In the Basel government council: Former National Councilor Atici inherits Jans

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After Jans was elected member of the Federal Council on December 13, both a seat in the Basel government and in the regional council must be filled.

Atici won the race within the party against Grand Councilor Edibe Gölgeli, who received 56 votes. The 54-year-old entrepreneur Atici was not re-elected in the October federal elections after four years as a national councilor because the city canton lost a seat. At that time he achieved the second best result in the canton with more than 20,000 votes.

“First Mustafa in a cantonal government”

Like Gölgeli, Atici also has Kurdish roots and would be the first Basel executive member with a migration background if elected to the government. Now there is a chance that he could make history “as the first Mustafa in a Swiss cantonal government,” Atici said at the delegates’ meeting.

Atici was also interested in running for the Federal Council this year. However, he withdrew in favor of his Basel party colleague Beat Jans.

Criticism from the SP of the Greens

On Wednesday morning, the Greens also announced that they would attack the vacant SP government seat. They send Grand Councilor Jérôme Thiriet into the race. The decision of the alliance partners was discussed during the SP delegates meeting.

Basel SP chairman Lisa Mathys described the Greens’ candidacy as ‘strategyless’. “The close cooperation was today questioned by the Greens leadership,” she said. A common strategy to regain a red-green majority is also questionable. “Apparently the Greens’ board is putting its own interests above this strategic goal,” said Mathys.

It is still unclear who the civil parties will nominate. The FDP and the SVP, who, like the Greens, are not represented in the Basel government, have made their demands known. The left-wing Basta party had already withdrawn from the race, meaning that national councilor Sibel Arslan cannot participate. (SDA)

Source:Blick