Between Bern and the cantons, Switzerland’s political transfer market is open

The football transfer market may have closed for the summer, but Switzerland’s political market is only getting started. With federal elections a year away and several cantonal votes lined up, elected officials are moving between the federal parliament in Bern and their cantons.

Laurent Favre surprised everyone this week by announcing his resignation from the Neuchâtel State Council. He made the announcement just a year and a half after his re-election, presenting it as the end of a cycle and leaving with a record he considers positive.

Favre is not even halfway through the mandate for which voters re-elected him. But after seven years on the National Council and 12 years in a cantonal executive, he says he has given enough.

The article compares his departure to “doing a Hodgers,” a reference to the movement of cantonal executive councillors toward the federal parliament. It also cautions against the “Sesselkleber,” a German term for politicians who cling to their seats.