Green National Councilor Bastien Girod will not run for the Federal Council: “I will not be available this winter”

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He is an environmental scientist, helped launch the Stop Offroader initiative as a young Greenpeace and was involved as a Greenpeace activist. Zurich National Councilor Bastien Girod (42) is considered “Mr. Climate” – and therefore actually an ideal candidate for the Federal Council.

Blick: Mr. Girod, you already thought about running for the Federal Council in 2019. Regula Rytz was a candidate. Will you seize your chance this time?
Bastien Girod: At that time, the starting point for a candidacy after our historic election victory was clearer than it is now. I didn’t expect us to lose so badly. But after we in the group decided to start running again, I seriously considered running again.

With what result?
I have come to the conclusion that I am not available to run for office this winter. With Gerhard Andrey there is a good candidate with a similar political profile, which made the decision easier.

Based on your professional experience and as a former chairman of the Commission on Environment and Energy, you will be “Mr. Climate” pretty much embodies the green claim.
Yes, I can agree with that. But my fellow party member Andrey also embodies this statement. He will hold up the environmental and climate flag in the Federal Council. And with his digital background he brings even more important expertise. He is a great candidate to represent the Green Party.

Or you’re just happy that someone else gets burned. The chance of being chosen is zero.
There will definitely be another chance to get burned (laughs). But seriously: of course the starting position is difficult and if there were a vacancy for the FDP, our chances of being elected would be greater because the center does not want to vote out the sitting federal councilors. With a Green candidacy we emphasize our right to representation in the Federal Council. In purely mathematical terms, our claim to one seat is significantly greater than the FDP’s claim to two seats. The FDP is enormously overrepresented.

Nevertheless, it is presumptuous to claim a seat on the Federal Council after such a crushing defeat.
Taken in isolation, the losses hurt. But we must not be blinded by this! The Greens achieved the second best result in their party’s history with almost ten percent, while the FDP achieved the historically worst result. If you look at the trend of the past ten years, you will see a green upward trend. But you shouldn’t forget one thing…

What?
The GLP is another party not represented in the Federal Council that places particular emphasis on ecological issues. This green climate bloc – and therefore a large part of the population – is not represented in the state government. There is a lack of sensitivity and balance in the Federal Council when it comes to environmental issues, which is perfectly illustrated by the recent decision to allow the shooting of wolves. That has to change.

So far only one person, Andrey, has made himself available. Isn’t that too weak for a party with the right to govern?
There would still be a few people willing to flee. With his announcement, Andrey made the decision for many people, including me. The starting position is not simple. It is all the more important that we have a candidate that everyone can get behind and with whom we can conduct a motivated election campaign.

Source:Blick