Alain Berset, who held the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has defended his very last issue. “Mr Covid”, as he was described by the president of the Senate Eva Herzog, is retiring from politics after 20 years in office, 12 of which were spent in government as interior minister.

On Thursday the native of Fribourg looked back on these two decades, saying that “a lot of things didn’t work out, that’s part of political life”. But even in the most difficult moments, “I have learnt like never before”. ...