Cédric Wermuth

Cédric Wermuth (; born 19 February 1986) is a Swiss politician who currently serves on the National Council for the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland since 2011. He currently also serves as co-president of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) along with Mattea Meyer. 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, Switzerland, the older of two sons, to Otto Wermuth, a special education teacher, and Laurence Wermuth (née Dind; 1953–2014). Wermuth was raised partially in Stetten, Lenzburg, Bünzen, Boswil, Baden, and Freiamt.

Cedric Wermuth graduated from high school in Wohlen and attended the University of Zürich, where he studied political science, history, economics, and philosophy. and Wermuth's active involvement in politics began when he was fifteen. He received a number of threatening and critical phone calls from readers; his parents struggled to protect him without sheltering him. He became JUSO's central secretary in 2005, after having taken part in a squat of a hotel in Baden in 2009. During this time, he worked as a personal assistant to Urs Hofmann; and in development cooperation for Solidar Suisse. 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. In the following months, opponents of the SP labeled Wermuth quiet and uninterested as opposed to Meyer, who they thought had more presence. 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. 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. In the end, he cleaned only a few, but considers it a success nonetheless. 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 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 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. 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. He also believes that abortion is the woman's choice and that women's rights are human rights. Children should be given a Swiss passport at birth if they were born in Switzerland, regardless of their parents' nationality, He believes that both European integration and social progress are possible. and has assumed a political godfatherhood for the Belarusian Viktoryia Mirontsava, who is imprisoned in Belarus. He gets very emotional about discussions of migrants due to his family's history of refugeeism 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.

Wermuth has also worked with Jewish organizations to get their perspectives on anti-Semitism in Switzerland and to learn more about Judaism. She is a teacher and translator in Lucerne; 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, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Ruth Dreifuss, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and wishes he had Roger Federer's modesty.