GENEVA - Switzerland’s new president Alain Berset pledged to steer one of Europe’s major economies through the inflation and energy crises triggered by the war in Ukraine, as he took office on Sunday.
“First there was the pandemic, which came with a lot of suffering and daily difficulties at home, at school, at work and during our time off. Besides Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic recovery and the economic and energy turmoil in Europe, Switzerland must also work on smoothing strained ties with the surrounding European Union in 2023.
Seats in the seven-member Federal Council government are shared among the main political parties under a tacit decades-old agreement, known as “the magic formula”, which generally remains unaffected by power shifts in parliament but reflects the spirit of compromise that characterises Swiss democracy.