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In Bern, the left holds four out of five seats in city government. The same in Geneva. In Lausanne, left-wing parties hold six of the seven executive power seats. In Zurich there are six out of nine. In the canton of Basel-Stadt, however, the bourgeoisie could obtain a majority in the second vote on November 29. The governing council could lean to the right.
Why is that? Why is the third largest Swiss city leaving? Are the people of Basel tired of leftist recipes? Tired of car parking lots giving way to bike lanes? That cooperative housing is subsidized and that taxes remain comparatively high so that the state can expand its services?
Higher taxes for high-income people
No. In municipal voting, the people of Basel sometimes make decisions even further to the left than the previous government wanted. For strict protection of tenants. To calm traffic. And high-income people, as the Young Socialists demanded, have had to pay more taxes for years, even though the state bill is jet black.
So what is happening in the canton of the city? If executive policy is not fundamentally questioned, what is the reason?
The dominant SP has grown arrogant. And with it the Greens. Both parties are making hair-raising mistakes. And the exponents of both parties believe that there is no need to fight for the support of those who have the right to vote. You can count on it, you can even demand it.
First act of the tragedy: the regional council. Why was it created in 2009? Elmar Ledergerber impressed the people of Basel. The mayor of Zurich represented his city in a refined way and influenced national politics with his proposals. Someone was also wanted as a leather tanner on the Rhine knee. Klaus Wowereit then visited Basel. Wow, the Wowereit! The then mayor of Berlin made a great impression on the Constitutional Council. After his conference it was clear: Basel needs a presidential department.
The SP government councils preferred to occupy the departments in which there are more decisions. They left the regional council to the Greens.
Overloaded by the regional council
Guy Morin was a fairly rigid representative. No national policy proposals emerged from him. With Elisabeth Ackermann things got worse in 2017. The green politician left an uncomfortable impression on his appearances. And he managed to mess up one of his few files, culture. Several museums in Basel encountered financial and personal difficulties. Basel adds a lot to its reputation as a cultural city. Discontent with Ackermann grew.
Injured: District President Elisabeth Ackermann.
© Georgios Kefalas / KEYSTONE
On October 25, he became part of the list of candidates. There are seven seats in the government of the city of Basel; Ackermann finished in ninth place. A debacle. The governing bodies of the SP and the Greens seemed astonished. For 16 years, the shift from right to left, its candidates had been chosen more or less in a package. The removal of an applicant from the list was not envisaged.
The Greens were clear that they had to leave Ackermann. But they had not prepared for this case. There was no substitute everywhere. Then Heidi Mück jumped into the gap. He belongs to the splinter party Basta (the strong Basel alternative) and is so far to the left that even the Social Democrats get sick.
Mück believes that nationalizing the Basel pharmaceutical industry could be considered. At least one part. Mück explains that the Justice Department is not right for her because she has “a difficult relationship with police officers.” Mück signed a call to boycott Israel’s products.
The SP does not want to be left behind in shame. Governing council candidate Kaspar Sutter suggests that the presidential department should take responsibility for environmental issues, but only if party colleague Beat Jans becomes district president, otherwise not. The SP tried to perfect it immediately, but local television had filmed Sutter while he was lost. We Social Democrats play with the government that suits us, and the other parties should see where they stay, that is the attitude of the official for a long time.
Sutter has already announced which department he would like to take on himself if elected. This is completely unusual and shows just how presumptuous the Basler SP has become. Can the bourgeoisie seize the opportunity?
Liberal Democrat attorney Stephanie Eymann narrowly missed the jump to government on the first ballot. It would be a surprise if he didn’t make it now. Liberal Baschi Dürr, Acting Director of Justice and Security, however, is concerned about his re-election. He is considered quite aloof and has earned a reputation for being attentive for a long time when there are problems in his department.
The canton of the city lacks dynamism
Esther Keller could benefit from the green liberals. Even in the cantonal parliament, the LPG decides whether the left or the right will prevail. Keller could soon fill this role on the governing council.
The former journalist and now freelance communicator clashes with the claim that Basel and its government lack dynamism. The canton of the city is not doing it wrong. Novartis and Roche fill the treasury with their tax contributions; In 2019 it achieved a colossal surplus of 746 million francs. The government manages success and does not dare to open the old industrial areas for new uses. The SP wants to spend more money and now asks for free childcare for all.
What is the lesson of Basel for commoners in other Swiss cities? How do you get the majority in government or at least come close to a change of power? Liberals, Liberals and Christian Democrats no longer join forces with the SVP in Basel. This increases the chances of voting in the middle. The Popular Party has regressed in the border canton anyway after internal disputes.
Bourgeois approaches have a hard time in the big Swiss cities. The parties of the right have to wait until the left, accustomed to success, stumbles on their arrogance. Like in Basel.
