class=”sc-29f61514-0 dXbCZE”>
Ultimately, 671 votes determined the future of Meret Schneider (31). 671 votes that she was missing.
The National Councilor of Zurich is one of five Greens who failed to win re-election on October 22. Four years after the green wave brought her to parliament, she has already had to vacate her seat in parliament. The deselection hit the young politician hard. She, who usually attracts attention on the social media platform
She knew it would be close
A week and a half later, Meret Schneider picked herself up again. Blick meets her in a vegan shop in her hometown of Uster, where she currently helps out occasionally. “I took precautions so that I wouldn’t fall into a hole if I was voted out,” she says. Because she too was aware, given the research and her place on the list, that it would be tight – and possibly not enough. “It was clear to me: if anyone cares, it’s probably me,” says Schneider matter-of-factly.
The Zurich native, who made headlines across Switzerland as an animal rights activist and advocate for vegan menus in canteens before being elected to the National Council in 2019, quickly made a name for herself in parliament. The factory farming initiative that Switzerland voted on last year shocked farmers. At the same time, contrary to her reputation, she showed herself in parliament as an agricultural politician with a serious desire to find solutions that would attract a majority. To do this, she delved into topics, invited her opponents to talk – and in her spare time helped make hay, blacken and harvest apples so as not to have to accept the accusation of politicization from the ivory tower.
This earned her respect far beyond party lines. But she also received criticism from radical animal rights activists. Meret Schneider used the statement ‘Back to Sunday Roast’ in the ‘Arena’ to promote the idea that people should eat less meat and eat more consciously. She turned against radical vegans who accused her of allowing herself to be exploited by the meat lobby.
Much sympathy from all sides
Even middle-class colleagues contacted her after she was voted out and expressed their condolences, says a moved Schneider. “I was overwhelmed by the many responses.” Farmers from all over Switzerland contacted her and invited her to their farm. “I will definitely visit a few.”
The compassion is in stark contrast to the hatred Schneider has faced in recent years. The Green Party received several death threats, once finding a rope in the letterbox and another time razor blades as a call to suicide. Most of the time, she notes, it wasn’t their political content that made them targets. But especially her appearance.
This worries Schneider. She doesn’t let hatred touch her heart, but of course it doesn’t leave her unscathed either. Meet at home? That was not the case, she made it clear when arranging the Blick appointment. She absolutely does not want her address to be known.
She wants to write a book
Still, says Schneider, she looks back on the four years with a very positive feeling. It is not only her fellow council members who will have fond memories of her. But also all meetings, especially during the election campaign. During her time as a national councilor, she learned to separate one’s political views from those as a person. “There is more positivity in people than you think,” she says.
The contacts with people also inspired her to start the project that she now wants to tackle after her time in the National Council: Schneider wants to write a book. It should not be about politics or agriculture, but about people who work at small train stations in Switzerland. “During the election campaign I was constantly on the road and talking to people. They told me the most exciting stories,” says Schneider, describing how the idea came about. If she is not re-elected, she will write these stories down in a book, which she wrote on X a week before the elections. The day after she was voted out, a publisher contacted her. An exchange is currently taking place, Schneider says.
She says she’s amazed at the doors that have opened since Oct. 22. Completely automatically. The political chapter is not yet over for Schneider either. She says she can certainly imagine herself running for re-election in four years at best. In any case, she remains active with the Greens and continues to advocate for sustainable agriculture. “There is still a lot of work to be done.”
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
