What a wonderful reunion on 3 November 2023 in Pfäffikon/SZ with Ueli Maurer, former Federal Councillor and two-time President of Switzerland. Ueli Maurer was a Swiss Federal Councillor from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2022 and thus served the Swiss people for 14 years.
Ueli Maurer was booked as a speaker at an event on Lake Zurich and I moderated the event. We met twice in the run-up to the event. The discussions were very statesmanlike and yet also peppered with humour. And the external circumstances had changed during all the talks: the war in Ukraine, Russia, the energy crisis and now, just before the event, the Hamas attack on Israel. We never ran out of things to talk about.
Ueli Maurer was first Chairman of the Department of DETEC and then Switzerland’s Finance Minister for six years. Even during the coronavirus pandemic and despite the pressure from abroad, Switzerland has come through this time of crisis well for the economy, hotels, tourism and society.
On 3 November 2023, he spoke at the event in Pfäffikon about the new global situation due to the crises. He spoke about the high energy costs, the massive rise in the costs of the Swiss healthcare system, migration policy, the Swiss banking centre and how the Swiss Confederation is preparing for Donald Trump’s possible comeback in November 2024 – for Trump 2.0.
We rounded off the evening with a dinner of delicious dishes from the kitchen of the Hotel Seedamm Plaza in Pfäffikon and the finest red wine.
I take my hat off to Ueli Maurer, who has remained such a modest and approachable person despite his important position in the Swiss Federal Council. And as for “Kä Luscht”, the conversations with him always made me “want more”, because you can only learn from his experience.