Star on the rise: rarely has a Swiss politician gone through such a gruelling first few months in office as Federal Councillor and Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. And rarely has one risen from relative national obscurity--and then exile status--to immense popularity so quickly or so successfully. Swiss News caught up with a very frank Widmer-Schlumpf at a recent meeting in Zurich.
| Auteur | Heddema, Renske |
| Fonction | POLITICS - Cover story |
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Agreed, Widmer-Schlumpf hit the home run of political home runs.
In a Zurich University lecture hall, some 200 women from the Zurcher Frauenzentrale (Women's Association) have assembled. An atmosphere of solidarity flows throughout the crowd. The lecture they've gathered to hear will be the highlight of the meeting. They are waiting for Widmer-Schlumpf to tell them how she went from a local judge in Graubunden to the highest office in the country.
In her introductory remarks, Women's Association president Irene Meier recalls the outcast position Widmer-Schlumpf occupied at the beginning of 2008, and contrasts it to the unprecedented praise the federal councillor has garnered during recent months from fellow politicians and the national media alike. A real "Widmer-Schlumpfitis", as Meier calls it--an immense rise in popularity--has swept the country. The crowd roars its applause.
Among friends
One would expect the keynote speaker to make a grand appearance at this moment. Widmer-Schlumpf, however, sits quietly in the first row, nodding to those around her, waiting for her turn.
After the applause has finally faded, the 52-year-old federal councillor takes the floor. In real life, she is even more fragile than she appears on TV. It's clear she is enjoying the environment of her alma mater, and being in the company of so many female supporters.
Her openness with the audience is astounding, as if she were having tea with a small group of five friends instead of giving a speech in a packed lecture hall. Indeed, to underpin the intimacy, she speaks in Swiss German, instead of High German, which is generally always used for political addresses and university lectures.
Relaxed and full of good humour, she thanks the audience for contributing to the enormous support she received when women's organisations across all party lines joined forces in a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Bern in April 2008.
Women (as well as men), young and old were protesting that a federal councillor--elected according to democratic rules--was subsequently ejected by her own party, the Swiss People's Party (SVP), for accepting the position. Swiss democracy was at stake.
"There was an old lady who would not have dreamt of ever joining a demonstration," Widmer-Schlumpf recalls a supporter telling her. "Yet she came all the way to Bern to do just that."
Not everyone shared her political views, but they were clearly alarmed by the SVP's act of revenge.
Without reservation, she then goes on to tell the women how difficult...
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