One of the most powerful SP politicians resigns
Exclusive: One of the most powerful SP politicians resigns
After twenty years as a National Council, one of the most formative figures in the SP from politics says goodbye. Their highlights were the election of Blocher and the solar turn. The National Council says where it still sees action.
He is the prototype of a « Homo Politicus », a political person who plays an active role in society and in public communication: Roger Nordmann, National Council (2004 to 2025), SP parliamentary group leader (2015 to 2023) and triple author.
On October 4, 2023, SP National Councilor Roger Nordmann announced his Federal Council candidacy for the successor of the retiring Alain Berset. But Beat Jans was then elected.
He sees himself as a « homo politicus », as he emphasizes. What drives him: « I want to find political solutions for problems, wants to create good compromises. »
He will no longer do that in politics. After twenty years as a National Council and 82 ordinary sessions, the Vaud resigned as of March 20. He says goodbye to the economy, continues his mandates on the board of directors and in clubs and becomes an independent consultant.
Christoph Blocher shaped Nordmann's first phase in Bern
Nordmann looks back on an eventful time in Bundesbern. His start took place a year after the early term of Christoph Blocher as a Federal Council. For four years, the « gang of four », as the SP called the SVP-FDP majority, dominated with Blocher, Samuel Schmid (both SVP, Schmid went to the BDP in 2008), Hans-Rudolf Merz and Pascal Couchepin (both FDP).
As a National Council, he had communicatively prepared the soil for its 2007 consumption with his criticism of Blocher, says Nordmann. « Back then Blocher showed approaches of the same behavior as Donald Trump has today – autocratic tendencies and self -centeredness. » Nordmann did not play a role in the deselection plan. On December 11, 2007, on the day before Blocher's voting, he brought the idea of choosing Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, but he found that this plan had existed for months.
Fukushima made his book “atomic and oil-free” a hit
Nordmann, shortly before Fukushima, published the book “Atomic and Oil-free into the future” in French in 2010. A month after Fukushima it appeared in German – and became a hit. In it he presented concrete projects for the energy policy turn.
With the nuclear disaster from Fukushima on March 11, 2011, Nordmann experienced a turning point in his personal field, energy policy. With the help of the first majority of women in the Federal Council, Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard implemented energy transition and exit from nuclear power.
In 2019 he published the book “Sun for Climate Protection” for the solar turn. With “climate protection and energy safety” 2023, the third book in his small series, Nordmann outlines how Switzerland can secure sufficient electricity in winter.
Roger Nordmann 2022 as SP parliamentary group leader with the Federal Council candidates Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (left) and Eva Herzog (right).
Solar turning and energetic building renovation as successes
Nordmann describes the solar turnaround and faster energetic renovation of buildings as two of his main political works. « Solar energy delivered less than 0.1 percent of electricity than I became a national council, » he says. « Today it comprises twelve percent of electricity generation. »
It was also he who smithed the compromise for the introduction of the CO2-Tax for the energetic renovation of buildings. He also achieved through the Climate Protection Act that homeowners were available to house owners for ten years each for the replacement of their heating. This is the point, says Nordmann, but finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter is now attacking.
In one point, however, Nordmann states self -critically, he failed: « No staggered schedule was agreed to switch off the nuclear power plants. »
On October 4, 2023, Roger Nordmann then took the step as the Federal Council candidate for the successor of Alain Berset. He achieved a respectable success in the SP parliamentary group and lost in the race for second ticket places next to Beat Jans compared to Jon Pult in the eighth ballot with 22:27 votes.
Nordmann still employs the composition of the government. « The Swiss government system seems to me to reach limits, » he says. The parliament does not show a clear line when the government was appointed. It has a strong tendency to « always choose the weakest ».
That was one of the reasons why Roger Nordmann intervened in the background in the replacement election for Viola Amherd in the background: « I was in close contact with Christophe Darbellay for a candidate for the Federal Council because I did not want the middle to make us only one candidate. »
Darbellay was a central figure in Blocher's deselection in 2007. The Valais State Council personally told him that « he will run, » emphasizes Nordmann.
But he experienced a disappointment. Darbellay canceled. « It was incomprehensible to me, » says Nordmann. He now focuses on a last big appearance: on Monday he presented detailed suggestions for banking regulation.
SP National Councilor Roger Nordmann 2014 with Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard after the energy debate in the winter session.
