Pascal Broulis elected as a member of the Vaud Council of States
Published: Sunday, Nov 12th 2023, 16:50
Updated At: Sunday, Nov 12th 2023, 16:53
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FDP politician Pascal Broulis has been elected to the Council of States for the canton of Vaud. He clearly beat his challenger Raphaël Mahaim from the Greens in the second round of voting on Sunday.
Former Vaud Finance Director Broulis received 53.6% of the vote (89,058 votes). His opponent received 44.92% of the vote (74,648 votes). Voter turnout was 37.03%, which was lower than in the first round (43.48%).
Broulis lived up to his role as favorite in the race for the second seat in the Vaud Council of States. As expected, the man from the Vaud Jura was successful in the rural municipalities, but he also won in cities such as Nyon, Yverdon and Montreux.
Mahaim was able to score points in some cities, particularly in Lausanne and Vevey, where he received over 60 percent of the vote. However, he was unable to make up the ground he lost.
However, he did manage to make up for some of his handicap from the first round of voting: While he was 37,084 votes behind on October 22, he was only 14,410 behind on Sunday.
Broulis accepted his election with "joy and emotion", as he said. He said he was "proud" of the campaign by the civic alliance with the FDP, SVP and the center. Mahaim, for his part, was "disappointed". Nevertheless, he mentioned a "fairly competitive" second round of voting and confirmed that the Vaud Greens "will be back in four years' time."
For the first time in Bern
The 58-year-old Broulis will be sitting in Bern for the first time, having made his mark on the political history of the canton of Vaud. He was already a municipal councillor in Sainte-Croix at the age of 20, later a member of the cantonal parliament (1990-2002) and, above all, a member of the Vaud government for two decades (2002-2022).
As finance minister, the former banker succeeded in restoring balance to the canton's disastrous finances when he took office. In the State Council, Broulis worked together with his Social Democrat counterpart Pierre-Yves Maillard for many years.
The two men were regarded as the architects of the "dynamic Vaudois compromise", which strikes a balance between economic and social issues. Trade union president Maillard had already been elected to the Council of States in the first round on October 22.
Greens lose seat
In Bern, the duo will succeed the Greens Adèle Thorens and the FDP politician Olivier Français, who have both retired from political life. The Green Party is therefore losing another seat in the Council of States.
By becoming a member of the Council of States, Broulis also frees up a seat in the FDP's National Council. This goes to the previous incumbent Daniel Ruch, who came first among his party's successors.
Although Mahaim was defeated in the Council of States election on Sunday, he had already been elected to the National Council on October 22. He came second for the Vaud Greens, who won three seats in Bern.
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