Martin Pfister from Zug elected as Federal Councillor

On Wednesday morning, Martin Pfister from the canton of Zug was elected to the Federal Council as the successor of Viola Amherd, who announced her resignation from the Federal Council at the end of March. 

At 8 am on Wednesday morning, 12th March 2025, National Council President Maja Riniker rang the bell to start the procedure in the National Council chamber of the Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) in Bern to elect a new Federal Councillor (Bundesrat). Before the ballot papers were distributed, however, Viola Amherd, (Mitte (Centre) party, Valais), the retiring Federal Councillor, said farewell to the National Assembly and gave a speech.
 
The names of National Councillor Markus Ritter (St. Gallen), National Councillor and President of the influential Farmers' Association, and Zug Cantonal Councillor (Kantonsrat) and Zug Health Director Martin Pfister were officially on the ticket of the Mitte (Centre) Party. 

The voting procedure is as follows:
Members of Parliament do not have to follow the proposals of the parliamentary groups when voting. According to the Federal Constitution, all ‘Swiss citizens who are eligible for election as members of the National Council’ are theoretically eligible. But an appropriate representation of the country's regions and language areas should be taken into account.

The person who receives an absolute majority of votes, i.e. one vote more than half of all valid votes, is elected. If this does not happen in the first ballot, the following applies:
Any person may theoretically be elected In the first two ballots. Anyone who receives fewer than ten votes after two ballots is eliminated as a candidate. No new candidates can be proposed from the third ballot onwards. This means that only those persons who have already received votes in the first two ballots are eligible for election.

If each of the candidates has received more than ten votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is also eliminated from the third ballot. This procedure is repeated until a candidate achieves an absolute majority and is thereby elected as the next member of the Federal Council.
 

Martin Pfister from Zug has been elected to the Federal Council        Photo:  from video: TeleZüri / CH Media
Martin Pfister poses with the delegation from Zug in the Federal Palace    
Martin Pfister and his wife Cacilda     Photos: Stefan Kaiser
The unelected Federal Council candidate Markus Ritter, National Councillor and President of the Swiss Farmers' Union         Photo: Annette Boutellier 
Location of the new Federal Ministers           Image: Zuger Zeitung

In the first ballot in the election of the replacement for Viola Amherd, 245 ballot papers were received, and were all validly completed. The absolute majority was therefore 123.

Martin Pfister, from the Mitte party Zug received 122 votes, and Markus Ritter, Mitte party St Gallen received 105. Various other candidates received 18 votes.

None of the candidates thereby achieved an absolute majority in the first round of voting. But the Zug cantonal councillor Martin Pfister was ahead, and was only one vote short of an absolute majority. There was therefore a second ballot.

In the second round of voting, Martin Pfister received 134 votes, while his opponent Markus Ritter received 110 votes. The absolute majority was again 123 votes, as all 245 ballot papers distributed were correctly completed and returned. 

Martin Pfister had thereby been elected as a Federal Councillor!
 

Central Switzerland thereby has a Federal Councillor again. The newly-elected Federal Councillor Martin Pfister was then brought into the Parliament. Up to now, he has only known the Federal Parliament as a private individual. But Martin Pfister was brought into the National Council (Nationalrat) chamber from a side room to applause, to accept his election. 

New Federal Councillor Martin Pfister addressed the parliament
Following his election, Martin Pfister took to the lectern in the National Council chamber, and greeted the Parliament in all three national languages.

‘Barracks are more familiar to me than the Federal Palace; but I now feel at home in both worlds,’ he said, repeating a sentence from his election campaign. “I am grateful and pleased that I have got to know the Federal Palace better.” 

‘My place is now in the Federal Council,’ he added. This work is important for the country's politics. He thanked Parliament for its great trust and his opponent Markus Ritter for his fair election campaign. At the same time, he pointed out that his election also represents a great vote of confidence in the canton of Zug and Central Switzerland.

‘The centre is my political programme’, added Martin Pfister. This can be seen, for example, in the fact that in addition to ecology, the economy and society in general are at the centre of his politics. ‘Politics is always about people.’

Martin Pfister finally concluded his speech in three national languages by stating that he was very happy to declare his ‘acceptance of the election’. This means that, shortly after 9.15 am, it was already clear that Martin Pfister has become Switzerland's 123rd Federal Councillor. 

The centrist politician will succeed Viola Amherd on 1st April. To celebrate, he later played a trombone serenade on the Bundesplatz together with his carnival band Snäfuu.

Brazil must wait
The Pfister family had planned a trip to Brazil, the home country of Pfister's wife Cacilda, in the summer. This will now come to nothing. 

Markus Ritter announces his resignation in 2028
After the second round of voting, it was clear that the canton of St.Gallen would still only be represented on the Federal Council by Karin Keller-Sutter. 

What happens next for Markus Ritter? He had already told the Zuger Zeitung newspaper on Monday that he will remain a National Councillor and President of the Farmers' Union, and will continue his work as usual. The 57-year-old has already mapped out his future: he will run again in the National Council elections in 2027, but will then relinquish the presidency of the Farmers' Union in 2028 and step down from the National Council at the same time. 

‘I'm delighted for Martin,’ said Markus Ritter during an appearance in front of the media. He seems composed, even if there was at least a hint of disappointment in his eyes. ‘I would have loved to have done it,’ says the National Councillor. He thanked his family, who have always supported his candidature.

He had received a lot of encouragement in the run-up. But there are certainly also one or two people who are now breathing a sigh of relief that he will remain President of the Farmers' Union. And that's because it means he can continue his ‘valuable work’.

Zug has been waiting quite a while
Elections to the Federal Council are always about the origin of the candidates. Today, the parliamentarians in the Federal Palace had to decide in favour of either the canton of Zug or the canton of St.Gallen. With the election of Martin Pfister, a 40-year wait will come to an end for the Central Switzerland canton.

The Canton of Zug congratulated Martin Pfister and announces an election celebration
‘This is a historic moment for the canton of Zug,’ announced Cantonal Governor (Landammann)Andreas Hostettler in a press release. It has been over half a century since Zug last had a Federal Councillor, and this will be celebrated on 20th March in Martin Pfister’s home town of Baar.

The celebration will begin with the arrival of the special train at 2.15 pm. A festive procession will lead from Baar railway station to the Marktgasse school square, where the people of Zug will celebrate their new Federal Councillor, and music and refreshments will be provided. The full programme of events will be published shortly.

The by-election for Pfister's seat on the cantonal government will take place on 15th June at the earliest.