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Permanent provocateur to Senior Vice President Andreas Glarner (right) insulted his colleague on the council Sibel Arslan this week. Image: keystone
Glarner & Co abnormalities: Has the tone of Swiss politics gotten tougher?
The insulting and abusive politicians caused a sensation in the last week of the fall session. Are these just isolated cases, or is this the new tone of Swiss politics?
- Bern, this week: climate strikers occupy Bundesplatz square, politicians spit profanity (“huere fucking”), insult city councilors and climate strikers.
- Zurich this month: Crown skeptics see Switzerland on the way to dictatorship, warn against “Stasi methods.” Some opponents yell: “Covidiots!”
- Twitter, current voting campaign: SVP parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi describes Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter as “Fake News Karin.”
What is happening there? Why do some politicians lose their courage and decency? Has the tone of politics in general hardened? Seven theses on this:
It’s a long-term trend
Claude Longchamp has been following the political scene for decades. The historian and political scientist says: “The tone in politics has become harsher in the last 30 years.” It is not a linear development, the tone always depends on the current mood. But fundamentally, political communication is more strongly shaped by polarization, personalization and negative campaigns, that is, deliberately making the opponent bad. The most important thing for this is clear images of the enemy. “Brutality has increased considerably,” he says.
Voting analyst and head of gfs.bern: Claude Longchamp. Photo: trapezoidal
Baselbieter CVP National Councilor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter contradicts. “The political climate has not generally gotten harsher,” he says. People also get along very well between matches. Eric Nussbaumer (SP) and Franz Grüter (SVP) have a similar opinion. Other MPs think the tone has definitely gotten tougher, including Martin Landolt (BDP), Barbara Gysi (SP) and Christoph Eymann (LDP). Some see the SVP as the driver.
Online lowers the inhibition threshold
Get out your mobile phone, type a few words, and you’re online – today is that fast. Decency is sometimes forgotten. Letters and comments on social media have become more difficult, politicians say. However, some like to hand it out themselves, for example former national councilor SVP Claudio Zanetti. He tweeted about the climate strikers: “A couple of young farmers determined with the slurry tanker, and the theater on the Bundesplatz is biologically dominated.”
Karsten Donnay is assistant professor of political behavior and digital media at the Institute for Political Science at the University of Zurich. He says: “Discussions on Twitter tend to be more emotional and therefore can become more strongly polarized. Consequently, they can also change the perception of the degree of conflict of opinion on certain issues. ”So a conflict may seem bigger than it is.
The more pointed, the more present
Not only social media, but also traditional media play a role. On the one hand, because they report on Twitter posts from politicians, for example. This could contribute to the fact that media coverage is shifting towards more extreme and partly strongly polarizing content, Donnay explains. On the other hand, pointed opinions are more attractive than both long-worded statements. The CVP’s national adviser, Leo Müller, speaks of a spiral between politics and the media that continues to spin. “The more scathing a politician is, the more likely he is to be in the media. Some take advantage of this, ”he says.
On the other hand, those who behave decently and do not have an extreme position receive less attention. The center parties in particular suffered as a result. Müller warns of the consequences for politics: it will be difficult to forge compromises that make it difficult for Switzerland. “We are about to bet what has made us strong.”
Donald Trump’s style acts as a model
In the US, President Donald Trump has established a new style of politics: he constantly tweets, obviously lies, and defames his opponents. How this will affect politics in our country is currently extremely difficult to assess, explains Karsten Donnay of the University of Zurich. “Much of what happens in the United States is quite specific to the political system there. However, it is also true that populist parties or politicians look closely at what Trump achieves and how he proceeds. ”So, for some, Trump’s style is a kind of role model.
Polarize climate actions
This year impressively shows how quickly the mood can change. At the beginning of the crown crisis, consensus was the order of the day. Now everything seems very far away, especially this week. Due to the climate strikers, the nerves of some were on edge. Some MPs were greatly annoyed by how they occupied the Bundesplatz for two days: Something illegal is happening right in front of the Federal Palace, and nothing is being done about it! Furthermore, the SVP in particular sees the climate strikers as a reason for its electoral defeat last year. Added to this frustration are the effects of the crisis. “Confidence in the future has sunk, certainties are in question,” says political scientist Longchamp.
The illegal but peaceful occupation of the Bundesplatz by climate activists upset many commoners. Image: keystone
Nothing is safe from the cell phone
Just a few years ago, the general public would never have known about some of the anomalies that are making headlines today. Today, everyone has their cell phone handy to film or share their unfiltered anger on social media. Sometimes the fuses of some of them blow. SVP National Councilor Franz Grüter says: “Politicians are people too; an image of the population. “There are some who get scared faster, like anywhere else. But these are individual cases that are given a lot of weight in the media.
The consequences of the trend are uncertain
Some worry about our system. Claude Longchamp says: “In fact, speech is bipolar, but our system is multipolar.” In other words: the discussion is in black and white, but the scene of the party is much more colorful. The reason is polarization and the weak center. “The system is being emptied from the inside,” Longchamp says:
Some politicians are also concerned. In the committees, objectivity and willingness to compromise are declining significantly, explains BDP President Martin Landolt.
Women on the left in particular see it differently. Green National Councilor and former party chairman Regula Rytz says: “We are working more objectively and cooperatively than in the last legislature. Many veteran politicians from right-wing parties cannot handle that. ”The attacks are therefore an expression of frustration.
With all the changes, one thing remains the same: politicians rarely agree. How comforting.
