Pfister has led the party closely in recent years and has had a strong influence on it. New leadership is now needed in June. It leaves open the question of whether Pfister wants to become a federal councilor.
Resignation: Gerhard Pfister, chairman of the Center Party.
Peter Schneider / Keystone
cov./atz. Gerhard Pfister resigns as president of the Center. The 62-year-old announced this in an interview with the “Tages-Anzeiger”. After nine years, the Zougois will hand over the leadership of the party in June.
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It’s the right time, for the party and for himself, Pfister said in the interview published Monday afternoon. He took office as president of the CVP in 2016 and finalized the merger with the BDP in 2020.
Provided a recovery
When he took over nine years ago, the party had drawn up a strategy until 2025. “Internally, I always told myself that maybe it was time to stop. Now it looks good to me,” says Pfister. The party enjoyed success and stability during this period.
Pfister and the new “center” are increasingly trying to appeal to left-wing and urban voters. Successfully: In the 2023 national elections, the party won again after a long time. But the new course was surprising; Pfister was considered a conservative Catholic from central Switzerland.
Survived the attack on Zug
Pfister was born in Oberägeri in the canton of Zug and spent his school years mainly at a boarding school at a monastery in Disentis. The father was a principal and his son Gerhard eventually followed suit and ran a private school. In 1998, Pfister joined the Zug cantonal council and three years later survived the assassination attempt on the cantonal council in which 14 politicians died. In 2003, Pfister was elected to the National Council.
The question now arises whether Pfister wants to become a federal councilor after the upcoming resignation of Viola Amherd. His name is mentioned many times. In an interview with the “Tages-Anzeiger” he held back. There is nothing to say at the moment. Denial seems different.
More to come.
