New Geneva Council of States member Mauro Poggia moves closer to SVP
Published: Monday, Nov 27th 2023, 17:40
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Mauro Poggia, the new MCG Councillor of States in Geneva, is moving closer to the SVP parliamentary group. An agreement with the SVP will allow him to take on mandates in committees while retaining his independence, as he says. According to the SVP, clarifications are still underway.
The SVP parliamentary group allows him to work with them without being integrated, Poggia told the Keystone-SDA news agency, confirming a report by the local television station Léman Bleu. He thanked the SVP for its open attitude.
Poggia said it was a question of striking a balance between efficient council work and consideration for his electorate. After all, his voters do not share all of the SVP's ideas.
Poggia said that it was important for him to be able to represent his own ideas, especially on the subject of health. And unlike the National Council, the members of the small chamber represent their canton first and only then their party. Parliament will discuss the distribution of committee seats in the winter session.
Clarifications in progress
SVP parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday that Poggia had neither been accepted into the parliamentary group nor was he a member of the SVP group in the Council of States. The parliamentary services are currently clarifying whether Poggia can be included in the so-called "group" of SVP members of the Council of States as a non-SVP parliamentary group member.
Until now, it was considered likely that Poggia would have had to play politics without a parliamentary group and would therefore have had no claim to committee seats. His two party colleagues in the National Council wanted to join the SVP. He himself initially preferred the center, but this is not possible according to parliamentary law.
The Center Party announced on Friday that it would not accept any members of the Geneva protest movement MCG. This decision was taken unanimously, Center Party President Gerhard Pfister told media representatives. It was concluded that the political positions of the two parties were too far apart.
The former State Councillor Poggia, who is very popular in Geneva, was elected to the Council of States on November 12 together with Carlo Sommaruga (SP). Lisa Mazzone from the Greens lost her seat.
©Keystone/SDA
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