Marina Carobbio Guscetti and the importance of feminine vision and sensitivity

Marina Carobbio Guscetti, what did you feel the first time you entered the room of the Council of State as councilor of state?

«First of all, a great emotion. I definitively realized that I had abandoned a long period of my life to start another, always with political tasks but different from those covered up to then: no longer a legislative but an executive, member of a collegiate government, a new role compared to my party… The hope is obviously to be able to contribute to the well-being of my canton and its citizens, something I have always held dear».

How did your colleagues, all males, welcome you?

"Very good. Naturally, I already knew all of them, although I had closer working contacts with some of them than with others. We are obviously all aware that we will have different opinions on certain issues, but there is the will to find shared solutions that are in the interest of Ticino and its population».

The only woman in an all-male boarding school for many years: can she make a difference?

«Above all, it brings a new and different vision, which in fact has been lacking for some time in Ticino politics. I believe that a democracy is only truly complete when both genders are represented. Even if one out of five is not a fair representation (and even in the Grand Council from this point of view there has been a setback), I think it is important to bring a female sensitivity to issues in the interest of society as a whole, in particular those gender – wage inequality, career opportunities, job sharing (i.e. sharing of positions of responsibility), reconciliation between work and private life… – but not only. We need to think of innovative models, and in this sense the contribution of a woman is important».

Based on your experience, is there a female approach to politics, or are the ideological visions of the parties predominant?

“The differences between the parties are important; however I would like to give the example of my experience to the Council of States, where there have never been so many women in this legislature (13 out of 46). Well, working all together, therefore beyond the rigid party fences, we managed to carry forward "our" themes, common demands, also obtaining successes, for example on the centers against gender-based violence. It was important to work online: I think that without this common work certain things would never have passed to the States. The goal, for me, is always to achieve a society that is as equal as possible ».

Even on non-feminine themes? Or attributable more or less directly to women?

"In my opinion, yes; it is a matter of experience, which for a woman is different from that of a man. The proposed solutions can obviously change, as it should be in a democracy, but in identifying the problem and in its approach the sensitivities between men and women are different. I remember when as president of the National Council I interrupted the session to allow the deputies to participate in the women's strike: I was criticized by the right, but women of all parties took to the streets (and not just women)».

A life spent on the benches of the legislative, now begins a new life in an executive. How do you think you will be able to live this change and this new role?

«In due proportion, I have already held decision-making roles in various types of associations; even as president of the National Council, however, I had to make operational choices. So I don't think it will be very difficult for me to adapt to this new role as well. We'll see in a few months anyway."

However, you pass through a rather profiled and combative policy; in this sense, more is permitted in a legislative than in an executive…

«Probably yes, but even as a deputy when it was necessary I found or bent on compromises for the good of the country. I know the Swiss political system well enough to know that in certain situations you have to make choices that are as shared as possible. Especially in difficult times, I believe we need a government that doesn't reason on individual departments but that has a common vision. In this sense, I am willing to do my part. Naturally I also have principles – such as the defense of the weakest and of minorities, or a more equitable and just society – which I defend and which I will continue to defend, but I also believe that answers must be given to the needs and concerns of the population".

Could it be difficult for you to go out and defend positions that you don't share? Would you manifest them as, for example, Blocher manifested them?

"I think that colleagues from other parties may also have them, perhaps even more than me, even if this question is never asked of them".

She started in politics when she was very young. A passion that comes from her father or a choice of hers?

«It is simplistic to report everything to my father, because my mother was also very politically active. She was much less known, because she was active above all in associations and not in parties, but she had a very important role for me. I remember, for example, that there was a sheet hanging in the house which spoke of the costs of care work, something that had greatly impressed me. In short, at the table we talked about politics not only with my father, but also with my mother (my sister is also politically involved, albeit in other areas and not at an institutional level). So I grew up in a political family. And also in a political environment, given that many, but not only, of my parents' acquaintances were people of the Ticino left. As a student I participated in solidarity groups with Latin America, in student and feminist movements, later on alongside the associative work there was then the institutional one which has increased over the years".

A predestined one with a road that is perhaps a little smooth…

«I cannot deny that my first election to the Grand Council, at the age of 24, was certainly influenced by the fact that my name was Carobbio and that my father was a national councilor. The hard part was later, once elected, when I had to and wanted to demonstrate that I was not only "the daughter of", but that I could make my own contribution».

If you were to name someone who influenced you?

«Anna Biscossa, a person with whom I worked a lot when I was in Ticino and with whom I have a great friendship, which continues today. She was president and I was group leader and we were very close».

When did you decide to put aside being a doctor, your chosen profession, to become a politician?

«Being a doctor is a beautiful profession, which I still like today. As a doctor, especially if you are a family doctor, you experience and feel what the population's problems are, not only the disease but also everything around it (when a person talks to you about his physical illness, he often talks about the rest as well). The transition from doctor to politician was gradual. The acceleration came after I was elected in Bern, first in the National Council with the commissions – first one, then two, then the Finance Delegation, which was very demanding – then even more in the Council of States with even more fees and responsibilities. Furthermore, the Swiss political system means that you have to be present in various associations, which often also have their headquarters in Bern. Without forgetting that I was Vice-President of the Swiss Socialist Party for 12 years. Gradually, in fact, something you have to leave…».

Ever had a regret?

"No: what I learned in my profession also helped me in my political approach".

From a doctor's office to a palace office: won't you miss direct contact with people, with their problems, their hopes?

«I believe that politics has a duty not to remain closed in the building, but to go out to listen, understand and learn. Which is what I intend to do, obviously starting with the themes of my department, i.e. school, culture, institutional and independent, and sport (not only elite but also popular). Now that as a member of an executive I will no longer be able to hold positions within associations and foundations, I will have to find a way to maintain a presence in the area and build a dialogue with people».

Sixteen years in Bern and now in Ticino, an evidently smaller reality. Doesn't it make you special? Doesn't that give you a sense of downgrading?

«Leaving Bern to run for the Council of State was not an easy choice, which required a lot of time but which was therefore also carefully considered. I know that the big themes, which are the ones that fascinate me, are dealt with and decided in Bern, a place where I think I could still make a contribution; on the other hand I also thought that in our system these decisions must then be transposed into local and daily reality, and this is done by and in the cantons. What's more, pilot projects can be launched at the cantonal level, innovations which one day, perhaps, will find their place at the national level».

Sixteen years in Bern in which, however, a dense network of contacts was built…

“And which I hope to be able to maintain: not only with the federal administration but also with politicians – federal councilors, national parliamentarians and politicians from other cantons. Ticino needs to have important contacts with Bern and the rest of Switzerland. It is clear that I will work here and that I will have to give the answers to the Ticino people, but in my opinion this federal and supra-cantonal attention is important».

Has anything changed on a personal level after April 2?

«I don't think about contact with people: I used to willingly stop and talk to people before, I will do it now too. It will change in the sense that I will be, indeed I am already more present in Ticino: before I was practically every week in Bern or in any case beyond the Gotthard, which I realize even more now, over time it has also made me lose some beautiful things ».

And how did the family take this return of his, this greater and more constant presence of his?

«With my husband and my children, now adults, we discussed my various political stages at length, including my candidacy for the Ticino government and I think they will be happy to see me a little more at home in the evening, since before I often stayed overnight outside Canton.

What do you like to do in your free time?

«Go to the mountains, something I try to do every week, even if only for a few hours, and read. Not only official documents and reports, of course, but also novels and essays. Now for example I'm reading The big dream by Almudena Grandes».