Mrs Unspektakulär: This is the electricity grid of the Federal Council candidate, Viola Amherd – Switzerland.

Sanctus Spirit! Where the Holy Spirit is, in 1982, a young woman formulated a philosophy about the ideal of a world without coercion or violence.

Founded by Jesuits, characterized by simple architecture: the Spiritus Sanctus College perched on the "Hill of Education" here is Brig, where generations of High-Valaisans attended high school, Viola Amherd, 20 years old , dealt with the Matura anarchy. Even today, well over 30 years later, Amherd notes, "If everyone behaves decently and thinks of the weak, we would not need corrective action from the state."

She leaves the sentence short. Then she laughs and laughs, raises her index finger. "But unfortunately, not everyone plays this way, we need our condition."

Said the woman who is preparing to climb the highest spheres of the state. Amherd, a 56-year-old lawyer and national councilor for the Valais CVP, is seeking the successor of Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard. Since 2005, sitting in Parliament, she is considered a politician without show effects. Switzerland has its own category for this profile: Silent Schaffer.

Many in the country want exactly such officials. But now, Amherd has to read that she is a rather boring politician. In this statement, the adjectives that the friend and the enemy spread about them take second place. Dossierfest, pragmatic and unpretentious, but also bland, fragile and reserved. The one who scores with a fine irony, but does not sway with catchy speeches. These are the cornerstones of Amherd's well-circulated narrative. But the key question is: can she sell her policy? Can she find majorities for this? Amherd was "not spectacular, but incredibly effective," says his colleague of the Obwald faction, Karl Vogler. "The charisma of Doris Leuthard does not have them", regrets another parliamentarian of the CVP behind the usual hand. It is sometimes called shy, madam without a show, sometimes even. Timidity? She does not have to go on stage, says Amherd. "Then I have something to say when there is something to say." She presents herself as a solutions researcher: "If I make a compromise, I want to understand the arguments of everyone involved."

Coach in the group

The timing of Viola Amherd is full these days, at least there is a bit of anarchy, she jokes. She asks for a conversation at the office of the CVP faction on the third floor of the Bernese Bundeshaus. On the ground floor, the lobby buzzes like a hive, while up there, where scientists work, the weather is pleasantly calm.

Amherd likes to be in these rooms. She knows that a party is an outward action and an inner action. Since 2011, she is vice-president of the group and, as such, head of the delegation of the national council, a role in which she rarely appears publicly. All the more reason, Amherd talks about it in a conversation. "I assure you that all members of our National Council can get involved," she says. Party friends marvel at the fact that they remain sovereign even when everyone around them loses their nerves. Amherd sees himself in the role of coach. And the lawyer: The fact that so many national VCP councils head the committees is considered their merit. For her, who really wants to promote women must show the example.

Viola Amherd was born in 1962 into a Catholic family, her parents ran a large electrical shop. The father was a member of the CVP, as it should be in Upper Valais, black and deep. Amherd visited the Brig schools, studied in Freiburg, returned to Brig and founded a law firm there. In 1992, they first elected Briger to the city government. From 2000 to 2012, she was president of the city. Management is lying with her, she says. "Solutions to specific problems are needed there."

The left label

"Viola", he had always told her mother, "does not depend on anyone." Presents Amherd, and she likes to emphasize this independent life. Consequently. The freelancer does not have children and describes herself as a "single person convinced". It has never been intended to be in partnership. With her 14-year-old sister and daughter, she lives in a women's home.

Amherd's positions are in the middle of the political spectrum. In economic matters, they are a little more bourgeois than the CVP section. She is profiled on topics related to the protection of youth. Amherd persists when it comes to upholding the interests of the mountain cantons. He calls vehemently for the development of the Lötschberg tunnel, requests the exemption of snow groomers and strives to better supply the peripheral areas.

It's only with the social issues that Amherd does not make conservatives easy. In the 1990s, she fought for the solution of the delay, currently for four weeks paternity leave and gay marriage. Amherd is certainly a keen, but just stand to the left, say the Vice President of the National Council, Ulrich Giezendanner. In addition, this label is an integral part of Amherd 's story. Mischief, says FDP national councilor Christa Markwalder. "Viola Amherd is a social-liberal, not a left." The CVP's ​​wife is pleasantly relevant and controls her records.

In recent weeks, however, things have begun to slide a bit. It seemed that Amherd could escape the candidacy. Negative titles circulated about them. This is a civil action, pending before the Valais Cantonal Court. The heirs of the Amherds have 250,000 francs, collected too much rent and were sentenced in the first instance to be reimbursed. Amherd's pretty well expressed through the media. The fact that two parties have different opinions is perfectly normal, they say. "It's part of our constitutional state."

At the table of the CVP's ​​office is a second Valaisan, who nods vigorously. Anyone looking for contact with Amherd can not avoid it: Brigitte Hauser-Süess, 64, media advisor to the candidate for the Federal Council. This function name does not do justice to its meaning. In the party, the former president of the Women's CVP has the status of "gray eminence". Hauser-Süess has been a close friend of Amherd for 30 years and was, among other things, responsible for communication for BDP Federal Councilor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

Combat partners Amherd and Hauser-Süess can not be beaten, let alone by fanatics in the name of the Holy Spirit. Twenty years ago, when the dispute over deadlines in the Valais canton was raging, CVP's ​​female boss, Hauser-Süess, was vilified on billboards as "murderous". His picture was next to a fetus stained with blood. Lawyer Amherd sued the perpetrators for her – the federal court found a conviction for defamation. "In a democratic state, we must not create a climate of defamation," she said.

Of course, we should let Hauser-Süess speak, no one could say more about Viola Amherd. But for the moment, the PR woman does not want to be quoted in detail, she is not in the foreground. It's well known: it's Hauser-Süess who motivated Amherd to run for political office for the first time in 1992. "You can not complain about missed opportunities for women, but say no, if you have the opportunity, "she said to her friend. A hesitation was at the beginning of the political career, which could now lead to the Federal Council.