Every time I examine any political or social problem, I pledge to completely forget the fact that I belong to a certain group and to concern myself solely with discerning the public good and justice.
Simone Weil, Note on the General Suppression of Political Parties, 1950 [1]
On November 27, 2025, Pascal welcomes us into the warm kitchen of his farmhouse in Fribourg.
We asked for this interview to learn about his 42 years of political experience without any affiliation to a political party.
Indeed, Integral Politics considers that the current structure of Swiss (and international) politics—based on political parties—is a conventional historical framework, now obsolete and unsuited to today’s realities.
Pascal, now close to 82, served as a member of the Fribourg State Council for 15 years. He shares with us why, throughout his political career, he refused to belong to any party. His humanism, ethics, and pragmatism always took precedence over partisan doctrines. Through attentive listening and respectful, caring collective reflection, he was able to guide the Executive’s decisions toward solutions best adapted not to doctrines but to the realities of the moment and the deep human values of his colleagues in the Executive Council.
This way of thinking and acting in politics was quite exceptional 30 years ago—and remains so today. Yet his long career proves that it is indeed possible. It requires integrity, constant self-questioning, respect, listening, and openness—qualities we were delighted to witness in this great pioneer.
Few words were needed to present him with the broad outlines of Integral Politics. He warmly expressed his support in these terms: “I wasn’t familiar with this notion of integral politics. Yet I feel that my motivations and actions have been very similar.”
Following his brave example, we hope that our elected representatives can move beyond partisan constraints and create the right space for deliberation and political decision-making in freedom of thought—aligned with collective goals and their deepest values beyond the pressures of party interests.
Thank you, dear Pascal, friend and guide, for your life devoted to political values capable of awakening within us all a new, meaningful political impulse.
Aïma Andany and François Suter
[1] Simone Weil, Note on the General Suppression of Political Parties, 1950 (in French)
One Response
Thank you so much for sharing this interview!
It is inspiring and beautiful to learn about people orienting towards higher political grounds, broadening their perspective even more so as they go ✨