Martullo-Blocher sponsors SVP-Friedli’s election campaign

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SVP National Council member Esther Friedli (45) has a mission: on Sunday she finally wants to conquer a St. Gallic States seat for the SVP. The party has already tried many candidates: Thomas Müller (70), Roland Rino Büchel (57), Mike Egger (30) and former party chairman Toni Brunner (48) have tried – and failed. No one succeeded in pushing the political dinosaur Paul Rechsteiner (70) out of office. Now he is gone, after more than 36 years in the Federal Palace.

Only three women can stop Friedli. They have also made a name for themselves in federal Bern: the national councilors Barbara Gysi (58, SP), Franziska Ryser (31, Greens) and Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher (56, FDP). Friedli’s chances aren’t bad. In a representative survey of the «St. Galler Tagblatt” she received more than 41 percent of the vote. Vincenz-Stauffacher, Ryser and Gysi battled for second place.

Martullo-Blocher paid for advertising

Friedli, who initially rose to prominence as the woman on Toni Brunner’s side, has long made a name for herself as an independent SVP politician. Since she is a well-known representative of the strongest party in the canton, her lead is not surprising. But she also has the most money at her disposal. She claims to have spent about 150,000 francs on posters and campaign articles. Competitors Gysi and Vincenz-Stauffacher work with 120,000 and 100,000 francs respectively. According to the “Tablatt”, Franziska Ryser spends 50,000 francs.

SVP politician Friedli can also count on prominent support. Ems boss and Rijksraadmember Magdalena Martullo-Blocher (53) confirmed to Blick that she paid for election posters for the SVP candidate. She couldn’t say how much the amount was for this because she “hadn’t seen the bill yet,” she explains. In addition, she is not yet obliged to disclose this because there are no transparency rules for this election.

Farmers also help

The Boerenbond St. Gallen and the Boerenbond also support Friedli – even with their own campaign. “The concerns of the rural population are high on Esther Friedli’s political agenda,” the associations declare their commitment. When asked about the budget, Farmer President Markus Ritter, 55, said they had invested “less than 10,000 francs” in the campaign. In addition, there are countless unpaid working hours, adds the member of the Agricultural Council of St. Gallen, the canton’s farmers’ parliament.

Despite prominent support: the chance that Friedli will fulfill her mission on Sunday is small. A second round of voting is likely – it’s about how the competition behaves. There is an agreement between Gysi and Ryser: whoever receives fewer votes withdraws. However, there is a risk that the remaining candidate will take votes away from moderate FDP member Vincenz-Stauffacher.

Source:Blick