Criticism of the President of the Swiss Confederation
The anger about Alain Berset's Sunday interview radiates far beyond Europe. But not in French-speaking Switzerland, where there is a great deal of understanding for the president. Berset himself is now trying to explain himself. (Basler Zeitung, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, p. 3)
He has said it before, a little more than a week ago. "L'ivresse de la guerre me préoccupe beaucoup," was the title of a long interview in "Le Temps," page 
in which President Alain Berset spoke at length about the war in Ukraine and Switzerland's role. "The war frenzy concerns me a lot." Berset elaborated in the interview that he is concerned about the warlike climate that currently prevails all over the world, including in Switzerland. "One has the impression that some actors, even former pacifists, are carried away as if by the frenzy of war."
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In an interview with "Le Temps" page , Alain Berset explains why Switzerland should not throw everything overboard in a period of profound change. He talks about Neutrality and the presidency of the Security Council that he will hold in May.
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The interview appeared and nothing happened.
Then, a week later, another interview with Berset, this time in the "NZZ am Sonntag". "I sense a war frenzy in certain circles today," was the title. Berset explained that the current climate reminded him of the climate at the beginning of the First World War. "The prevailing opinion at the time was that there were so many tensions and frustrations that this could only be discharged in a war." The interview appeared, and it happened: all at the same time.
A Shitstorm
The shitstorm began in the social media, on Twitter. "I feel more and more foreign in my own country," commented poet Jürg Halter, and received a lot of encouragement for it. It went on from there. The full broadside for Berset: the bourgeois party leaders in the "Tagesschau" (except the SVP, which liked the interview), the "Financial Times", Rai Uno. "I am shocked," said FDP president Thierry Burkart. "He talks about war frenzy, but he doesn't mean Russia, which attacked a sovereign country, but the Western states. This is anything but neutral and damages the reputation of our country."
Even his own co-party president publicly criticized Berset. "I share Alain Berset's desire for an end to the bloodshed, but neither his analysis nor the conclusions," said Cédric Wermuth in an interview with the NZZ.
"The timing was decisive for the massive criticism," believes Gerhard Pfister, the president of the center. First the discussions about the arms deliveries in parliament, then on Saturday the peace demonstration on the Bundesplatz with people like SVP National Councilor Andreas Glarner or Nicolas Rimoldi from the measures critics of Mass-voll, who accuse the bourgeois parties of "warmongering." "And then Alain Berset comes on Sunday with almost the same accusation, completely exaggerated and unaddressed," says Pfister, who feels that he is included by "certain circles" and explains his anger that way.
Pfister is asking the same question as many of his fellow parliamentarians – especially in the SP: Why is Berset doing this?
"I have no idea why the President of the Swiss Confederation is making such an analysis without need," says SP security politician Franziska Roth. "I am dismayed. I have no understanding that countries of the Western world, which defend our values – together with Ukraine – should be put before the head in such a way." Foreign policy expert Fabian Molina adds, "I can't understand his choice of words or the conclusion." And Priska Seiler-Graf, also of the SP, says: "I assume he had a certain intention. But what this consists of is not clear to me, either in terms of content or politically. It's also unclear to me why he is so confrontational with the party and the majority of the parliamentary group."
Is he actually going to do that?
An icon of Swiss social democracy has absolutely no sympathy for the incomprehension of many Swiss-German SP members: Jean Ziegler. "The President of the Confederation is being put on trial, which he does not deserve," says the world-renowned sociologist and former SP National Councilor. With his statements, Berset "absolutely credibly embodies a traditional pacifist, anti-militarist basic attitude, which is still strong in the socialist movement today," says Ziegler, now 88 years old.
Jean Ziegler: "Completely Absurd"
It is true that many Social Democrats in German-speaking Switzerland are also pacifist, says Jean Ziegler. For historical reasons, however, the SP in French-speaking Switzerland is much more strongly characterized by "a socialist-libertarian pacifism".
It is possible that Berset's formulation of the "war frenzy" was a bit too polemical, says Ziegler. But if Alain Berset is now being accused of being a Putin interpreter because of this, then that is "completely absurd," says Ziegler. "Berset recognizes and names Putin for what he is: a mass murderer." At the same time, however, Berset is deeply rooted in traditional left-wing pacifism, as he knows from personal conversations with him, the last time in Geneva two weeks ago, Ziegler says. "Berset doesn't make opportunistic random statements; he's a high-profile intellectual guided by political convictions."
In addition, Berset's statements are in line with those of the entire Federal Council. The Federal Council rejects direct and indirect arms deliveries to Ukraine on the grounds of neutrality. At the same time, the Swiss UN ambassador had clearly stated on behalf of the entire Federal Council on February 8: "There is no neutrality in the case of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Other SP members from French-speaking Switzerland can also hardly understand the criticism of their German-speaking Swiss colleagues. "Alain Berset's words were very balanced," says Pierre-Alain Fridez, an SP national councilor from the Jura. The military significance of a few Swiss weapons is so marginal for the war in Ukraine that he cannot understand why many of his Swiss-German colleagues would soften their basic pacifist stance for this. The only explanation for him, he said, is the proximity of German-speaking Switzerland to Germany. "Apparently, German criticism of Swiss refusal on the weapons issue has had an effect," Fridez believes.
Berset wants to explain himself
The Röstigraben is not only evident in the different reception of the two interviews – but also in parliament. When the National Council voted last week on indirect arms deliveries to Ukraine, most Swiss-German SPers were in favor, most French SPers against.
Perhaps that is also the reason why Berset himself does not seem to have reckoned with the massive criticism. Now he wants to explain himself. He is apparently seeking a discussion with his biggest critics in the Federal Parliament and also gave this newspaper an interview yesterday at surprisingly short notice:
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