Swiss voters this weekend elect a parliament that could reshape Switzerland’s executive branch at a time when key concerns include migration, rising healthcare costs and climate change, which has shrunk the country's Alpine glaciers. Final ballots will be collected Sunday morning after the vast majority of Swiss made their choices by mail-in voting. Up for grabs are both houses of parliament.
The four biggest parties are represented on the council, and they are the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the Socialists, the free-market Liberals — each with two seats — and the Center party, with one. Once chosen by parliament, council members — known colloquially as “department chiefs” — can stay in office for life, or as long as they want. So the council's composition rarely changes a lot: Berset's departure means his seat will be up for grabs among his Socialist siblings.