Politics · Switzerland · 9 hrs ago
Swiss ministers may seek changes to their government departments
Swiss cabinet ministers Beat Jans and Martin Pfister may want to change the departments they lead.
The discussion is taking place two months before a Federal Council election, as the economics department is set to become available.
Jans, a Social Democrat, is being discussed as a possible choice for that department, but business groups and Liberal Party co-leader Benjamin Mühlemann oppose the move.
Some union figures are also reported to have reservations.
The seven Federal Council members decide department assignments together in a private, informal meeting, and a minister can be outvoted even if it is their turn to state a preference.
Jans would be changing after three years in office, while a move by Pfister at the end of the year would come after about 1.75 years.
The justice and defence departments are often seen as difficult because their leaders face limited room to act and politically contentious issues.
Swiss ministers Beat Jans and Martin Pfister may seek to change government departments, according to a public debate ahead of a ministerial election.
Jans is reported to be interested in the vacant Economics Department, while Pfister may want to leave the Defence Department.
Economiesuisse president Silvan Wildhaber and FDP co-president Benjamin Mühlemann have opposed a move by Jans to the Economics Department.
The seven-member Federal Council decides department assignments in an informal meeting, and ministers can be outvoted.
Jans would have served three years before a move, while a change by Pfister at the end of the year would come after 1.75 years.
- Who
- Beat Jans and Martin Pfister, members of Switzerland’s Federal Council, may seek department changes.
- What
- Jans may seek the Economics Department, and Pfister may also want to change departments.
- When
- The debate was reported on 13 October 2026, two months before a Federal Council election.
- Where
- Switzerland’s Federal Council.
- Why
- The article says the Justice and Defence departments are unpopular because of limited room for action and difficult issues.
Supporters of Beat Jans moving to the Economics Department
Opponents of the move
Department assignment
Supporters of Beat Jans moving to the Economics Department
Jans is reported to be interested in the vacant Economics Department.
Opponents of the move
Economiesuisse president Silvan Wildhaber and FDP co-president Benjamin Mühlemann oppose a move by Jans.
Adolf Ogi moved from the Transport and Energy Department to the Defence Department.
The Federal Council assigned Simonetta Sommaruga the Justice Department.
Elisabeth Baume-Schneider left the Justice Department after one year, according to the article.
SRF reported debate about possible department changes by Beat Jans and Martin Pfister.
- Jans
- Possible move to the Economics Department
- Pfister
- Possible move from the Defence Department
- Department assignments
- Decided by the seven Federal Council members in an informal meeting
- Jans’s possible tenure before a move
- Three years
- Pfister’s possible tenure before a move
- 1.75 years at the end of the year
What people are saying
the WBF must remain in bourgeois hands
Sources
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