Current:Home > MarketsSwitzerland’s Greens fail in a long-shot bid to enter the national government-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Switzerland’s Greens fail in a long-shot bid to enter the national government
View Date:2024-12-24 00:12:29
BERLIN (AP) — Switzerland’s environmentalist Greens failed in a long-shot bid to enter the national government Wednesday as lawmakers elected a new center-left minister to the Alpine country’s executive Federal Council.
Parliament met in Bern to elect the seven-member governing council following a September election that saw the country’s strongest political force, the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, rebound from losses four years earlier and two environmentally minded parties lose ground.
Switzerland has an unusual, consensus-oriented political system. Four parties ranging from the center-left Social Democrats to the populist Swiss People’s Party are represented on the Federal Council. Swiss voters also have a direct say on policy issues in referendums several times every year.
The Greens contended that the party had a claim to a seat on the council despite its slump in the election. They argued that the free-market Liberals were overrepresented with two ministers.
Green lawmaker Gerhard Andrey challenged Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, a Liberal, but came nowhere near unseating him. The defeat followed an unsuccessful bid to eject Cassis after a strong election performance by the Greens in 2019.
Political change tends to be gradual in Switzerland. It is very unusual for sitting ministers to be voted off the Federal Council; parties in the government tend to be wary of doing so because that could undermine support for their own candidates.
All six ministers seeking another term were reelected. One seat had to be filled because Social Democrat Alain Berset — the head of the interior department, which oversees health, labor and social issues — is stepping down after 12 years, during which he oversaw Switzerland’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beat Jans, a Social Democrat who currently heads the regional government in Basel, was elected as his successor.
The members of the Federal Council now decided who will lead which government department for the next four years.
Switzerland’s presidency rotates between ministers on an annual basis. Lawmakers elected Defense Minister Viola Amherd as next year’s president, succeeding Berset.
veryGood! (185)
Related
- Taylor Swift gifts 7-year-old '22' hat after promising to meet her when she was a baby
- California announces new deal with tech to fund journalism, AI research
- 1000-Lb. Sisters’ Tammy Slaton Shares Powerful Message on Beauty After Revealing 500-Pound Weight Loss
- School choice and a history of segregation collide as one Florida county shutters its rural schools
- Jelly Roll goes to jail (for the best reason) ahead of Indianapolis concert
- Man shot by 2-year-old at Virginia home in what police call an accidental shooting
- Utah lawsuit seeks state control over vast areas of federal land
- Warner Bros. pledges massive Nevada expansion if lawmakers expand film tax credit
- Arizona Supreme Court declines emergency request to extend ballot ‘curing’ deadline
- 2-year-old killed by tram on Maryland boardwalk
Ranking
- Watch: Military dad's emotional return after a year away
- Kansas mom sentenced to life in prison after her 2-year-old son fatally shot her 4-year-old daughter
- Why Adam Sandler Doesn't Recommend His Daughters Watch His New Comedy Special
- Jesse Winker’s pinch-hit homer in 9th gives Mets 4-3 win over Orioles
- The Best Gifts for People Who Don’t Want Anything
- South Carolina deputy charged with killing unarmed man and letting police dog maul innocent person
- Man shot by 2-year-old at Virginia home in what police call an accidental shooting
- PHOTO COLLECTION: Election-2024- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Recommendation
-
2025 NFL mock draft: QBs Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward crack top five
-
Columbus Crew and LAFC will meet in Leagues Cup final after dominant semifinal wins
-
Joey Lawrence and Wife Samantha Cope Break Up After 2 Years of Marriage
-
‘The fever is breaking': DeSantis-backed school board candidates fall short in Florida
-
Horoscopes Today, November 10, 2024
-
Company that sent AI calls mimicking Joe Biden to New Hampshire voters agrees to pay $1 million fine
-
The Meaning Behind the Date Jennifer Lopez Filed for Divorce From Ben Affleck
-
Lily Collins Shares Insight Into Bond With Kickass Sandra Bullock