Addor or amoos, that was the question

In Thun, the delegates of the Garanto customs union chose a new president after two years of vacancy. There were two controversial Valais, one right and a left. The right was chosen – a small sensation.

The most important customs managers made their attention. Pascal Lüthi was there, head of the Federal Office of Customs and border security. Also Cedric Doleyres, boss operations, the HR chief and other BAZG sizes. He came to shake his hand to shake the new president, said Lüthi in an interview.

The new president of the Customs Union Garanto. Jean-Luc Addor (61, SVP) and Emmanuel Amoos (45, SP) faced the election before the congress in Thun. The right National Council of the SVP or Left National Council from the SP. Both from the Unterwallis, both of them French mother tongue. The delegates of the customs union gave the answer on Friday afternoon: They chose the SVP representative to their top with 19 to 11 votes.

Addor was quite touched. « It’s almost a bit historical, » he said in a conversation. « And a great responsibility. » The starting point was explosive. An SVP National Council at the head of a union?

The lawyer Addor, who is also known as a controversial party, praised the 32 delegates as a majority procurement for the interests of customs personnel. He named the stocks, equipment, security and working conditions as important points. The SP support alone is not enough to get improvements, says Addor, alluding to the last presidents, who all came from the SP. He also promised SVP support for the concerns of the staff – at least he will work for it.

It is clear to him, according to Addor: « Digitization and reforms must not be done at the expense of efficiency and on the personnel. » Not everyone believed that. A delegate described him in view of earlier positions and his consent to austerity measures as « wolf in sheep’s clothing ». Addor had given in advance, border security and fighting fraud as well as “migration control” were in the foreground for him. Critical voices against Addor tends to come from the customs staff, less of the border guard.