Basel Greens attack SP government seat with Jérôme Thiriet
Published: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 12:12
Updated At: Wednesday, Dec 20th 2023, 12:12
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Following the election of Beat Jans (SP) to the Federal Council, the Greens of Basel-Stadt are laying claim to the SP's government seat. The party is sending Councillor Jérôme Thiriet into the race for the by-election on March 3. The SP is annoyed by the decision.
The Executive Board intends to propose the candidacy at the general meeting on January 7, as the party announced to the media on Wednesday. Thiriet has been a member of the Grand Council for the Greens since the beginning of 2019 and is also running for the presidency of the cantonal government. The 41-year-old is Managing Director of the Basel courier center.
Thiriet told the media that he would try to win the seat in March. He is "a doer and a dynamic person who designs and implements". He is also well connected. The government office appeals to him greatly.
The party's aim is to have the social-green majority back in government, said Co-President of the Greens, Raffaela Hanauer. There needs to be a voice for climate and the environment in the executive again.
The Greens lost their government seat in the general elections in the fall of 2020. Elisabeth Ackermann, then president of the government, withdrew from the race after her poor performance in the first round of voting. The SP has three seats in the seven-member Basel government, the LDP two and the CVP and GLP one each.
SP considers strategy to be wrong
The decision was made as an "overall view of the coming election year", said Hanauer. After the by-election on March 3, the general elections for the government and parliament will take place in the canton of Basel-Stadt on October 20.
Hanauer responded to objections from media representatives that the Greens would jeopardize the two-decade-long cooperation with the SP with the following words: "We want a social-green majority with the SP." The SP was an important partner and had also been informed of the decision.
Lisa Mathys, President of the Basel SP, is not pleased about this course of action: "We take note of this. I am not enthusiastic about the decision and it is clear that this will not improve cooperation," she said when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency.
She also considers the move to be "strategically wrong". If you want a social-green majority in the executive, then you don't have to attack the SP seat, said Mathys.
Citizens decide soon
Former National Councillor Mustafa Atici and Grand Councillor Edibe Gölgeli are running to succeed Jans in the SP. The party will decide at the delegates' meeting on Wednesday evening who it will send into the race.
Unlike the Greens, the Basel left-wing party Basta has announced that it will not be standing as a candidate in the elections to replace the governing council. The party does not want to contest an SP seat, which is why it has decided not to stand as a candidate, it said on social media. Various media outlets have reported in recent days that National Councillor Sibel Arslan would like to run for the cantonal council.
The Civic Party intends to announce its candidacy and strategy for the by-election on March 3 in the near future.
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