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He didn’t deserve that. Baschi Dürr, Basel-Stadt security director, was sanctioned by the sovereign on the second ballot. For what? It is not easy to find the reasons for this. As head of the Department of Justice and Security, Dürr did a good job in an often emotionally charged environment after initial communication difficulties. The police force appears to have calmed down.
Dürr represents an economically liberal and open socio-political mentality. The fact that he often leaves an unapproachable impression on many outsiders has mostly to do with the fact that he does not snuggle up and does not hide his intellectual acuity. Can you accuse him of that? Is that supposed to be the reason to vote?
Rather, his defeat can be explained in the context of Basel-Stadt party politics. The once proud FDP has not been able to convey in recent years why they should be elected and not strengthened liberals. The PLD, on the other hand, which was once Baschi Dürr’s political home, has managed, in an almost ingenious way, to attract a clientele far larger than its central upper-middle-class constituency.
Stephanie Eymann now benefits from this makeover and the weakness of the free spirit. She enters the government with a brilliant result: her, who remains a blank slate even after a long election campaign. Friendly and confident in appearance, but vague in terms of content and not fixed on the record. Inactive to speculate on how many thousands of additional votes the prominent name has earned him.
Basel-Stadt therefore allows itself the luxury of sending a proven force into (very early) political retirement and putting it in “unknown”. Esther Keller, the second surprise winner of the day, can also be counted in this category. Her election to the government follows mainly a political logic and party tactic: anyone who wanted to prevent the extreme left Heidi Mück (Enough) as a bourgeoisie or a left march from putting their third cross on the ballot next to the name of Esther Keller . She benefited from the very specific constellation in this second ballot and was rewarded by a highly visible election campaign.
For Rotgrün, however, the results are sobering, for the SP, given the weakness of the left-wing candidate Mück, even very annoying. The Social Democrats can no longer rule as naturally as before. Esther Keller will be careful not to want to take away the dubious title of majority attorney from the resigning district president, Elisabeth Ackermann.
Whichever perspective you look at it from: a management election or change of power did not take place despite all the personnel changes. The people were punished. Ackermann (Greens) could not put any noticeable accent on her role as district president and Baschi Dürr, as described, fell victim to the liberal power play within the bourgeois bloc.
The canton of Basel-Stadt is doing too well in many respects to create a mood of change. In this situation, choosing is a luxury rather than a necessity. The canton of the city will continue to be governed according to the following principles: setting ecological standards, curbing “gentrification”, relying on the forces of the (too) large state apparatus, and acting moderately in both directions in terms of fiscal policy.
As a voter, do you find this a bit frustrating? Well, there are two small bright spots: The political-party composition of the new government corresponds exactly to the balance of power in the Grand Council. Ideally, this leads to an acceleration of the political process, to a stronger consensus building. Second, Basel-Stadt has a new district president and he must not be forgotten. Beat Jans has taken responsibility for himself and his party. As a person and as a politician, you have what it takes to finally shape the office.
