Natalie Rickli has control of her image

Natalie Rickli has control of her image – this could cost her the Federal Council seat To become a Federal Councillor, the Zurich SVP health director must take a risk. Can she do it? Natalie Rickli is a master of self-marketing. She controls how she appears, how she acts. Every strand is perfectly styled, every word is perfectly emphasized. It seemed long ago that she was also planning her career this way. Everything seemed aimed at one goal: becoming a Federal Councillor. Joining the SVP with 20, the National Council with 30, and government responsibility in the Canton of Zurich in her early 40s. Rickli was seen as an overachiever in her party. What her education did not provide, she made up with diligence. Even burnout could not stop her. Now, after twenty years in politics, she has the chance to achieve the goal she is told: finally becoming a Federal Councillor. But for this, she would have to do something she has rarely done: give up control. The choice: decided When Natalie Rickli runs for an election, it is usually already considered decided for her. At least that's what one might think when looking at her past campaigns. In 2007 she was immediately elected to the cantonal council, only a few months later to the National Council in her first attempt. In her candidacy for the government in 2019, she was still relatively young for this task, but already a profiled parliamentarian in Bern. She was seen as a safe choice for her party. And indeed, she was elected immediately. One could conclude that she is so talented, popular, and successful that she can hardly lose an election. Or one views this situation as proof that she only runs for an election when she is sure she will win. Rickli is a strategist by profession. She was trained as a merchant, suitable for her party in the agricultural cooperative Fenaco, to which Landi also belongs. Then she furthered her education, became self-employed, and founded a communications agency. She advised others on how to appear publicly. Rickli's best work to date is probably that on herself. She has a changing image, but none that seem arbitrary. When she entered politics as a young woman and quickly entered the National Council, she presented herself as a party-loyal politician who relentlessly fights for her positions. She submitted over fifty motions to strengthen private media and received harsher penalties for sexual offenders and pedophiles. She herself once said she was "100 percent party-loyal". When she first ran for government, 100 percent of the surveyed SVP voters in a poll by the research institute Sotomo said they wanted to vote for her. For her opponent, SVP government member Ernst Stocker, it was only 88 percent. When Rickli communicated that she wanted to be in the Zurich government, she changed her appearance. Her word choice became more conciliatory, she formulated her positions in a way that appealed to a broader segment of the population. More security, who would be against it? Even her body language changed, the NZZ observed back then. She used to gesture almost uncontrollably with her arms as a young politician, but now she kept her hands calmly folded. She has polished everything. Although she joined the party at 20, there are no stories from her about youthful escapades like other politicians who started young. There are no party photos that would justify them; no revealing tweets that still stick to her. Instead, she is known for being dossier-oriented and knowledgeable: even on topics where she has little prior knowledge, she knows so much after a short time that even experts are surprised. Her carefully maintained perfection, which sometimes makes her seem aloof, does not detract from her popularity. She was elected to the cantonal government immediately in 2019 and confirmed four years later without problems. That she might fail at something – hardly anyone in public calculated this. If Rickli tries, Rickli succeeds. Failures during Corona Her performance record as a government member is at least interspersed with this. She became health director a few months before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. At first, Rickli appeared relaxed on the outside, as if she had everything under control – but an investigation report from the government later showed that she was overwhelmed by the crisis and the demands of the office. There was a lack of resources in the department for crisis management, and Rickli involved the rest of the government too late. Her attempt to achieve success by producing masks with her own machine failed. Finally, a crisis staff was deployed, which took over some of the tasks from her. When criticized, Rickli reacts as a government member witheringly. She deflects accusations by putting others in the crosshairs. During the pandemic, it was alternately private club operators, the Federal Council, or even the other government members who were to blame for what did not work out. When mask mandates were discussed in public transport, she publicly spoke in favor of them and pushed that the other government members were against them. For this violation of the principle of collegiality, the President of the Government, Silvia Steiner, publicly chided her. Even in the scandal about a heart surgeon at the University Hospital, she said that it was not her responsibility but that of the hospital – or her predecessor's. That she bore political responsibility did not make her smile. All this did not harm her support among the electorate. In the first elections after the pandemic, she was confirmed with the second-best result of the entire body, and for the upcoming elections in April, a very good re-election is considered certain. Rickli, who grew up as the daughter of a car body builder and a newspaper employee, is considered down-to-earth. When in election mode, she goes from pub to pub, visits brunches with farmers, delegate meetings in multi-purpose halls, section meetings in shooting houses. She answers questions, she exchanges with people. She appears friendly, turns to her voters, listens attentively. But her smile is always the same, her answers as well. Appearing down-to-earth is important in Switzerland to be elected to the government. The same applies to the reputation with National and Cantonal Councillors, doing good politics, having a strong track record. And she has this reputation, which is confirmed by several parliamentarians. Her successes in the development of Zurich hospitals, the solutions for overburdened emergency rooms, and finally a successful vaccination campaign in the Canton of Zurich: they seem to compensate for the shortcomings at the beginning of the pandemic. The question is only: Will this be enough for the election to the Federal Council? Some of the strengths attributed to her can also be read as weaknesses. Angles and edges, despite everything For example, Rickli's detail obsession is sometimes poorly managed. She is known as a micromanager, as someone who has trouble delegating. If she were to have any federal department under her, she probably wouldn't do anyone any favors. Furthermore, Rickli has not only created supporters through her change from an energetic party soldier to a composed magistrate. Especially during the Corona pandemic, she became unpopular within the party by vehemently advocating for stricter measures than the entire government and thus deviating from the party line. Vaccine opponents attacked her sharply, for example because she said that unvaccinated people should release hospital beds if in doubt. Once, she was even annoyed by apple spritzer. The Corona pandemic is now several years ago. But her deviation during the pandemic, according to acquaintances who do not want to name names, did not escape the attention of party colleagues. For the Left and the Centre, however, Rickli might have become more electable through her moderation. Some advantage that Rickli has created during her career may now turn against her. The step from the National Council to the cantonal government, which brings her experience in the executive branch, could be to her disadvantage in the election campaign for the Federal Council. The change from cantonal politics to the government might have only succeeded for a few: 1995 Micheline Calmy-Rey (SP), 1999 Ruth Metzler-Arnold (CVP), 2008 Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (BDP), and 2025 Martin Pfister (Centre). This may also be because a strong network, stable alliances are necessary for an election to the Federal Council. And these are easier to forge when one is on the ground. Rickli's time in the Federal Palace is seven years ago, many of her colleagues from that time no longer politicize themselves or at least not in Bern. Some faction colleagues in the Federal Parliament tell the NZZ that they hardly knew Rickli. One colleague appreciates that only about half of the council still know her – otherwise, you know her from the media. Is that enough? If she decides something . . . If Rickli were to run for the Federal Council, she has intensive weeks ahead of her in which she must compensate for these disadvantages and strengthen her alliances. Few acquaintances doubt that she can do this. Because two personality traits that almost do not jeopardize her are her diligence and her determination. If a project is on the horizon, she gives everything for it. If she makes herself available for next week, she still has some weeks until the election. Enough time to strengthen old ties and forge new ones, to explain past mistakes and present projects. The uncertainty factor in this consideration is however: Will she decide to run for the Federal Council? The starting situation for the elections is unclear one week before the party's internal deadline for candidacies. Only very few possible candidates are set, there are lots of speculations. Rickli would have to embark on an election campaign whose outcome she does not yet know, if she offers herself. Rickli has another option: She could decide not to offer herself and wait for Albert Rösti to resign – in the hope of being in a better position then. One that is more predictable, easier to control. Besides, Rösti is a German-Swiss, she would not have to fight against the claim of Western Switzerland for a former Western Swiss seat. Because a candidacy in these elections would be a big risk for Rickli. She is already running for a re-election in the Zurich government, which is considered certain for her. If she runs for the Federal Council, it is also unclear what will happen with her candidacy for the government. Will the voters still believe that she really wants to represent Zurich? If Rickli becomes a Federal Councillor, she would still be serving the interests of the canton. After all, a Zurich woman would be in the government, of whom no member currently comes from this canton. Rickli could bring concerns and perspectives from the region to the government, which would be a big opportunity for the canton. In the best case, the overachiever would end up with the neatly combed image with a Federal Council seat. At worst, however, she would have no office at all. Rickli is currently on vacation; she has contacted Instagram from the Maldives and announced that she will express her intentions after the autumn holidays. It is possible that she really wants to be in the government, but is still waiting for the perfect moment – and doesn't see it this year. The problem is: A Federal Council election is rarely entirely predictable, unforeseen events happen regularly. Only last year, Martin Pfister (Centre) was elected, although his opponent, the President of the Farmers' Association Markus Ritter (also Centre), was considered the favorite. If Rickli waits for the perfect moment, she might miss her chance.