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Extraordinary result: Simon Stocker (SP) pushes the previous Thomas Minder out of the Council of States.
The independent State Councilor Thomas Minder was not re-elected. His opponent Simon Stocker (SP) has overtaken him. The result is surprising: no member of the canton of Schaffhausen has been forced out of office for over 100 years.
Roger Steinemann, the Schaffhausen correspondent for Radio SRF, also says: “This is remarkable for the rather middle-class canton of Schaffhausen.”
I can hardly believe what happened.
Simon Stocker received almost 15,800 votes, which is over 2,000 more votes than Thomas Minder. After his election, Stocker was greeted with cheers at the government building. He says: “It’s unbelievable. I can hardly believe what happened.”
The previous Minder sat in the Council of States for the canton of Schaffhausen for twelve years. He became known nationally with an initiative against rip-offs that was approved at the ballot box. He used this to fight managers and their exorbitantly high wages.
Legend:
62-year-old Thomas Minder was in Stöckli for twelve years. Although he is non-party, he politicized in the SVP faction.
Keystone/Peter Klaunzer
In the first round of voting, Minder missed the absolute majority by almost 1,900 votes. His SVP member of the Council of States, Hannes Germann, managed to be re-elected straight away.
Simon Stocker was already ahead in the first round of voting
A second round of voting was certainly considered possible – due to the constellation with two younger challengers and one male challenger. What was surprising, however, was that Simon Stocker managed to clearly leave Thomas Minder behind and finish in second place.
Legend:
Simon Stocker from the SP can hardly believe his choice.
Keystone/Walter Bieri
Stocker was a Schaffhausen city councilor until 2020. With his candidacy for the Council of States, he made his political comeback. Above all, he made a name for himself as a people-oriented politician who was involved in both youth work and the elderly. The 42-year-old used to politicize in the AL.
In addition to his own party, he was also supported by the Greens, the Green Liberals and the EPP. The Center and the Young Liberals had decided to allow voting.
Commoners wanted to keep Thomas Minder
The commoners, in turn, wanted to prevent Minder’s seat from falling into the hands of the left. However, neither the SVP nor the FDP were united behind him beforehand. An open dispute over direction has even broken out within the FDP. Some well-known exponents of Schaffhausen liberalism publicly campaigned for Stocker to be elected.
The FDP politician Nina Schärrer, who did not run in the second round of voting, also received around 1,160 votes. The voter turnout in Schaffhausen in the second round of voting was 67.2 percent.
Legend:
srf
On October 22, 2023, Schaffhausen voters will elect their representatives in the National and Council of States. Here you will find an overview Backgrounds and assessments.