Annual Report 2020

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Focus on the Federal Council
First study on the institution and all living members

POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION

The Federal Council: Extremely popular, hardly researched

Until now, hardly any research has been done on the Federal Council. With his analysis of the Federal Council entitled “The Federal Council. The Swiss Government”, Adrian Vatter, Professor of Swiss Politics at the Institute of Political Science, has now closed an important research gap.

 

The Federal Council as a political institution has never been scrutinized more closely until now. “In part because it’s extremely difficult to get information on precisely what’s happening in the Federal Council chamber,” explains Adrian Vatter, Professor of Political Science. Sitting federal councillors are unwilling to provide any details at all and even former federal councillors have to have a great deal of trust in somebody before they would ever disclose anything that happened in the Federal Council chamber. “That also has something to do with paradigms in social science,” says Vatter. It was characterized by the history of “great men” until the middle of the 20th century but starting in the 1960s, the focus shifted toward social structures and the behavior of the general population. There’s been a bit of a revival in the past five to ten years, however, and the spotlight is shifting back to the political elite. “There’s been a realization that the decisions of individuals – such as those made by individual federal councillors – are indeed quite relevant,” explains the political scientist.

Institutions facing challenges

“The polarization of the multi-party system as well as the way politics are portrayed in media coverage and the personalization of politics demand a great deal from the political system and its representatives – not to mention the pandemic, which has led to an extreme shift in responsibilities and power structures,” explains Vatter. According to him, Switzerland is characterized by a strong division of power like no other country. “Of the three institutions – the Council of States, the National Council and the Federal Council – it’s the Federal Council that holds the most power.” After all: “The Federal Council is involved in every phase of a political transaction – from the initiation of draft bills to the drafting of ordinances – which makes it extremely influential,” says Vatter. Plus, the fact that federal councillors can appoint people to key positions in the department and in federal agencies also lends them a great deal of influence. The Council of States is quite clearly the stronger and more influential of the two chambers since it is the first to discuss more matters and takes a more united stance on them. “It’s a bit of a paradox that the chamber that gets the most attention in the media – the National Council – is actually the one with the least amount of influence,” he points out.

The Federal Council does not function equally well regardless of its composition, in part because of the personality traits of individual members. Photo: Official photo of the 2020 Federal Council. (© Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei)

Individual federal councillors are popular, the Federal Council as a whole draws criticism

“The Federal Council has been quite anachronistic for some time now,” explains Vatter. Back in the 19th century, there were demands for a larger number of federal councillors and that the office of the President be strengthened. However, the Federal Council is also the institution that symbolizes the federal state as a whole and stands above the partisan squabbling that occasionally prevails in Parliament. “That’s probably one contributing factor behind the high level of public confidence in the Federal Council and its enormous popularity,” says Vatter. “Collegial team players who can work well together are capable of engendering a high level of trust in the institution as a whole.” Representatives with an extremely headstrong approach or with highly charismatic personalities often score worse in demographic surveys. In Vatter’s opinion, “The Federal Council only has space for one alpha dog.” If several of them only have their sights set on their own political agenda, however, the institution’s reputation suffers as a result.

Reforms needed

In his publication, Vatter also addresses the fact that, unlike the two chambers of Parliament, the Federal Council is the only institution at the national level that has not undergone any fundamental reform to date. “The demands placed on the Federal Council have increased enormously, however, which is why I’m convinced that a reform needs to be discussed,” explains Vatter.

SIX PERSONALITY PROFILES

What makes the federal councillors tick

Which personality type fits well in a collegial system of government and which are less suitable? Adrian Vatter not only examined the Federal Council as an institution, but also its individual members. For the study, he prepared personality, social and media profiles of the 24 federal councillors that are still alive and broke them down into six different personality types. You can see the results in the video at the top of this page.
The Regent: Micheline Calmy-Rey © Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei
The Administrator: Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf © Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei
The Dutybound: Alphons Egli © Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei
The Consociational Politician: Samuel Schmid © Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei
The Charismatic: Doris Leuthard © Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei
The Intellectual: Moritz Leuenberger © Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei

Adrian Vatter: The Federal Council. The Swiss Government (2020)

This new reference work on the Federal Council is the first-ever political science analysis of the Swiss government. It examines the specific features of the Swiss executive branch and politics from a social science perspective. In his book, Adrian Vatter analyzes the Federal Council’s role in and influence on the Swiss political system as well as its political composition over the years. He explores the social backgrounds and personality profiles of the federal councillors, looks at how the Federal Council is organized and carries out its governmental responsibilities, and analyzes the many different models of governmental reform to ascertain their repercussions. Vatter’s portrayal and analysis of the Federal Council through the lens of political science is the first to illuminate the workings of the Swiss government in such breadth and depth. Adrian Vatter: The Federal Council. The Swiss Government | NZZ Libro (nzz-libro.ch)

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