Cédric Wermuth
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cédric Wermuth (; born 19 February 1986) is a Swiss politician who currently serves on the National Council for the
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (, SP; ), also called the Swiss Socialist Party (; , PS), is a List of political parties in Switzerland, political party in Switzerland. The SP has had two representatives on the Federal Council (Switzerl ...
since 2011. He currently also serves as co-president of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) along with
Mattea Meyer Mattea Julia Meyer (; born 9 November 1987) is a Swiss politician who currently serves as member of the National Council for the Social Democratic Party since 2015. Concurrently she co-chairs the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland together w ...
. He has formerly served as president of the Young Socialists of Switzerland (JUSO) and also a former vice president of the SP.


Early life and education

Wermuth was born 19 February 1986 in
Jegenstorf Jegenstorf is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 th ...
, Switzerland, the older of two sons, to Otto Wermuth, a
special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
teacher, and Laurence Wermuth (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Dind; 1953–2014). He has a younger brother Yann Wermuth (born 1989). His paternal family originally was from
Eggiwil Eggiwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Emmental (administrative district), Emmental in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. History Eggiwil is first mention ...
. He had an italian-born grandmother from the German-speaking Trentino Alto Adige region who fled
Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and came to Switzerland. Wermuth was raised partially in Stetten,
Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal, Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. L ...
, Bünzen,
Boswil Boswil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The village lies in the Bünztal valley at the foot of the Lindenberg mountain. The hamlet Wissenbach and Sentenhof (a former estate of the Benedictine M ...
,
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
, and
Freiamt Freiamt is a town in the district of EmmendingenFreiamt', alemannische-seiten.de in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the ...
. His upbringing included living on farms. Cedric Wermuth graduated from high school in Wohlen and attended the
University of Zürich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, where he studied political science, history, economics, and philosophy. He has a Licentiate/Master of Arts degree.


Political career

He became a member of the Young Socialists of Switzerland (JUSO) at age thirteen and Wermuth's active involvement in politics began when he was fifteen. He wrote a letter to the editor criticizing one of the newspaper's authors for deemphasizing right-wing politics in their town. He received a number of threatening and critical phone calls from readers; his parents struggled to protect him without sheltering him. In the mid-2000s, he became "really politicized" by his interactions with neo-Nazi groups at his school and worked hard to uproot anti-Semitic conspiracy theories such as those presented in ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...
''. He became JUSO's central secretary in 2005, and served as its president between 2008 and 2011. In 2010 he was sentenced to a fine for
trespassing Trespass to land, also called trespass to realty or trespass to real property, or sometimes simply trespass, is a common law tort or a crime that is committed when an individual or the object of an individual intentionally (or, in Australia, ...
after having taken part in a squat of a hotel in
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
in 2009. During this time, he worked as a personal assistant to Urs Hofmann; and in development cooperation for
Solidar Suisse Solidar Suisse is a Swiss non-profit organization with headquarters in Zurich. It also has a French-speaking Swiss branch in Lausanne and an association in Geneva, Solidar Suisse Genève. As an NGO, it fights for global justice and against extreme ...
. He served on the
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
Residents' Council from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, just months after resigning as president of JUSO, he joined the National Council as a member of the Finance Commission and the president of a finance sub-committee. Shortly after, he was elected as the vice president of the Federal Assembly's SP. In 2015, he moved to the State Politician Commission and the Business Audit Commission, where he served until 2019 and 2020. He was also elected vice president of the SP Parliamentary Group in the Federal Assembly during this time. He was a candidate for the Swiss Council of States for the Canton Aargau in the Federal Elections of October 2019, but was not elected. But during the same election he was also a candidate for the National Council, for which he was re-elected. As of 2021, he is in his third legislative term and part of the Economic and Taxes Commission. He also consults for Spinas Civil Voices, a civil rights organization in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. He and
Mattea Meyer Mattea Julia Meyer (; born 9 November 1987) is a Swiss politician who currently serves as member of the National Council for the Social Democratic Party since 2015. Concurrently she co-chairs the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland together w ...
were elected co-presidents of the SP in 2020 as
Christian Levrat Christian Levrat (born 7 July 1970) is a Swiss politician. He served as the President of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland from 2008 until 2020. He has served as a member of the Council of States from Fribourg since 2012. Prior to the ...
stepped down. They received 96% of the vote. In the following months, opponents of the SP labeled Wermuth quiet and uninterested as opposed to Meyer, who they thought had more presence. In response, he criticized them for assuming she would be doing the secretarial work while he served as the face of their presidency. He also pointed out that Meyer was asked questions about work/family balance during their campaign while he was not, and how her hate mail and criticism often contains sexual violence threats unlike his. He values working with many different personalities and ideologies. Despite not agreeing politically, he and Thierry Burkart, who also represents Aargau, established the Mittelland Rail Link Committee, which aims to improve transportation in the canton. He also collaborates with those within his party; he co-wrote ''Die Service-Public-Revolution'', published in 2020, with author Beat Ringger and is currently writing a book with Mattea Meyer.


Political positions

Wermuth espouses left-wing politics and wants the SP to be more radical. While the SP's opponents call them the "Prohibition Party" due to the constraints they aim to put on corporations, Wermuth and Meyer want it to be known as the "Freedom Party".


Climate change

Wermuth and his family live in a housing co-op, share a car with other families, and buy vegetables directly from the source to lower their footprint. He regards climate change as a class issue and wants to increase non-profit housing construction and expand solar energy both to save the environment and to improve quality of life for impoverished families. He thinks Switzerland should participate in the
Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...
and that private car and plane travel should be decreased across the board. He finds the "moral thinking" that all people are responsible for global warming "fundamentally wrong" because corporations did and continue to do the most damage. For the World Wide Fund for Nature's 2012
Earth Hour Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The event is held annually, encouraging the individuals, communities, and businesses to give an hour for Earth, and additionally marked ...
, he bet the people of Switzerland that if he could get 200 people to ride their bikes more often, he would clean their bikes. In the end, he cleaned only a few, but considers it a success nonetheless.


COVID-19

Wermuth thinks that, like a lot of other countries, Switzerland could have dealt with the emergence of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
more effectively. While he does not personally like COVID passports, he believes everyone must do their part to quash the virus and thus voted in favor of the COVID-19 Act. He does think, however, that vaccines are the most effective method to end the pandemic and that this should be the main focus.


Drug legalization

In 2008, he smoked a joint while discussing cannabis legalization during a National Council meeting to demonstrate his support of decriminalizing it.


Economics

Capitalism and corporate greed are among Wermuth's main focuses. He believes capitalism is unjust and treated like a religion by many people, particularly the wealthy. He was a staunch supporter of the 99% Initiative, which aimed to increase wealth redistribution by increasing taxes on capital gain. He does not believe that companies, corporations, and the wealthy are being taxed enough, and that this is unconstitutional because the Constitution calls for "taxation based on economic performance." He believes in salary caps—the highest salary should be no more than 12x the lowest salary in the company across all levels—and a minimum wage, which currently does not exist in Switzerland. He thinks that the rich protest against these equalizing values by threatening to create an economic crisis, and that corporations are the reason governments cannot find solutions. He does not consider wealth a crime but does think the consequential perpetuation of the class struggle and wealth hoarding is criminal. He prescribes two responsibilities to corporations: insurance that their employees' human rights are not being exploited, and responsibility-taking when a mistake is made. He considers that jobs traditionally viewed as women's work, such as nursing and childcare, are underpaid and that politicians should not be making significantly more than people in these occupations.


Gender, sexuality, and family

Wermuth believes in marriage equality, more equalized parenting and considers himself a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
. He has recommended the National Council grant 38 weeks—to be shared between both parents—of leave following the birth of their child. He wants external childcare to be free and a guaranteed spot in childcare for all Swiss children. A better work/life balance for National Council members and other politicians is also something he has supported. Until gender equality is less of an issue in society, Wermuth believes that hiring quotas should be required to stop "mediocre men" hiring even more "mediocre men", while more qualified women have to bend over backwards to even have their résumé considered. Gender discrimination is a social issue and he is very clear that men should be interested and involved in supporting feminism and decreasing inequality. He also believes that abortion is the woman's choice and that women's rights are human rights. He attends
Women's Marches A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...
with his wife and daughters. The only women's rights issue he grapples with is whether to legalize prostitution because he can see both good and bad in each decision.


International relations and immigration

Wermuth is in favor of Switzerland joining the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU) but requires several things to happen before it can be realized. Switzerland must prove itself cooperative and measures must be taken to guarantee public services and wage protection. These necessities should apply equally to Swiss citizens and to everyone already in the EU. Children should be given a Swiss passport at birth if they were born in Switzerland, regardless of their parents' nationality, and Swiss people should know at least one national language (Swiss, German, or French) rather than only English. He believes that both European integration and social progress are possible. He is also in favor of supporting countries considered to be hot topics; he previously served as co-president of the Switzerland-
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
and Swiss-Syriac Parliamentary groups. He has given Kosovo his full support several times and has assumed a political godfatherhood for the
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
ian Viktoryia Mirontsava, who is imprisoned in Belarus. He gets very emotional about discussions of migrants due to his family's history of refugeeism and calls all refugee crises "the result of blatant inequality and exploitation."


Other issues

Wermuth supports the idea of Switzerland as a
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
and that social services such as social security for the self-employed; pensions; lower healthcare premiums; dismissal protection for those over 50; and free high-performance internet and mobile communication should be available to all residents. When asked about his opinion on the separation of church and state, he asks why, if there is a God, so many people go hungry, and how, if God is not omnipotent, his presence in court would be helpful. Wermuth has also worked with
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
organizations to get their perspectives on anti-Semitism in Switzerland and to learn more about
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
. His conclusion was that Switzerland is not doing enough to abnormalize anti-Semitism or using anti-Semitism to aim bigotry at
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
.


Personal life

Cédric Wermuth and his brother Yann grew up in a very liberal household focused on confronting inequality and helping those in need. Their father says he and his wife never sat them down to spell out their values and ideology, but the boys learned from their childhood experiences. Otto was involved in SP and Laurence participated in anti-nuclear campaigns. They invited refugees—especially those from
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
in the 1990s—to their home and did what they could to support these families. Cédric credits these experiences as where his interest in social justice began. He and Yann were given enough autonomy growing up that they developed self-regulation and self-discipline; their parents never used corporal punishment or what Cédric refers to as "authoritarian structures." The family read voraciously and both boys were successful in school. Laurence struggled with
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
and made several suicide attempts throughout her life, particularly when experiencing depressive episodes. She died in
Boswil Boswil is a municipality in the district of Muri in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. The village lies in the Bünztal valley at the foot of the Lindenberg mountain. The hamlet Wissenbach and Sentenhof (a former estate of the Benedictine M ...
in 2014 due to an accident. Cédric believes mental illness should not be taboo and that he is "proud to be my mother's son." He described her as the "warmest person" he has ever met. Wermuth and his wife Anja live in a Minergie-P-Eco certified
co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
in
Zofingen Zofingen () is a city in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It is the capital of the district of Zofingen. Zofingen is a walled city and home to an ancient monastic settlement. History In ancient times Zofingen was a settlement of the Celtic ...
with their two daughters. She is a teacher and translator in
Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
; Wermuth said he was attracted to her because she was the "first to get him rhetorically under the table." He has Swiss and Italian dual citizenship. During his childhood and into his adult life, he has admired
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...
,
Micheline Calmy-Rey Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey (born 8 July 1945) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was the head of the Federal Department of Foreign ...
,
Ruth Dreifuss Ruth Dreifuss (born 9 January 1940) is a Swiss economist, unionist and politician who served as a member of the Federal Council from 1993 to 2002. She served as Vice President of Switzerland in 1998 and as President of Switzerland in 1999 for t ...
, and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...
, and wishes he had Roger Federer's modesty.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wermuth, Cedric 1986 births Living people People from Bern-Mittelland District Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2023–2027 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2019–2023 Members of the National Council (Switzerland) 2011–2015 Aargau politicians People from Aargau People from Baden, Switzerland People from Lenzburg People from Zofingen Democratic socialists European democratic socialists Swiss people of Italian descent People of Swiss-Italian descent Swiss feminists Swiss women's rights activists Swiss socialist feminists Male feminists Political ecologists Immigrant rights activists Workers' rights activists Swiss anti-capitalists Climate activists Swiss environmentalists Leaders of political parties in Switzerland