Tactics come into play in cabinet elections
The rules for electing members of the Swiss cabinet are set down in law – but there is still room for manoeuvre.
The parties in parliament could try to alter the course of proceedings, should candidates unexpectedly drop out.
Every four years, just after the parliamentary elections, cabinet ministers wishing to remain in office need to have their mandate renewed by parliament.
Both houses – the House of Representatives and the Senate, which total 246 members – vote on who joins, stays in, or leaves the seven-strong cabinet.
An absolute majority is 124 votes, assuming everyone who is entitled to vote does so.
The voting is by secret ballot and there are no party whips, so in theory each member of parliament is free to vote as he or she chooses.
This explains all the discussion in the run up to the elections about who is likely to rebel against the official party line and how much influence they could have in the eventual outcome.
Seniority
The cabinet ministers stand for re-election in order of seniority – the length of time they have served in government.
First up is Moritz Leuenberger (Social Democratic Party), followed by Pascal Couchepin (Radical Party), Ruth Metzler (Christian Democratic Party), Joseph Deiss (Christian Democratic Party), Samuel Schmid (Swiss People’s Party) and Micheline Calmy-Rey (Social Democratic Party).
The final election is for the replacement for the Radical Party minister, Kaspar Villiger, who is retiring at the end of the year.
But parliamentarians could change the set order of the elections, for example by voting in a majority for Samuel Schmid instead of Joseph Deiss.
The law states that the voting procedure is the same for each cabinet member. Every person up for election can be included in the voting lists for the first two rounds, but no new candidates can be admitted from the third round.
A candidate is eliminated if he or she receives fewer than ten votes in the second round or has the lowest score in the third and subsequent rounds.
If there is a tie between two people, then the voting continues until one candidate is eliminated.
Parliamentary faction leaders are allowed to speak before each round of voting, and ordinary parliamentarians are also permitted to voice their opinions during the proceedings.
Exceptions
Normally, the cabinet should be elected during the winter session of parliament. This rule also applies in the event of a cabinet member announcing his or her resignation on the day of the elections.
The situation only changes if parliament decides that the election to replace the outgoing minister should take place in the spring session. Both houses have already discussed this scenario.
If an announcement is made before the election officially starts, then the vote for a replacement is only made after all the other elections are over, including that of the person stepping down.
The same rules apply if, after being elected, a person decides not to accept a seat in the cabinet.
The newly elected ministers can expect to take up their posts on January 1, 2004.
swissinfo
Election order
Mortiz Leuenberger (Social Democrats)
Pascal Couchepin (Radical Party)
Ruth Metzler (Christian Democrats)
Joseph Deiss (Christian Democrats)
Samuel Schmid (Swiss People’s Party)
Micheline Calmy-Rey (Social Democrats)
Kaspar Villiger (Radical Party) – retiring
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