New party boss wants stronger Social Democrats

A politician with a tough reputation: Christian Levrat Keystone

The Social Democratic Party will be electing a new leader on Saturday, and short of a major surprise, it should be parliamentarian and union boss Christian Levrat.

swissinfo caught up with Levrat – the only candidate to take over the job from Hans-Jürg Fehr – to ask him what his plans were for the party’s future and if it could regain voter confidence.

The centre-left party took just under 20 per cent of the vote in last October’s elections – down from 23 per cent in 2003.

Levrat was elected to parliament in 2003, and has since earned a reputation as a tough operator ready to take on his opponents.

swissinfo: What is your view of the party as you prepare to take over?

Christian Levrat: For the past three months, I have been visiting our sections to talk to them and every time I leave with some extra motivation.

But I cannot deny that the party is not in good health. Last October’s [federal] elections were our worst defeat since 1945. We have to get ourselves back off the floor, not just for the party’s good, but the whole country’s good. Switzerland needs a strong Social Democratic Party, one that is close to the people.

swissinfo: How do you explain the party’s drop in support at the last federal elections?

C.L.: There are three main reasons. First of all our campaign was not good. We weren’t able to set the agenda. Much of the pre-electoral debate was about who should be in the government. We shouldn’t have discussed whether [former Justice Minister] Christoph Blocher should be a member of cabinet. We should have talked to people about their concerns and given some solutions.

Trends were not in our favour either. The economy’s good health meant that voters were less receptive to social themes. The strong presence of environmental issues in the run-up to the elections also harmed us. The Greens are considered to be more competent than us in this domain, even if it’s not true.

Most progress on these issues in the past years has been made thanks to the Social Democrats and our minister Moritz Leuenberger. One of my goals is to make sure our work is finally recognised.

Finally – and it’s my biggest concern – the party has lost its militant edge. We have to reconsider how we recruit members and how we educate them politically. Our defeat in October was a wake-up call, and the party is starting to react.

swissinfo: The Social Democrats have been accused of forgetting their working class roots and becoming too middle class. Do you feel that is true?

C.L.: I’m not sure. What’s true though is that while workers find us credible when we talk about social security, salaries or public service, they don’t listen to us on issues such as migration or violence.

We do have credible responses to these problems, but our message isn’t getting through. We are considered naïve or saintly. But that’s not the case. More often than not, it is elected Social Democrat officials who ensure that there are enough police where there are problems, or call for remand centres for teenage criminals.

swissinfo: You are considered to have played a major role in forcing Christoph Blocher out of cabinet. Isn’t that going to be a problem when, as the president of a government party, you have to deal with his rightwing Swiss People’s Party?

C.L.: I don’t have any personal problems with the People’s Party leadership. On the political level, there are very few things on which we can work together. It is a party that defends the financial sector and wealth against the interests of workers.

Instead, we have to find solutions with the [centre-right] Christian Democrats, mostly concerning social security and the environment.

swissinfo: You are the only candidate to take over the Social Democrats. How do you explain this lack of interest in the job?

C.L.: The optimistic version is that the party trusts me to get the job done. It believes that I can get it back on track ahead of the 2011 elections. The pessimistic version is that we have no chance of recovering and that it is best to blame me for the failure. But I don’t think that is what our members are thinking.

swissinfo: So why do you want to lead it?

C.L.: I want to help the party bounce back in 2011. Unless we act, there is no reason not to believe we will lose more ground on the other parties. And I really believe that Switzerland needs a strong Social Democratic Party.

swissinfo-interview: Olivier Pauchard

Swiss Social Democratic Party

The Social Democratic Party was founded in 1888, remaining part of the opposition for decades.

It was only in the 1930s, with the threatening presence of Nazi Germany over the border, that it moved closer to the parties belonging to the government.

The Social Democrats earned their first seat in the seven-member cabinet in 1943, and a second in 1959.

Switzerland’s second-biggest party, the Social Democrats are an opposition force but have to work alongside the centre-right and rightwing parties in government.

The Social Democrats are represented by Micheline Calmy-Rey (foreign ministry) and Moritz Leuenberger (transport, energy, communications and environment ministry) in cabinet.

At the last federal elections, the party received 19.5 per cent of votes, down from 23.2 per cent in 2003.

Christian Levrat

Christian Levrat, who will turn 38 in July, was born and lives in canton Fribourg. He is married and has three children.

After completing a law degree at Fribourg University, he did a masters degree in political science at Leicester University and a diploma in association management in Fribourg.

He is currently the president of the Communications union and vice-president of the Swiss Trade Union Federation. From 1998 to 2000, he was head of the Swiss Refugee Council’s legal department.

He was elected to parliament in 2003.