Dreifuss calls it a day

Dreifuss is stepping down after almost a decade as a cabinet minister Keystone

Ruth Dreifuss, Switzerland's first-ever woman president, has confirmed her much-anticipated resignation from the government at the end of the year.

Dreifuss described her almost decade-long cabinet career as a “rich” experience that was also “a daily source of joy”.

“I have always tried to listen to individuals and their problems,” she said.

The Social Democrat’s announcement ends more than nine years as head of Switzerland’s interior ministry – a period marked by intensive reforms to the country’s social security and pension systems.

The finance minister, Kaspar Villiger, was expected to announce his resignation at the same time but he has decided to remain in office for at least another year.

Dreifuss’s political high-point came in 1999 when she became the first female and Jewish person to occupy the country’s rotating presidency.

Reflecting on her work as a member of Switzerland’s centre-left party, Dreifuss said she hoped social reforms would continue in her wake.

“Just keeping what we already have requires incredible strength,” she warned.

Decade of reform

Dreifuss added that she was proud of the country’s achievements over the past decade, citing important changes to the pension scheme, compulsory health insurance, and the treatment of drug addicts.

“We succeeded after 100 years of failure in instituting an obligatory health insurance scheme in Switzerland. This was a tremendous step,” said Dreifuss, acknowledging that much of her energy had been devoted to tackling the rising cost of premiums.

“[Also] Switzerland has in these ten years made tremendous progress in an objective way to meet problems with drugs among the population,” she said.

“We had the chance to find strong support among the population for a reasonable, compassionate and clever policy in the drug issue,” she said, referring to Switzerland’s heroin treatment programme, where addicts are prescribed the drug under supervision.

“I am quite proud – not in my work – but by the way Switzerland learnt in this field and accepted new ways.”

Mixed reaction

Switzerland’s leading political parties issued mixed reviews of Dreifuss’s legacy.

The centre-right Christian Democrats spoke of Dreifuss as a hard-headed and engaging personality, but took issue with what it described as “unfinished business”.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party echoed that sentiment, with party president Ueli Maurer blaming her “uncontrolled” health and social security reforms for generating a deficit burden that had been lumbered on taxpayers.

“Her politics has left us with countless unresolved problems in our social security system, and in this sense, her resignation is to be welcomed,” Maurer said.

By contrast, her own party, the Social Democrats, described her as a competent and strong left-wing politician, attuned to the public and determined to fight for the rights of Switzerland’s disadvantaged.

Search for a replacement

The search for Dreifuss’s replacement is set to become a central issue in Swiss politics over the next few months.

Several candidates have been identified as potential successors to the cabinet, whose members must reflect the country’s linguistic and political makeup.

According to long-standing convention, Dreifuss’s replacement is most likely to be female, a Social Democrat and a native French or Italian speaker.

Names already being mooted are the Ticino parliamentarian, Patrizia Pesenti, and her Geneva-based party colleague, Micheline Calmy-Rey.

The cabinet election will take place during parliament’s next winter session, possibly on December 4.

Dreifuss said she would remain in her post until December 31 and “not a minute less”.

swissinfo

Ruth Dreifuss

Dreifuss was elected to the Swiss cabinet on March 10, 1993.
She has been head of the interior ministry for almost ten years.
She was the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to become Swiss president – in 1999.