Speaker calls for spirit of openness

For Thérèse Meyer, the conduct of debate is the most important thing Keystone

The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Thérèse Meyer, says Switzerland must open up to the world while retaining its important traditions.

The Christian Democrat member for Fribourg spoke to swissinfo as she prepared to chair her second parliamentary session beginning on May 30.

The position of speaker is considered the highest office in the country. Meyer was elected in March to replace Jean-Philippe Maitre, who stood down after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

swissinfo: Switzerland has been beset by doubts for several years regarding opening up to the world, declining economic prosperity etc. As first citizen, how do you view the situation?

Thérèse Meyer: My vision has broadened as I come into contact with so many people with different languages and personalities.

I realise that we have to cultivate this sense of opening up, which along with our patriotic values is part of the character of Switzerland – a country of tradition but also of openness. I see that the tendency to turn inwards is stronger today than a few years ago, but we should continue to have confidence in our country.

swissinfo: What does it mean for you to be elected speaker of the House of Representatives?

T.M.: For me, the most important thing is the conduct of debates. The conditions must be right for parliamentarians to express themselves and vote.

Then there are all the events I have to attend where I meet people involved in different sectors, and meetings with foreign delegations. All these encounters shape the decisions a parliamentarian has to take.

swissinfo: Normally the new speaker has time to prepare for the role. You didn’t, because your predecessor left suddenly. Has that caused problems?

T.M.: The circumstances were very difficult and sad, because I was very close to Jean-Philippe Maitre. We were all very shocked by his illness. But we had to face up to it very quickly and I took over the reins on the very day of my election.

I can’t say I didn’t have problems, but I quickly got into the swing of things. It is as if I had been picked out for this post.

For me, it’s important to be well prepared but also to have close contact with the members of parliament. I try to be accessible and friendly towards them.

So I can’t say I’ve had big problems. I feel I’ve been thrown into a new position but that I’m able to deal with it.

swissinfo: Is the workload much heavier for the speaker than for a “simple” parliamentarian?

T.M.: I’d say it’s double the work. It takes over my free time, sleep time and so on…

But if you accept this post you accept the added responsibilities. And it’s doable because it’s for a limited duration. What’s more it’s an amazing job that only comes along once in a lifetime.

swissinfo: We know that women aren’t as well represented in parliament as they should be. Is your election a good sign in as much as it has raised the quota issue again?

T.M.: Certainly it’s a good sign, because if someone is elected they know that they have the support of their parliamentary colleagues.

In international comparison we are about average, but in comparison with other European countries we have quite a high proportion of women – more than 25 per cent – in our parliament.

We should aim to increase it, though. But personally I’ve always had misgivings about election quotas. A woman could be allowed to take precedence over a man who received more votes. It’s a difficult decision.

But I’m all for giving encouragement to women by issuing directives to parties, better publicity and support for women candidates.

swissinfo: You have risen all the way up the political ranks. Can you imagine reaching an even higher level in a few years’ time?

T.M.: I have never considered what could come next or what I would like to do. I really enjoy being a member of parliament and being speaker is like the icing on the cake. I have no goals, that’s all I can say.

swissinfo-interview: Olivier Pauchard

In brief

Thérèse Meyer was born on May 17, 1948. She became speaker on March 8.

She started out in a district parliament in 1980 and moved to local government before serving in the Fribourg cantonal parliament and finally joining the House of Representatives in 1999.

Meyer chairs the social security and public health commission and the political institutions commission.

Since last year she has also headed the group serving the interests of the Swiss abroad in parliament.