Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Thursday morning agreed to become the 7th member of the Conseil Federal, or Swiss cabinet, completing the government.

Widmer-Schlump accepts the Parliament’s majority vote naming her federal councillor (from TV coverage by TSR)

Immediately after her acceptance speech she and councillor Samuel Schmid, both of whom are UDC members, were excommunicated excluded from the UDC parliamentary group by their party, which said it will become an opposiion party, leading Switzerland into a political no-man’s land, away from its traditional consensus approach to governance. [Ed. note: according to TSR, only the cantonal UDC party can "excommunicate" or force out of the party, its members. However, the declaration by Caspar Baader, head of the UDC parliamentary group, made it clear the two councillors will not have the support in Parliament of their national party members.]

Widmer-Schlumps, from Graubunden, and Schmid, from Bern, are both members of relatively moderate wings of the UDC People’s Party. She is currently responsible for finances for canton Graubunden’s executive council.

She becomes the third woman on the council of seven, alongside Micheline Calmy-Rey and Doris Leuthard.

Her confirmation allowed the parliament to move on to electing a vice-president: Hans-Rudolf Merz, with Pascal Couchepin, as president of Switzerland in 2008. Both are centre-right politicians. Among initial reactions in Parliament, Dick Marty, center-right Radical politician told TSR that he believes the UDC made a mistake by aligning itself so closely with the name of one man, Christoph Blocher.

Additional:

• TSR photo gallery of the elections
• Le Temps, reports and analysis on Widmer-Schlump’s acceptance, Parliament’s dilemma Thursday morning
• WRS radio, summary

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