Comment –
Gerhard Pfister, the master of the game
By announcing his withdrawal from the presidency of the Center, the Zougois shakes up the political calendar and launches bets on the Federal Council.
Comment Published today at 12:59 p.m.
Gerhard Pfister speaks at the National Council in Bern during the winter session, with the Swiss flag in the background.
KEYSTONE/Anthony Anex
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Gerhard Pfister is always one step ahead. Sometimes even two. This Monday, the Zougois did not simply announce his withdrawal from the presidency of the Center. No, he did much more.
Already because he is launching – two years in advance – the 2027 federal elections by ensuring that we will talk a lot about his party. Should there be a single president or a co-presidency? Who are the potential candidates? Their vision? Their profile? In the coming months, the race for the head of the Center will be closely scrutinized.
But this timing, “good for the party”, is also good for him in the perspective of one day arriving at the Federal Council. As an old political rogue, Gerhard Pfister knows very well that the only valid answer to saying that the task does not interest you is “no”. A word he doesn’t pronounce.
By saying that he remains a “political animal” “ready to take on new challenges”, he is in fact establishing himself as a candidate for the highest office when it is necessary to replace Viola Amherd, or steal one of the two PLR seats. Which is not insignificant, while rumors of upcoming government departures are buzzing in federal Bern.
In this race, Gerhard Pfister would then be formidable, he who ticks all the boxes. He comes from a region – central Switzerland – that has been absent from college for a long time. Clearly on the right in his early days, over time he was able to forge compromises with the left. Above all, he was able to establish himself as a respected leader of the Center, even though he was seen as the wolf in the sheepfold during his election.
As for his flaw – he is 62 years old – you only need to look across the border to see that it is not prohibitive. To become head of the French government, centrist François Bayrou waited 73 years.
Florent Quiquerez has been a journalist in the Switzerland section since 2015. Specializing in politics, he primarily covers federal news. Previously, he worked as a parliamentary correspondent for Radios Régionales Romandes.More info
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