Pfister, the master of the game

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 we have a single president or a co-presidency? Who are the potential candidates? Their vision? Their profile? In the coming months, the race for the leadership 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 thug, Gerhard Pfister knows very well that the only valid answer to a statement that you are not interested in the task is “no”. A word he doesn’t say.

By affirming 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 take one of the two seats in the PLR. Which is not insignificant, as rumors of imminent departures from the government 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 long been absent from academia. Clearly on the right in his early days, he was able to forge compromises with the left over time. Above all, he was able to establish himself as a respected leader of the Center, even if he was perceived as the wolf in the sheepfold during his election.

As for his flaw – he is 62 years old – you only need to look beyond the border to see that it is not prohibitive. To become head of the French government, centrist François Bayrou waited 73 years.

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