Might Hegglin's lack of proficiency in English lessen his chances

When Peter Hegglin, one of four CVP candidates hoping to be chosen to stand for election to the Federal Council later this year appeared with the other three at a question-and-answer session in Bern recently, he was asked in German about the ongoing debate over the purchase of fighter jets for the Swiss air force. When he replied it should be possible, bearing in mind the CHF 5 billion defence budget, Myrian Kobler-Betancourt, a CVP member from the canton of Rural Basel (BL) and clearly a supporter of rival candidate Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, also of BL, then asked him, unexpectedly, if he could express that in English, he had some difficulty, Schneider-Schneiter having to assist.

It came as somewhat of a surprise to many that Hegglin, a former director of finance in a place like Zug, of all places, had such linguistic problems.

It was thought the asking of this question to Hegglin may have been a trap in disguise set up on the part of the supporters of Schneider-Schneiter to make the Zug candidate appear less suitable for a seat on the Federal Council than the other three candidates. However, Kobler-Betancourt, a translator from Ecuador who is now a Swiss citizen and seeking a place in the BL cantonal parliament, denied she had been asked in advance to do so.

Speaking after the session, Kobler- Betancourt reiterated she had not been under any pressure to ask Hegglin this question, though the response did show his lack of linguistic competence.

Kobler-Betancourt said it had been important to find out whether Hegglin could speak English. She felt it was not appropriate for a member of the Federal Council, representing Switzerland as they do and having to talk on economic and political matters to an international audience, not to be able to speak English. “It is just not on,” she said.

For her part, Brigitte Müller-Kaderli the chairwoman of the BL CVP party, was annoyed that a member of her party present should have asked such a pert question and apologised to Hegglin for any embarrassment it may have caused him. She also reprimanded Kobler-Betancourt for having done so. Schneider-Schneiter felt that asking such a question was not fair and counter-productive, which is why she had interrupted to spare Hegglin further embarrassment. She mentioned how she could speak two or three foreign languages, though not perfectly. In fact she can speak both English and French very well and make herself understood in Italian. Of the other two CVP candidates hoping to be chosen to stand for a seat in the Federal Council, Viola Amherd of the canton of Wallis is bilingual in French and German as well as being able to converse in English and Italian, while Heidi Z’graggen of the canton of Uri speaks both English and French and understands Italian well.

Nevertheless, Hegglin maintained he could make himself understood abroad. “It is not that one uses specialist vocabulary in everyday language,” he said, adding that, in everyday matters he dealt with, he had little need for English. However, he did say that, if he knew in advance he would be asked on more specialist matters, he would ensure he looked up the appropriate terms beforehand. As to other languages, he pointed out he had done his apprenticeship in French-speaking Lausanne. He admitted not being able to speak Italian but went on to say that it was quite normal in Switzerland for those involved in debates to speak their mother tongue as other participants did the same, even though the languages were different, understanding a foreign language being easier than speaking it.

It may be some consolation for Hegglin to recall that, when French-speaking Guy Parmelin of the SVP party was a candidate for election to the Federal Council in 2015, he said, “I can English understand,” and was still elected.