Filippo Leutenegger to pull Zurich’s FDP out of the vale of tears
Published: Tuesday, Nov 21st 2023, 22:20
Updated At: Tuesday, Nov 21st 2023, 22:23
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Former National Councillor and current Zurich FDP City Councillor Filippo Leutenegger is to bring the cantonal FDP out of its vale of tears. The delegates elected the almost 71-year-old as the new president on Tuesday. However, he will not hold the office alone.
The delegates elected Leutenegger together with FDP cantonal councillor Raffaela Fehr and Matthias Müller, President of the Young Liberals Switzerland. The Zurich Free Party will therefore be led by a trio in future. The handover of office will take place in December. The previous president, Hans-Jakob Boesch, has led the FDP since 2016.
Clear decision for "Team Filippo"
The decision in favor of "Team Filippo" was extremely clear: it received 171 votes. The rival team consisting of former Avenir Suisse boss Peter Grünenfelder and Thalwil councillor Thomas Henauer, on the other hand, only received 63 votes.
Leutenegger submitted his candidacy shortly after the elections. "We're in the vale of tears, we've lost," he said. "Now we have to get up and work". However, he did not want to take on the presidency alone, which is why he asked Fehr and Müller. Now he is "the silverback who is taking two youngsters with him".
List connection with SVP "achieved nothing"
There are currently many construction sites in the Zurich Free Party: The list connection with the SVP has caused a deep rift within the party. On Tuesday, Leutenegger described this list combination as "not happy". It had achieved nothing at the ballot box. Moreover, it was not supported internally.
The Zurich FDP has been unsuccessful for some time now. The most recent defeat was the loss of the seat in the Council of States, which the FDP had held uninterruptedly for 40 years.
FDP candidate Regine Sauter withdrew after the first round of voting in favor of SVP candidate Gregor Rutz. However, with hardliner Rutz, the SVP only picked up the SVP voters. In the end, GLP National Councillor Tiana Angelina Moser was elected.
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