Scandal in the Cantonal Parliament of Zurich! The reason: Barely eleven days after the elections, Cantonal Councilor Isabel Garcia (59) announced on Thursday that she would switch from the GLP to the FDP.
“Election fraud,” GLP members chanted. And it wasn’t long before clamors for his resignation were heard, especially from the left. No wonder: with Garcia’s conversion, the climate alliance of SP, Groenen, AL, EVP and GLP loses its narrow majority in the cantonal council.
Garcia is not thinking about resigning
She felt “better off” with the FDP, Garcia justified her change of party. Most importantly, the GLP’s financial and economic policy orientation has recently become out of “alignment with their values in this regard.”
However, Garcia is not considering stepping down as some of her former party friends are demanding. The subdistrict court judge told the “NZZ”: “I stick to my mandate.”
Federal Supreme Court ruling: conversion to legal party
Your ex party spendli’s hands are tied – they can’t take any action against it. Because the Federal Supreme Court supports such party changes, even if they happen shortly after the election.
In 2008, Barbara Keller-Inhelder (54), who later became a member of the state council of St. Gallen, switched from the CVP to the SVP more than two months after the elections. At the time, the federal Supreme Court ruled that Keller-Inhelder’s move was “questionable” and that the “loss of political credibility was great.” The transfer to the party was legal.
However, the Federal Supreme Court ruled in its decision that the cantonal legislature would be free to establish a settlement on consequences in the event that an elected candidate switched before the election was valid.
Cantonal Council would be asked
Upon request, Zurich’s Justice and Home Affairs Directorate also confirmed that it would be possible at the cantonal level to issue a regulation for cases such as Garcia’s. However, this is “not a legal, but a political issue”, for which the cantonal council as legislator would be responsible.
But nobody plans to prevent such party defectors shortly after the election. If you ask around among the party members of the Climate Alliance, it sounds the same everywhere: what Garcia deduces is not correct, but it is not forbidden either. And Isabel Garcia should no longer have any influence on legislative changes anyway.
Questions upon questions at the GLP
The GLP is now reviewing the books to be better prepared for similar issues in the future. From a democratic point of view, Garcia’s party change so soon after the election was problematic, said Corina Gredig, 35, of Zurich-based GLP. “But legally it’s probably valid,” she says.
However, many questions remain unresolved: for example, what will happen to mandate fees, ie the amounts that parliamentarians pay to their party? And what about the money the GLP poured into Garcia’s campaign? questions upon questions. Gredig has at least one answer: “It is clear to us that the voters have given the mandate to the GLP.”
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
