Switzerland’s Greens fail in a long-shot bid to enter the national government

BERLIN (AP) — Switzerland’s environmentalist Greens have failed in a long-shot bid to enter the national government as lawmakers elected a new center-left minister to the country’s executive Federal Council. Parliament met in Bern on Wednesday to elect the seven-member governing council following a national election in October. Four parties ranging from the center-left Social Democrats to the populist Swiss People’s Party are represented on the Federal Council. The Greens contended that the party had a claim to a seat on the council despite its decline in the last election. They argued that the free-market Liberals were overrepresented with two ministers. Green lawmaker Gerhard Andrey challenged Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, a Liberal, but came nowhere near unseating him.