Swiss Review 1/2021

Swiss Review / February 2021 / No.1 31 No turns to yes SVP doyen and former Federal Councillor Christoph Blocherwill receive a 1.1-million-franc pension. After being ousted from the Federal Council in 2007, the billionaire publicly declared that he would not draw his ministerial pension entitlement. But he made a U-turn in July 2020 by demanding a backdated pensionworth 2.7million. The gov- ernment has nowdecided to pay him1.1million francs – and do everything in its power to prevent similar episodes in future. (MUL) Serious allegations against Darius Rochebin Star journalist Darius Rochebin featured in the last issue of “Swiss Review”. However, serious allegations were made against himshortly afterwewent to press. According to the newspaper “Le Temps”, employees at French-language Swiss broadcaster RTS have made sexual harassment com- plaints against a number of executives. One of those ac- cused is Darius Rochebin. Gilles Marchand, director gen- eral of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and previously head of RTS until 2017, admittedmistakes and called for an urgent investigation. We await further details. (MUL) The CVP remove their Christian label The Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP) are ditch- ing the “C”, having decided in November that their new name will be “The Centre” from 2021 onwards. They say that removing the adjective “Christian” from their name will make it easier to appeal to urban voters in the middle of the political spectrum. The CVP, whose conservative and Catholic origins date back to the 19th century, have been represented in the Federal Council since 1891. (MUL) The BDP merge with the CVP In future, Swiss politics will have one party less. The Con- servative Democratic Party (BDP), founded in 2008, will also be part of “The Centre”. That is to say, it is merging with the CVP. Both parties have stood shoulder to shoul- der at federal level in recent years. The CVP are strongest in Catholic areas of the country, while the BDP performs best in the cantons of Berne and Grisons. (MUL) “Marriage for all” becomes a reality Switzerland has paved the way for same-sex marriage. In December, the Council of States ratified the National Coun- cil’s decision to allow same-sex couples to tie the knot. Les- bian couples wanting to start a family will also be able to receive sperm donations. (MUL) Livia Leu Livia Leu has the hardest job in Swiss diplomacy. The Federal Coun- cil has appointed her as the newchief negotiator for further talkswith the EU on the Swiss-EU framework agreement. Leu has a monumen- tal task ahead of her – a nut that was too hard to crack for her prede- cessors. However, this 59-year-old leading diplomat has overcome other notable challenges during her long career. In 2008, the then For- eignMinisterMicheline Calmy-Rey appointed Leu the newSwiss am- bassador to Iran – making her the first-ever female head of a foreign diplomatic mission in Tehran. Leu also represented US interests in Iran during her time in this role (Iran and the USA have had no for- mal diplomatic relations since 1980). For example, she helped to se- cure the release of three young American tourists who had been held at the notorious Evin prison for two years on suspicion of spying. After almost five years in Iran, Leu returned with her family to Berne, where she subsequently headed the Bilateral Economic Rela- tions Division within the Federal Administration. She then took on the prestigious role of Swiss ambassador to France in 2018, before be- ing reassigned to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs by Fed- eral Councillor Ignazio Cassis last autumn. Now the government is pinning its hopes on Leu to break the Swiss-EU logjam. Speaking to themedia for the first time in her newpost, she said that shewas “look- ing forward to this big challenge”. On how much bargaining scope therewas in Brussels, Leu – ever the diplomat – gave little away to jour- nalists. But she did say that “creative solutions”were needed. In other words? “More than just a plan A or a plan B.” THEODORA PETER Top Pick News