Daniel Jositsch: From Federal Council candidate to angler

Instead, he became president of the Swiss Fisheries Association – and has now learned to fish himself.

He completed his training at the mountain lake in the Diemtigtal valley, where under guidance he wielded the fishing rod and obtained his proof of competence. At first he struggled, but with practice he cast the bait increasingly well.

Is the new office a consolation prize? Jositsch openly admits that he would have liked to become a Federal Councillor. Yet he appreciates his newfound freedom to spend days in nature – something that would hardly have been possible as a Federal Councillor.

As an ‘animal welfare advocate’, he was particularly interested in the animal-welfare-compliant handling of fish. Although he himself eats meat and fish, it was important to him to learn how to correctly stun and process a fish. He carried out this practice together with other course participants – using fish from a farm, writes 20min.

Politically, Jositsch now wants to campaign for endangered fish species. Around three-quarters of them are threatened in Switzerland. He sees the estimated 100,000 hobby anglers as important nature conservationists, who should hold the aquatic habitat especially close to their hearts.

Although he did not catch a fish, he enjoyed the experience – and can imagine going fishing himself more often in future.

Addendum: Departure from the party

In June 2026, Jositsch left the SP after the Zurich cantonal party no longer wished to nominate him for the 2027 Council of States election. He has been independent ever since; his office as central president of the Swiss Fisheries Association remains unaffected by this.