Party punishes dissenters: this is what FDP national councilor Jauslin says about his expulsion from the Environment Committee

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The expulsion of FDP national councilor Matthias Jauslin (61) from the Committee for the Environment and Energy was a blow: Jauslin has represented the canton of Aargau in the National Council since 2015. As an entrepreneur and director of an electrical installation company, he seemed ideal for work in the important committee that deals with issues such as energy transition and safety.

The demise of the FDP National Council has now been caused by its commitment to environmental issues. “Group leader Cottier told me that I deviate too much from the party line when it comes to energy and environmental issues. “In addition, my commitment to landscape protection and biodiversity was criticized,” Nauslin said in an interview with CH Media about his expulsion.

“Social control”

After Wednesday’s elections for the Federal Council, party chairman Thierry Burkhart (48) made it clear what the party leadership thought of dissenters: they looked closely at the FDP’s national and state council members to make sure they got one of the two candidates from the chose SP ticket. . The FDP parliamentarians peppered each other’s ballot papers. There is a kind of ‘social control’, says Burkhart.

The timing of Jauslin’s demotion may not be a coincidence. In the most recent parliamentary elections, the Greens received only 9.4 percent of the vote, meaning they lost 3.8 percentage points. From the point of view of the leadership of the FDP faction, this is the ideal time to make cuts to one of the last representatives of the eco wing.

‘My position does not suit everyone in the party’

In his place, Christian Wasserfallen, a clear proponent of nuclear energy, sits on the committee. Jauslin emphasizes in the interview that he is not a fundamental opponent of nuclear energy: “But I honestly say that we cannot close an electricity gap in the short term with new nuclear power stations. That has also been the FDP’s position until now.” But the fourth generation of nuclear power plants is simply not yet ready for the market. There is also a lack of investors for such investments. “But of course my position does not suit everyone in the party,” Jauslin admits.

The FDP National Council will sit on the Transport and Telecommunications Committee in the future. (smt)

Source:Blick