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Brilliantly elected: Federal Councilor Albert Rösti surrounded by his family. In the picture also mother Hanni Rösti and wife Theres.
Sermin Fakipolitical chief
He always wanted it, now he’s got it: On January 1, neo-Federal Councilor Albert Rösti (55) will move into the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK).
That’s why the alarm bells are ringing among leftists and climate protectors – their worst fears have come true, wrote the Greens, for example. The climate youth even speaks of “shame” and “crime”.
SVP is happy too early
The SVP, on the other hand, is more than satisfied. “This change finally stops the blind flight in energy policy, which is characterized by a completely irresponsible left-green ideology,” she says jubilantly.
If she doesn’t get excited too soon. Because just in the energy dossier there will be a first fight between Rösti and SVP. Switzerland is expected to vote on the indirect counter-proposal to the glacier initiative on June 18th. And here Rösti has to change position.
Bending like Nina Burri
In order to take the wind out of the sails of the popular referendum that wants to ban fossil fuels by 2050, Parliament has decided on various goals and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The SVP took the referendum – in the committee: energy politician Albert Rösti. In the parliamentary debate, he warned that the net zero target would lead to impoverishment of the population.
As the new environment and energy minister, however, he now has to fight for the law and thus against his party. He is well advised to do so with conviction. The Greens and Leftists will mercilessly exploit a half-assed campaign to denounce him as “Oilbert”.
Rösti will quickly have to bend more than snake woman Nina Burri (45) can.
Defender of “left-leaning SRG propaganda”
The same threatens him in 2024 in media politics. Rösti is still Vice-President of the Halving Initiative Committee. This wants the Serafe contribution to be reduced to 200 francs. It is a frontal attack on the SRG, which, according to the SVP, makes “notoriously left-leaning propaganda”.
Here, too, Media Minister Rösti will have to represent the position of the government and parliament: It is not to be expected that a Federal Council, in which the language minorities of Ticino and French-speaking Switzerland now have a majority, wants to get to the bottom of the SRG. Here, too, Rösti will have to fight against his personal opinion for the SRG and its “notoriously left-leaning propaganda”.
It will be exciting to see how he manages this balancing act.