Polls & Research

President Merz is Least Liked Swiss Politician

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Swiss president Hans-Rudolf Merz ranks last in a popularity list of five prominent politicians, according to a poll by Isopublic published in Le Matin. 47 per cent of respondents hold a positive opinion of the president.

Since 1959, Switzerland has formed its government under a power-sharing agreement known as the "Magic Formula." The country’s four major political parties—the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the Social-Democratic Party of Switzerland (SPS), the Freethinking-Democratic Party of Switzerland (FDP) and the Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP)—are represented in the seven-post cabinet.

Presidents are elected by the Assembly for one-year terms from the pool of cabinet members. The president remains a member of the cabinet and does not hold any extra powers. FDP member Merz is the president for 2009, and also serves as finance minister.

Merz is currently in the midst of a political storm, following a surprise trip to Libya in mid-August, where he met with the African country’s autocratic leader, Muammar Gaddafi. The president apologized to Gaddafi for what he called the "unjustified" arrest of his son, Hannibal Gaddafi, and daughter-in-law, Aline Gaddafi, in Geneva last year on charges of abusing their domestic staff during a stay in the city in July 2008.

Gaddafi’s son and wife were released on bail only two days after the arrest. The incident caused a diplomatic spat between the two countries, and carried major economic consequences. Two Swiss businessmen were detained in Libya after this incident, and have not been allowed to leave the country yet.

On Sept. 23, Merz met with Gaddafi once more, this time in New York City on the sidelines of the annual United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting. Merz justified the meeting speaking of "Libya’s wish to develop bilateral international relations with mutual interest and mutual respect."

The new incident has prompted a national debate on Swiss relations with Libya and Merz has been called to step down by some media outlets and several members of the political establishment.

Polling Data

Do you have a positive or negative opinion of...? ("Positive" responses listed)

Economy minister Doris Leuthard	74%
Federal Council member Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf	72%
Foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey	56%
Defence and sport minister Ueli Maurer	55%
Transport, communications and environment minister Moritz Leuenberger	50%
President and finance minister Hans-Rudolf Merz	47%

Source: Isopublic / Le Matin
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,002 Swiss voters, conducted from Aug. 27 to Sept. 10, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.