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On Saturday, opponents of the Corona measures in Zurich will take to the streets for their rights to freedom. Former SVP city councilor Daniel Regli is also there.
The Swiss flag is a popular subject among Corona skeptics.
On the Helvetiaplatz of all places, in the heart of Zurich’s left, opponents of the Crown’s measures gather for a rally on Saturday. They want to demonstrate for freedom: “Freedom instead of a mask requirement, freedom instead of compulsory vaccination, freedom instead of emergency law”, as can be seen on a flyer. Several more or less questionable organizations invited to the demonstration. The citizen forum co-founded by former SVP councilor Daniel Regli is also actively promoting the occasion.
Regli has been known as a controversial figure on the Zurich political scene for years. With adventurous theories on the website buergerforum-schweiz.com, set a mood against the Federal Office of Public Health, WHO, and Bill Gates. The latter, Regli writes in a blog post, wants to “make the world happy with a mandatory vaccination.” On Saturday Regli wants to “go to the barricades” against the crown policy of the Federal Council. With its decision to close, the Federal Council inflicted enormous social and economic damage on the Swiss people, according to another article. “When it is finally clear how many billions of national wealth have been squandered, the financial worth of an older person, which the Federal Council has often inflated, will become clear.”
As legitimate and important as a critical discourse on sometimes drastic measures to contain the pandemic is, the strident slogans raise questions. How did the man who sat for nine years for the largest Swiss party in the Zurich city parliament become a crown skeptic? And what is the purpose of your commitment?
Right-wing patriots and esoteric critics of globalization
Regli just wanted to comment in writing to NZZ about the Corona rally and citizens’ forum.
How Did the citizen forum arise?
On personal contacts and contacts with supporters who have expressed themselves critically on the Internet. In the founding committee, people of my closest acquaintances have met and find the crown policy of the Federal Council inadequate.
Where are the supporters of the Citizen Forum politically?
I have no knowledge of the political home of the fans. I assume that people can be assigned to the entire political spectrum.
Daniel Regli is a devout Christian. The crown skeptical group, on the other hand, is harder to understand. SVP City Councilor Roberto Bertozzi and SVP Cantonal Councilor Peter Schick are listed on their website as supporters of the Citizens’ Forum. Until recently, SVP Cantonal Councilor Nina Fehr Düsel was also on the list.
On request, she writes: “I am passive here and I criticize the rigorous measures of the crown adopted by the federal government, which have led to extensive economic stagnation with serious consequences for many SMEs. I agree with the citizen forum on this point. There are no other points of contact with the forum (or with Mr. Regli). “After a request from NZZ, his name was removed. Fehr Düsel writes:” I recently resigned from the Citizens’ Forum because the closure has ended. “
Previous research by the NZZ has shown that anti-vaccination activists and right-wing patriots stir up a mood of protest, as well as esoteric critics of globalization. Not all are extremists. What unites the opponents, however, is a tendency toward crude theories and opinions “outside the mainstream,” as they like to call it themselves.
In the crosshairs of left-wing extremists
It is not the first time that Regli has made a name for himself with controversial statements. In December 2017 there was a scandal in the town hall. During the budget debate, Regli holds a mixed vote: Gay men between 30 and 40 years old would take their lives because the anal muscle no longer delivers what it promises. “Because many are not in diapers, there are suicides.” The statement draws wide circles. The SP calls for Regli’s resignation. The then party chairman of the SVP of the city of Zurich, Mauro Tuena, describes the statement as “out of place”.
Regli will no longer run in the 2018 municipal elections. Since departing from politics, he has increasingly devoted himself to the fight against abortion, or for life to be born, as he puts it. Regli is the president of the “March for Labe” association, a group of conservative Christians who campaign against abortion rights.
Regli is also offensive with his opinion on this issue. Last year, the anti-abortion party was only able to move under police protection. Out of fear of violent counter-protesters, the Zurich city executive wanted to ban the march. The anti-abortionists had their freedom of expression restricted, and ultimately they were right. The administrative court of Zurich granted approval to the demonstration movement in the second instance. This year the city of Zurich again banned the protest march.
Left-wing extremist circles have also announced counterattacks for Saturday. The fact that Corona skeptics are gathering in District 4 of all places is a provocation to them. The risk of the situation escalating is correspondingly high. The city police do not provide information on their strategy should the two groups meet. Upon request, he only reports that Corona skeptics have been granted permission for a permanent rally.
Mr. Regli, you defend life in the “March of the Lord”, according to its own statement. But now critics of the Crown’s measures say the few deaths must be accepted. How does that fit in?
Which statement from the Swiss Citizens’ Forum are you referring to?
The NZZ received a flyer from Daniel Regli by email at the end of March. It says: “33 deaths (BAG, March 19 and 20) do not justify the destruction of an economy.” And: «Dying is part of life! Should Switzerland close again with the next Corona wave in winter 20/21? “
Yes, “Dying is part of life!” That comes from my pen. . . Where did you get the “33 deaths”?
The ’33 dead. . . “They are in the same brochure since the end of March. How do you reconcile this with your attitude towards the ‘March for Life’, where you defend life? Or don’t you want to answer this question?
Submit a scan of the brochure or link. That is definitely not from our letter.
Soon after, Regli responds:
Ah, you mean this flyer. . . Yes, as of March 19 there were 33 deaths according to the BAG. . . At that point I had to refer to the current numbers. The citizen forum was founded on May 1. Back then, in March, the flyer was the first action I took on my own. My environment harshly criticized me for the inappropriate flyer and encouraged me to expand the citizens’ forum. We did it on May 1 with the foundation. I just knew that we didn’t have a flyer on our website related to “33 deaths.” The March flyer was no longer on my radar.
A preacher of hate?
Regli is a man full of contradictions. He wants to strictly separate his participation in the “March for Life” from the citizen forum. Before finding God, he was seriously addicted to drugs. In an interview with Tagblatt in 2013, he said: “Yes, in the late 1970s I used a lot of soft and hard drugs because I thought intoxication meant quality of life.” But then “God settled in me”, as he once told the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
Following the anal muscle scandal, columnist Réda El Arbi described Regli on the city’s “Tages-Anzeiger” blog as a “beardless preacher of hate.” When you meet Regli, you don’t feel any hatred. He’s courteous, speaks calmly, listens. But Regli also has another side. In 2008, the journalist and historian self-published the book “Liberation from gay prison.” The work is peppered with homophobic statements. In 72 pages, he takes a look “behind the scenes of highly praised male homosexuality”, addresses “the long-term harmful consequences of gay life” and shows the perspectives of gays and lesbians, because: “We can turn around and start again”. In the “March for Labe,” Regli says he is also committed to the well-being of women, to save them from suffering.
Regli sees himself as a helper, a benefactor. On the website of the citizens’ forum it says: “Concerned about the future of Switzerland and with the intention of improving proven democratic institutions.” The citizen forum wants to expose the crown policy and demands responsibility. “Major mistakes must have political and / or legal consequences,” Regli wrote in an email to NZZ. It also says: “The increasing number of mistakes and the panic-based corona policy must end quickly.” Instead, it calls for a controlled infection with “optimized protection for risk groups.”
City police declined to comment on the question of how many people were expected at the rally. The truth is that Daniel Regli will be there. Neither the rain nor the left autonomists scare him away.
“Mask requirement violates human dignity”: Corona skeptics oppose the federal government’s required mask requirement on public transportation.
