In mid-August, only one in two Swiss was satisfied or rather satisfied with the work of the Federal Council, according to a survey published Monday by Tamedia and 20 Minuten. This is 15 points less than at the end of 2021 (65%). The popularity of college members is also waning.
Health Minister Alain Berset remains the highest rated, with an average of 4.1 out of 6, compared to 4.33 in the previous poll. He is closely followed by Karin Keller-Sutter (4.05) and Viola Amherd (4.02), who remain relatively stable.
The federal advisers in charge of the energy dossier are losing their feathers: Guy Parmelin sees his score drop from 4.14 to 3.84, while that of Simonetta Sommaruga drops from 4.00 to 3.66. The Bernese is now overtaken by Ueli Maurer (3.81). As for Ignazio Cassis, his popularity does not benefit from his presidential year. He remains at the bottom of this ranking, with an average of 3.5.
A not-so-magical formula
The population is very divided on the future composition of the Federal Council. Only 18% want to continue with the current magic formula (2 UDC, 2 PS, 2 PLR, 1 Center).
But no other proposal receives more favorable opinions. A formula with six parties (2UDC, 1 PS, 1 PLR, 1 Center, 1 Green, 1 Green’liberal) is supported by 17% of the Swiss. The same goes for the variant which would see the PS give up a seat to the PVL, while 16% would like the PLR to give up a morocco in favor of the Greens.
The disenchantment also affects Parliament. In mid-August, only 46% of the population was satisfied or rather satisfied with the work of the Federal Chambers, compared to 56% at the end of December.
The representative poll was conducted online on August 15 and 16 by the LeeWas Institute in collaboration with 20 Minuten and Tamedia. 26,298 people from all over Switzerland took part, including 3,846 from French-speaking Switzerland. The margin of error is +/- 1.1 percentage points.