Parliamentarian resigns to spend more time on mayoralty

On Monday Josef Ribary of the FDP party announced that he would be resigning his position as member of the cantonal parliament with immediate effect to concentrate on his other job as mayor of Unterägeri. In an interview with a journalist of the Neue Zuger Zeitung he explained why.
 
Had he underestimated the amount of work involved?
"Absolutely," confessed Ribary. "In addition to the parliamentary sessions there are various committees and other meetings. Then you have to wade through detailed dossiers about changes to the law and all this in addition to being mayor of Unterägeri, which is almost a full-time job in itself. At the moment we are involved with work at the maintenance depot and the swimming pool and all of this makes heavy demands on my time, not to mention the representational side of the job and numerous other meetings I have to attend."
 
When asked if he thought he might be leaving those who elected him in the lurch, Ribary said that he did not. "I am honest. I am going now rather than continuing unwillingly for a further two years in parliament. I spent some time considering my resignation; it was not something I did on the spur of the moment."
 
"Would you advise other politicians active in the municipalities against sitting in parliament, too?" asked the journalist.
"Indeed, I would," replied Ribery, "though it is very much an individual issue."
 
When asked what was for him the final straw, Ribery replied that it had been the stress building up over a period of time. "I simply lost the enjoyment of being a parliamentarian and found I was not able to take part in leisure activities which I needed to do as a balance to my job."
 
However, Ribary is looking forward to continuing as mayor of Unterägeri, which he regards as an exciting and interesting job.
 
"So what is the difference between work as a parliamentarian and that of mayor?"
"As a parliamentarian, one is a member of a legislative body, where procedures are inevitably rather slow. As mayor the paths to making decisions are much shorter and it is possible to get things done more quickly."
 
If all conditions are met, it is expected that Renato Sperandio will take over Ribary's seat in the cantonal parliament.


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