Swiss President Guy Parmelin Will Leave the Federal Council at the End of 2026, Saying the Passion Has Faded

Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year and runs the economics ministry, told reporters in Bern on Friday 2 October that he will leave the seven-member Federal Council when 2026 ends. The announcement, reported by Swissinfo, brings to a close eleven years in government for a member of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, the SVP.

What he said

Parmelin gave a plain reason. According to Swissinfo, he said the passion for the job is no longer as strong as it was at the start, and that he wanted to make way for new blood in what he called times of great uncertainty. He also reached for a blunt line about indispensability: "You have to make a decision, and the graveyard is full of people who thought they were indispensable."

He denied that his health was behind the decision, despite earlier speculation about back problems. The departure is therefore a political and personal choice rather than a forced exit, and it comes while he still holds the presidency, a post that rotates among the seven councillors each year.

A long run in two departments

Parmelin joined the government in December 2015 and ran the defence ministry until 2019, then moved to economics, where he has stayed. He has held the presidency twice, in 2021 and again this year. Swissinfo lists among his achievements the free-trade agreements with India and with the Mercosur bloc, and he led the economics portfolio through the pandemic. His first presidency in 2021 was also the year the government abandoned the framework agreement with the European Union.