamentary group will present the Federal Assembly with a good, broad selection.
The members of the selection committee are Councillors of States Charles Juillard (JU) and Pirmin Bischof (SO) as well as Councillors of States Marianne Binder-Keller (AG) and Isabelle Chassot (FR). Nicolò Paganini and Regina Durrer (NW) from the National Council are also taking part. "These people are not running for the Federal Council," said Pfister. "That is certain and is part of the job profile."
The cantonal parties must submit their nomination proposals to the selection committee by February 3, i.e. in two weeks' time. On February 21, the parliamentary group will decide on the size of the ticket and its nominations.
YOU ARE IN THE GAME
CHRISTOPHE DARBELLAY:
In an interview with the newspaper "Le Nouvelliste", Valais State Councillor Christophe Darbellay said that he is thinking about running for office. He wants to hold talks with his family and the party. The 53-year-old was a member of the National Council from 2003 to 2015; today he is a member of the Valais cantonal government, the State Council. He is standing for re-election for a third term of office in Valais at the beginning of March. A second round of voting would take place on March 23, i.e. after the Federal Council elections. "That's the worst possible timing", he told the newspaper. Before Gerhard Pfister, who is now also stepping down, Darbellay, an agricultural engineer, was President of the then Swiss CVP.
ANDREA GMÜR-SCHÖNENBERGER:
Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger, a member of the Lucerne Council of States, chairs the small chamber's security policy committee. "I'm giving it some thought," she announced on Monday. She had previously been quoted by "Schweiz am Wochenende" as saying that she was pleased and honored to be named as a possible candidate. She is just as familiar with the dossiers of the outgoing Defense Minister as she is with the people in the Defense Department. In addition to the Security Policy Committee, she is also a member of the Committee for Science, Education and Culture and the Committee for Transport and Telecommunications. Gmür-Schönenberger is 60 years old and a qualified secondary school teacher.
PHILIPP KUTTER:
The Zurich National Councillor Philipp Kutter has signaled his interest in standing as a candidate. The 49-year-old is currently examining whether he can run as Amherd's successor despite suffering from tetraplegia, as the Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported. "In principle, I am considering running for the office of Federal Councillor," said Kutter. For him, a Federal Councillor in a wheelchair would be a strong signal for inclusion. Kutter has been a member of the National Council since 2018 and, according to his website, his political priorities are education, the economy and the climate. He is also the mayor of Wädenswil ZH and a former member of the Zurich cantonal parliament. He has a degree in history, media studies and political science and runs a communications agency with his wife.
THOMAS RECHSTEINER:
National Councillor Thomas Rechsteiner from Innerrhoden does not want to answer questions about his candidacy for the Federal Council before January 30, as he told the Keystone-SDA news agency in response to an inquiry. Rechsteiner, 53, has represented the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in the National Council since 2019 and is a member of the Social Security and Health Committee. He runs a general insurance agency in Appenzell.
MARKUS RITTER:
St. Gallen National Councillor Markus Ritter is probably the best-known farmer politician in Bern. The 57-year-old organic farmer has been President of the Swiss Farmers' Union since 2012 and intends to remain in this position until 2028. He has been a member of the National Council since 2011 and is a member of the Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation. Ritter has executive experience from his time as a member of the municipal government of Altstätten SG. When asked about a possible candidacy for the Federal Council, he told Keystone-SDA that the centrist party had set up a search committee and drawn up a timetable. "Then I will think about it. Then the search committee will be informed, then the media. That's the procedure," he said.
ELISABETH SCHNEIDER-SCHNEITER:
Elisabeth Schneider-Schneider, National Councillor from the canton of Basel-Landschaft, wants to wait and see before making a decision, as she told "Schweiz am Wochenende". She wants to know who will enter the race. However, top jobs in the centrist party should not only be filled by men. The 60-year-old lawyer has been a National Councillor and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee since 2010.
THEY HAVE CANCELED
PHILIPP MATTHIAS BREGY:
For Philipp Matthias Bregy, National Councillor from Upper Valais and parliamentary group leader of the Center Party, running for Federal Councillor is "out of the question at the moment". For him, family comes first: The chance to become a Federal Councillor could come again, he wrote on X. "The chance to see my own children grow up will certainly never come again." The 46-year-old lawyer from Naters VS is currently a member of the Economic and Legal Affairs Committee, but has also dealt with transport policy in previous years.
MARTIN CANDINAS:
44-year-old Graubünden National Councillor Martin Candinas has decided not to stand for election. As unique and appealing as the office of Federal Councillor is, it does not ignite an inner fire in him at the moment, he wrote in explanation. He remains committed to his family and the people who elected him to the National Council and his various mandates. Candinas has been a National Councillor since 2011. In 2022/2023, he was President of the National Council and thus formally the highest-ranking Swiss citizen. From 2012 to 2021, he was a member of the presidency of the then Swiss CVP. The trained social insurance expert sits on the Security Policy Committee and the Committee for Transport and Telecommunications.
GERHARD PFISTER:
Center Party President Gerhard Pfister, who is stepping down in the summer, does not want to become a Federal Councillor. He has decided not to run to succeed Amherd, he said in an interview with the Tamedia newspapers. He had of course asked himself whether he could hold the office. "And with all modesty: I would trust myself with the office," he said. But he also asked himself whether the office suited him. And he came to the conclusion: no. Anyone who knows him better knows that he would not be a happy Federal Councillor. He loves discourse, he enjoys debating and arguing. "To do that, I need a certain amount of personal freedom," said Pfister. He has that as party president, but "certainly not any more" as a Federal Councillor.
BENEDIKT WÜRTH:
Benedikt Würth, Member of the Council of States for the Canton of St. Gallen, has spoken out against a possible candidacy for the Federal Council. "Becoming a Federal Councillor is no longer in my life plans," he wrote in a statement. The topic of the Federal Council is off the table for him. He feels extremely comfortable in his current political and professional duties and will continue to pursue them with great commitment. The 56-year-old lawyer and former member of the St. Gallen cantonal government had been mentioned by the media as a candidate for a seat on the Federal Council, although he, like Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP), comes from the canton of St. Gallen.
HEIDI Z'GRAGGEN:
Uri Councillor of States Heidi Z'graggen, who was on the Federal Council ticket with Viola Amherd in 2018 and lost the election, was put forward as a possible candidate by the centrist women's party, but does not want to run a second time. According to a press release on Monday, her political work in the Council of States is her main priority. The 58-year-old is a member of the Political Affairs Committee and the Legal Affairs Committee, among others. She was a member of the cantonal government of Uri from 2004 to 2020. Z'graggen is a trained teacher and political scientist and has been a member of the Council of States since 2019.
This article was created with material from the sda news agency
