Dull election campaign in Aargau: the cards are hardly being reshuffled
Published: Wednesday, Oct 9th 2024, 09:50
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On October 20, the people of the canton of Aargau will elect a new government council and parliament. After a break of four years, a woman is expected to sit in the five-member government again. Voters are also likely to confirm the conservative majority in the Grand Council.
The election campaign has been rather dull so far - as it was four years ago. There is no issue in Aargau that really moves people. The state finances are in balance and the state has saved the Aarau cantonal hospital from bankruptcy with an emergency loan of CHF 240 million.
The conservative parties in the fourth-largest canton in terms of population need not fear losing their majority in government and parliament. The parties' slogans are familiar from previous elections. Interest in cantonal elections is rather low in Aargau: four years ago, the turnout was 33%.
Four incumbents want to continue governing
Four of the five government councillors are standing for re-election. These are Finance Director Mark Dieth (center), Construction Director Stephan Attiger (FDP), Health Director Jean-Pierre Gallati (SVP) and Justice Director Dieter Egli (SP). They are between 54 and 58 years old.
The four men emphasize their good teamwork. However, their parties refrain from making a joint recommendation. Egli is standing for re-election for the first time: He should probably succeed at his first attempt, but as four years ago, he should not achieve a brilliant result.
Battle for second SVP government seat
The parties are focusing on the second vacant SVP seat. The party with by far the most voters wants to defend the seat of Education Director Alex Hürzeler, who is stepping down after 16 years in office.
The 40-year-old SVP National Councillor Martina Bircher is supposed to fix it. Bircher takes a hard line on asylum and social policy. In the election campaign, the deputy mayor of Aarburg is seeking the political center on education and economic issues.
The Greens also have a woman in the race. 53-year-old Ruth Müri, a member of the Grand Council and city councillor in Baden, is expected to win back the seat that went to the SVP in 2016 following the resignation of Susanne Hochuli.
The Green Liberals want to win a government seat for the first time with 59-year-old National Councillor Beat Flach. Seven candidates are also standing as outsiders - including three young women from the Young Socialists.
Decision will probably be made in the run-off vote
The EPP has decided not to stand as a candidate. The three governing parties SP, Mitte and FDP only want to get their own government councillor in.
It is becoming apparent that the contest for the fifth seat will be decided in the run-off election. It will hardly be like years ago: Five councillors were elected at the first attempt - and the Green candidate, Christiane Guyer, also passed the absolute majority. However, she was eliminated as a supernumerary. Since then, Aargau has had a government consisting solely of men.
Minor shifts in the Grand Council
There could be shifts within the political camps in the election of the 140 members of the Grand Council, which is dominated by the middle classes. The six parties divide the seats as follows: SVP 43, SP 23, FDP 21, Center 18, Greens 14, GLP 13, EVP 6 and EDU 2.
The GLP and the Greens were the winners in 2019. The center made slight gains. The biggest loser was the SP, followed by the SVP and FDP. In the National Council elections in autumn 2023, the SVP gained ground again, while the Greens lost significantly and the centrists and FDP lost slightly. The SP and GLP held their ground.
The SVP, FDP and often also the center pull together in parliament - especially when it comes to asylum policy and immigration policy. The SP and Greens are also usually defeated in social and financial policy - although these two parties repeatedly support the cantonal government.
No list connection possible
All parties stand alone. A list combination is not possible. Aargau has been using the "Doppelter Pukelsheim" electoral system since 2009.
Accordingly, the voter shares of the parties in the entire canton are calculated first. In a second step, the seats won by each party are distributed among the eleven districts.
Small parties must achieve a voter share of at least five percent in a district or three percent in the entire canton in order to win any seats at all.
©Keystone/SDA
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