Zug, 04.04.2019

List of potential candidates grows

As previously reported, Joachim Eder of the FDP party has decided not to stand for re-election in the Council of States in Bern.

It has since been confirmed that Matthias Michel of the FDP party (in the centre inthe photograph), the former member of the cantonal government responsible for the Department of Economic Development, has announced he intends to stand for a seat in this smaller parliamentary chamber, as has SVP member Heinz Tännler (on the right), the current cantonal director of finance.

Peter Hegglin (on the left), a former cantonal director of finance, currently occupies the other seat in the Council of States and he has announced he intends to stand for re-election. Of note is that each cantons is represented by two seats in this chamber, except the two half-cantons of Appenzell, the cantons of the City of Basel and Rural Basel, along with Obwalden and Nidwalden, which send just one each.

At present it has not been confirmed which members of other parties, particularly those of the Left, are to stand, though the name of Manuela Weichelt-Picard of the Alternative Green Party (ALG), who formerly headed the Department of Inner-Cantonal Affairs, has frequently been mentioned, even if the board of the ALG, together with city councillor Vroni Straub-Müller of the Christian Social Party and Andreas Lustenberger of the ALG, have proposed her (Weichelt-Picard) as a candidate for a seat in the National Council, the other, larger, parliamentary chamber in Bern.

It is thought that with both Michel and Tännler standing, the campaign could be quite electric, not least with the latter, as director of finance, being tough when it comes to cutbacks. It is thought that, if the canton’s finances are shown to better than expected when they are revealed shortly, Tännler will come under criticism for having introduced cuts which others felt were not necessary.