National Council wants the Swiss Confederation to manage the Rütli meadow
Published: Monday, Apr 15th 2024, 17:21
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The Rütli has been managed by the Swiss Society for the Common Good (SGG) for over 160 years. However, the National Council is now calling for this administration to be transferred to the Confederation. It has adopted a motion from the SVP to this end.
On Monday, the National Council voted in favor of the proposal by Thomas Aeschi (SVP/ZG) by 98 votes to 84, with four abstentions. The SVP and FDP parliamentary groups as well as some members of the center group voted yes. The motion will now go to the Council of States.
It demands that the public-law agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the SGG on cooperation regarding the Rütli be terminated as quickly as possible. The Confederation, as owner, must manage the Rütli itself.
Aeschi justified the motion with the "increasingly left-progressive course" of the SGG in recent years and recalled the selection of speakers for the national celebration. The administration of the Rütli should not be the responsibility of a party representative who is also a candidate for the National Council.
The current SGG President Nicola Forster was on the GLP National Council list in the fall of 2023, but was not elected. Aeschi had submitted his proposal in the fall. At the end of 2023, Forster announced his resignation in mid-2024. He explained that a milestone had been reached following the adoption of a new strategy.
The Federal Council spoke out against the proposal. In its statement, it recalled the deed of donation of 1860, according to which the Rütli was handed over to the Confederation as inalienable national property, with the proviso that its administration be transferred to the SGG. The latter is under the overall supervision of the Confederation.
The 2010 public-law agreement between the Confederation and the SGG governs the cooperation between the Confederation and the SGG. However, the dissolution of this agreement requested in the motion does not mean that the SGG will no longer be responsible for the management and administration of the Rütli.
©Keystone/SDA
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