In Bern, the GLP is going into the government elections with the SVP and others
Published: Tuesday, Jan 30th 2024, 22:10
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There will be a joint center-right list in the elections for the Bernese city government. On Tuesday evening, the members of the Green Liberals voted in favor of a joint list with the FDP, SVP, Mitte and EVP.
The party's decision in favor of the "Together for Bern" list was clear with 36 votes in favor, 11 against and one abstention, as the Green Liberals of the City of Bern announced.
The GLP spoke of an "alliance of convenience" aimed at winning a second seat on the five-member municipal council for middle-class and centrist parties. The aim is to promote diversity of opinion in the executive and to win one of the two seats as the third-largest party in the city.
The members' meeting took place behind closed doors. The participation of the GLP was controversial within the party, especially the joint cause with the right-wing SVP. This is the first time that the center-right in the city of Bern has joined forces on a broad-based list.
The FDP members unanimously approved the list last week. For the Center Party, the decision was made at board level. The SVP members are certain to vote yes on February 12. The EPP, as the smallest partner, will decide on February 14.
Large blocks have an advantage
The municipal council elections in Bern are proportional elections. The system favors large blocs. The red-green-center alliance (RGM) came to power in 1992 because a broad party alliance agreed on a joint list. Since 2016, RGM has even held four of the five seats and is clearly overrepresented in terms of voter shares.
The center-right parties have so far run separately or relied on smaller alliances. The party leaders agreed on a joint list at the beginning of this year in order to wrest at least one seat from RGM. The GLP is currently the strongest party in the center-right camp.
The elections in the city of Berne will take place on November 24. At least three municipal council seats will be filled. Mayor Alec von Graffenried (GFL) and Councillor Marieke Kruit (SP) will be standing again. Councillor Ursina Anderegg (GB) has also already been nominated. National Councillor Matthias Aebischer (SP) is expected to follow at the end of March. In the center-right camp, the candidacy of city councillor Florence Pärli (FDP) has already been confirmed.
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