Male politicians of all parties condemn sticker action

As previously reported, 54 posters of men standing for election to parliament in Bern were defaced with “When will a woman be sent there?” stickers over the course of Saturday night and Sunday morning.

In addition to the canton of Zug, the cantons of Obwalden and Glarus and the   half canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden have likewise never sent a woman to represent them in Bern.

The group behind the action mentioned in an e-mail, without revealing their identity, that they had chosen to post the stickers over 54 male candidates as this figure represented the number of male parliamentarians the canton had sent to Bern so far.

One of the candidates whose posters were affected was Matthias Michel of the FDP party, a former member of the cantonal government and (former) head of the Cantonal Department of Economic Development, who is standing for a seat in the Council of States. He said he could understand how women felt there should be more female representatives in Bern but condemned their action in placing stickers over faces of male candidates in this way, which he felt was counter-productive, adding that whoever did it should fight for what they wanted openly and not anonymously. In the meantime, his campaign supporters, both men and women, had removed the stickers from posters depicting him.

Heinz Tännler of the SVP party and the current director of finance in the canton, who is also standing for a seat in the Council of States, was equally targeted by the protesters. He said that behaving in this way was unsporting, fair play being an essential aspect of any election campaign. Along with supporters, he, too, had removed the offending stickers.

Thomas Aeschi of the SVP party, who already sits in the National Council and is seeking re-election, was also targeted by the group, his face being totally sprayed over and horns added to his head, not to mention insulting remarks added (not published here - nor in the Zuger Zeitung). Defiant, he said, “Such action will not stop me standing for the interests of the people of Zug,” he insisted, adding that he would refrain from taking legal action.

Posters depicting Andreas Lustenberger of the Alternative Green Party, who is standing for a seat in the National Council, were equally vandalised. “I found this a questionable way of going about things. Posting stickers over faces in this way does not help their cause at all. It is very much like the current situation in Bern, with people not coming together to find solutions,” he said. His supporters equally helped remove the stickers from his posters and those of representatives of other parties.

For his part, Peter Hegglin, a former cantonal director of finance who already sits in the Council of States and who is seeking re-election, did not rule out taking legal action, something he would consider even more if it were to re-occur. “It is not a fair way of going about things,” he said, the offending stickers on his posters also having been removed.