The middle bastion in the Council of States trembles

The St. Gallen FDP and national councilor Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher (55) are in the race for the vacant seat of the Council of States of the outgoing SP politician Paul Rechsteiner (70). Your chances of moving to the Stöckli for St. Gallen are considered intact.

This means that the cards are being reshuffled throughout Switzerland: until now, the Council of States has been the center’s trump card. The party has dominated the small room for decades. Since 2003, the former CVP has taken most of the seats there. So far, it has claimed 14 of a total of 46 seats in the Council of States, more than any other party. The role of the center is correspondingly important, for example when it comes to solutions for the AHV. But now the party leadership fears a possible loss of interest in the small room.

Because the top position could soon be over. The election forecasts for 2023 are rosy, especially for the liberals – especially in the Council of States. Today there are 12 liberal cantonal representatives in the Stöckli, and next autumn there could be more. Like St. Gallen’s, but also in Solothurn and Schwyz, the FDP could have a lead. With these additional representatives, the FDP would now become the strongest faction in the small room.

Attack on all parts of the country

Tension had risen considerably in the canton of St. Gallen. With SP man Paul Rechsteiner, the longest-serving MP takes off his hat – and that at the end of the year. Well-known names such as SP councilor Barbara Gysi (58) and SVP council colleague Esther Friedli (45) are competing for the successor. But they now also have to win the seat with Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher.

After the resignation of SVP member of the Council of States Alex Kuprecht (64) at the end of the term of office, the FDP has the opportunity to compete for an extra seat in the Council of State in Schwyz. For this, Landsraadslid and former FDP leader Petra Gössi (46) is in the race.

In Ticino and Geneva, the Freisinnigen are also in combat mode. The party says it wants to attack the seats of the left there. In Ticino they aim for the seat of SP woman Marina Carobbio (56). In Geneva, they want to compete with the SVP for one of the seats of Carlo Sommaruga (63, SP) and Lisa Mazzone (34, Greens).

Seat in Zurich is uncertain

The bright prospects that the traditional Zurich seat of the outgoing Ruedi Noser (61) is shaking should be clouded. There is a good chance that the GLP with Tiana Angelina Moser (43) will take the seat from the liberals. But the Greens could also seize Zurich’s mandate from city councilor Daniel Leupi (56).

Overtaking the center would also be important for the FDP, because by December 2023 at the latest, the question will arise whether the party is still entitled to two seats in the Federal Council. The 2019 national elections ended with losses to the FDP. With a voter share currently at 15.1 percent, two seats are no longer set in stone. Especially since the Greens have claimed a seat.

What is special about the elections to the Council of States, however, is that they follow their own dynamics that are not expressed in the voter share of the parties. However, the constellation in many cantons is now extremely favorable for the FDP, unlike the SP. She has the problem that a number of old councilors are no longer standing. In contrast, the GLP continues to struggle to get more than one seat in the Council of States.