The Aargau SVP Landsraadslid Benjamin Giezendanner (40) wants to participate in the elections for the Council of States in October 2023. The 40-year-old entrepreneur has to defend the vacant SVP seat of the Council of States Hansjörg Knecht.
Giezendanner announced his candidacy on the regional TV channel Tele M1 on Friday. The president of the Aargau Trade Association (AGV) was elected to the National Council in 2019. His father, Ulrich Giezendanner, unsuccessfully ran for the Council of State in 2011.
The selection committee of the cantonal party first decides on a candidacy and then on the party meeting.
The race for the seat in Aargau
One of the two Aargau seats on the Council of State becomes vacant. The incumbent Council of States, Hansjörg Knecht, is no longer standing. The 62-year-old was elected in 2019, taking over the vacant seat from Pascale Bruderer (45, SP).
The FDP defended its vacant seat in the Council of States in 2019 with Thierry Burkart (47), the current chairman of the FDP Switzerland. Burkart is likely to run again in 2023.
The SP has already sent State Councilor Gabriela Suter (49) into the race as a candidate for the Council of State. The party wants to regain the seat of the SVP. EVP Landsraad member Lilian Studer (44) has also been nominated as a candidate for the Council of State. The centre, Greens and GLP have not yet decided on a candidacy.
(SDA)