New president and government members elected in Switzerland

In Switzerland, a new president has been elected, and the country’s government for the next four years has been formed.

As reported by Reuters, current Defense Minister Viola Amherd will take over as president in January, succeeding Alain Berset in this important role, which rotates among the country’s cabinet members on an annual basis.

The country’s parliament also elected Beat Jans to the seven-member cabinet to replace Berset, who has opted to retire at the end of the year.

Four-year terms were granted to other cross-party cabinet members who were re-elected.

The balance of power in Switzerland will remain unchanged following the rightward shift in the October general election, as Jans is a member of the same center-left Social Democratic Party as Bercet.

The Social Democratic Party re-elected Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider to the Federal Council.

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis and Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, both members of the center-right Free Liberals, remain in their positions.

In the coalition, the incoming president, Amherd, represents the Center Party.

Balthasar Glattli, the chairman of the Swiss Green Party, resigned earlier this month following the party’s poor performance in the October elections.

The right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) won the most recent parliamentary elections in Switzerland, conducted in October, with one of the best successes in the party’s history.