Viola Amherd named most popular Swiss minister in poll
Defence Minister Viola Amherd is the most popular member of Switzerland’s seven-person Federal Council (executive body), according to a survey published on Monday.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/sb
Italiano
it
Viola Amherd è il ministro svizzero più popolare nel sondaggio
A survey of the general public by the Leewas Institute, commissioned by Tamedia/20Minuten newspapers, put Amherd ahead of Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, followed by Interior Minister Alain Berset.
The health minister, who also holds the rotating presidency role this year, was followed by Environment Minister Albert Rösti and Economics Minister Guy Parmelin. Foreign Ignazio Cassis and Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider came in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Only 49% of respondents want Alain Berset to be re-elected to the government after the federal elections in October, the survey found.
The Swiss seem divided over the future composition of the seven-person government, which is decided by a “magic formula”, whereby the seven cabinet seats are distributed among the largest political groups.
The survey found that only 19% of those questioned want to keep the current cabinet formation. A similar percentage would like the leftwing Greens to take a seat from the Social Democrats, while 17% would prefer the centre-right Liberal-Radicals to give up one of their two seats to the Greens.
Meanwhile, 59% say cooperation within the present cabinet is good and just over half (55%) are satisfied with the government’s work in general. This is five percentage points higher than last August.
A total of 27,668 people took part in the survey across Switzerland last month.
Swiss foreign minister backs Berset at Council of Europe
This content was published on
Cassis described Berset as the "ideal candidate" to help the Council realise its aim of ensuring security and peace in Europe.
Gay conversion therapy banned in Swiss canton of Valais
This content was published on
On Thursday, the canton approved a new Health Act which includes a ban on therapies aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity.
This content was published on
Some aspects of pro-Palestine sit-ins have gone too far, but the right to protest and debate must be upheld, the student association has said.
Swiss LGTBIQ helpline: attacks more than doubled in 2023
This content was published on
Three organisations jointly operating a helpline have called for more awareness, action and funding to address discrimination.
This content was published on
Switzerland's economy grew slightly at the start of 2024, with growth in the service sector contrasting with weak growth in industry.
Fresh faces, old formula: Swiss government gets new ministers
This content was published on
Switzerland’s seven-member cabinet, which got two new members on Wednesday, is composed according to the ‘magic formula’ of political consensus.
This content was published on
There's hardly any research on the Federal Council. Adrian Vatter's book makes up for that – and points out where there is room for improvement.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.