In that year, he lost an election to the cantonal government against Moritz Leuenberger, as his opponents derided Maurer's campaign as inept and himself as a naïve devotee of party strongman Christoph Blocher.

Not taken seriously at first[6][10] and parodied by TV comedian Viktor Giacobbo as Blocher's servile sycophant[6][11] so memorably that his taunted children regularly returned from school in tears,[11] his presidency saw the party double its voter base, establish itself in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and become the country's strongest political party.

[5] These successes have been largely credited to Maurer's leadership, who was able to make up a lack of charisma with hard work, the imposition of strict party discipline, a keen sense for promising populist issues (such as opposition to European integration, foreigners and political correctness)[6] as well as a penchant for headline-grabbing soundbites, as attested by an often-cited statement of his: "As long as I talk of negroes, the camera stays on me".

[12][13] As president of the People's Party, Maurer was a leading force behind the party's aggressive and successful populist campaigns – campaigns that drew the ire of the Swiss political mainstream and the concern of foreign observers[14] – signing off on cartoonish posters attacking leftists, foreigners and other undesirables.

[12] In a breach with Swiss political etiquette, he did not shy away from direct personal attacks on fellow politicians, labeling the center-right Free Democrats as "softies", Social Democratic voters as deranged, and renegade Federal Councillors Schmid and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as "appendices" requiring excision.

[11] Even as his and his party's star rose, however, relations between Maurer and his longtime mentor Blocher slowly cooled,[11] even though the two men remained strong allies in public.

[15] After losing a runoff election for a Council of States seat against Verena Diener,[16] Maurer contented himself with the presidency of the Zürich section of the People's Party.

[17] On 27 November 2008, the party's parliamentary group unanimously nominated both Maurer and Blocher as candidates to succeed Schmid as Federal Councillor.

[36] In February 2024, Maurer criticized "hysteria around Covid" and vaccine mandates, and defended his actions as Federal Councillor during the pandemic.