Drin Alaj and Zari Dzafari

Drin Alaj (28) (on the left in the photograph) and Zari Dzafari (33) (on the right) are both the offspring of parents who came to Switzerland as seasonal workers. Now they have both been elected to serve on local councils, bucking a trend where the SP party did not fare so well. What both are keen to do is to get more young people involved in politics.

Dzafari, a school teacher, has in fact been a member of the cantonal parliament since 2011 and this year the Macedonian achieved the highest number of votes any candidate for the cantonal parliament has ever received. From next year he will also be sitting on Baar council, seeing off two established members with support from 3,264 voters.

Alaj, who has Kosovan roots, was equally successful, having won seats both to the cantonal parliament and to the council in Cham.

When the pair were asked whether they thought it was purely by chance two people from immigrant background had succeeded in being elected for the SP party, Dzafari mentioned how many parties try to entice migrants to vote for them and encourage them to join and this is a good thing. “I note a hint of opportunism with some parties, though,” he said, “whereas we in the SP party have always encouraged people who have integrated to get involved in politics. Hence it is only natural when two like us are elected. It is also a coincidence, too, of course, but we have been elected primarily because voters feel we can do the job.”

When asked if, in electing them, voters were also seeking younger representatives, Dzafari replied that people had voted for him because of the commitment he had showed, knocking on the doors of some 700 households in Baar, for example. “Youth alone is not enough,” he said, “You have to have energy, too. It is important for them to see you take seriously whatever concerns them,” adding how he felt it essential young people should be represented on councils, in order to get the right balance.

For his part, Alaj, who was previously not as well known as Dzafari, said he had to ensure people got to know him. He felt his being elected was the sign the SP was on the right tracks and felt his age did help. “While older representatives can express the views of the young, it is better if they do it themselves,” he said.

Would they like to expand on this hard-working approach they have?
“It is the case in life in general that people who are ambitious and know what effort is needed to achieve their goals are generally more successful. My parents came to Baar as guest workers and were great examples of hard work and ambition. It was totally normal for me, for example, to work at weekends. Many of my pupils in Menzingen come from local farming families and have learned to be able to help out from a young age, though their names are Röllin, for example, not Dzaferi.”

When Alaj was asked if he was looking forward to his new role with responsibility for traffic and public safety, he said he was, and looking forward, too, to the challenges of reducing congestion at rush hour times or pushing for more facilities for cyclists by the Alpenblick development. He also said he fully intended to implement what the SP party stood for, i.e. acting for everyone, not just the few, not least for young people, bearing in mind the high rents in Cham, whilst not forgetting the needs of old people, too.

Asked how they would cope serving on council as well as being in the cantonal parliament, Alaj said he would have to strictly separate both roles, but that he was capable of this. Dzaferi agreed it would be a challenge for him, too, but he felt it was a good thing that specialist knowledge he had gleaned from experience on councils would be of benefit in parliament. “I feel I am up to the challenge, the support I received showing, too, locals have confidence in me.”

And what about encouraging more people with migratory background to vote?
Alaj mentioned how he had read where immigrants were often more interested in politics in their home country than in Switzerland, and language was a barrier at times, too. “What is important is that we explain complex matters in a simple way,” he said, as Dzaferi added how some of his pupils were not always sure what referenda were about. The Macedonian also mentioned how important personal contact was, and recounted how, in his home country, he had always been told how bad Roma people were, yet having met some since, and recalling the positive experience this was, his views changed.

The 33-year-old also said how important it was to make use of social media to get through to young people, adding, jokingly, he was looking for an app which enabled him to remember names better, as he felt this would be of great help in his new roles.

The pair share an interest in football and recall playing together at the Cantonal School they both attended, Dzaferi having gone there by a circuitous route, while Alaj went there directly.

Would it be right to say Dzaferi is the more practical one whereas Drin is more academic?
The latter replied how he had studied political science but is still involved in the family’s plastering business. And he had always worked at something, whether it be hiring out boats or translating. “What is important is that we know what concerns people and that we treat each other with respect. Whether one is academic or not is of secondary importance only.”

With Dzaferi being, as mentioned, a teacher, would he be able to continue to teach as much?
“This depends on what responsibilities I am given on the council, but I think I will have to cut down my teaching timetable by half. It is not so easy to be able to divide one’s work up if you are a teacher. After all, if there are lessons, you have to be there, don’t you?”