Is Silvia Steiner missing a loser image in the middle?

The center is not doing badly at all at the moment – ​​at least the polls for the upcoming elections do not predict further losses. The upcoming elections in Zurich on February 12 could even lead to a slight increase. It would be the first for the party, formerly known as the CVP, in many years.

But the center could be unlucky: According to a new survey by the research institute Sotomo on behalf of the “Tages-Anzeiger”, the government councilor Silvia Steiner (64) is in danger of being voted out of the center.

Everyone would only talk about Steiner

According to the research, she has exactly the same share of voters as SP challenger Priska Seiler Graf (54). 36 percent of all respondents would write both women on the ballot paper. Seiler Graf leads the list of attackers, while Steiner carries the red lantern of all previous ones.

When it really comes down to it, it would be bitter for the middle. Because your good performance in the cantonal election is likely to be overshadowed by Steiner’s deselection. Instead of appearing as a (somewhat) successful party eight months before the federal election, it would once again have the image of the loser attached to it.

“We knew we had to fight”

The co-chair of the center in Zurich, Nicole Barandun, does not like to paint black. The investigation was conducted before the actual election campaign started, she says. She is therefore confident that the party will still be able to mobilize its own voters and those of other bourgeois parties.

But Barandun admits: “We knew from the start that as a small party we would have to fight for the seat.” Especially since the education department was not easy to manage during the corona pandemic and the teacher shortage. In fact, especially in the first two years of the pandemic, Steiner had to listen to accusations of inaction from many quarters because she kept schools open and also long resisted the obligation to wear masks in class.

Hope for civic solidarity

Barandun, on the other hand, points out that Seiler Graf is also a red rag for many: “I can hardly imagine that the FDP and SVP want Priska Seiler Graf to join the Zurich government. First, that would actually be a third SP seat , and second, Ms. Seiler was very polarized about the purchase of the fighter jet.”

The center does not give up without a fight: “We have put up a lot of posters in recent days and will campaign a lot, especially in rural areas with middle-class voters.” And last but not least, she hopes that the middle class members of the government will appear together. “It will raise awareness that mutual support is needed.”