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13 candidacies for 7 seats in the government: The canton of St. Gallen is facing general elections.
There are two resignations in the seven-member St. Gallen cantonal government: Fredy Fässler (SP, since 2012) and Stefan Kölliker (SVP, since 2008), two experienced executive politicians, will no longer be running in the cantonal general elections on March 3, 2024. There are 13 candidacies for the government election, five of which are current government members. The overview, in the order in which the names appear on the ballot paper:
Laura Bucher
Legend:
SP government councilor Laura Bucher will run for another four years in the St. Gallen government on March 3rd. She was elected four years ago. The 39-year-old heads the Interior Department.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
Bruno Damann
Legend:
Center government councilor Bruno Damann is also running for re-election. The 67-year-old has been a government councilor since 2016. He was initially economics director for four years, and in 2020 he took over the health department.
Keystone/Peter Schneider
Susanne Hartmann
Legend:
The 53-year-old middle government councilor Susanne Hartmann has been heading the construction and environmental department for four years.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
Marc Mächler
Legend:
FDP government councilor Marc Mächler is running for a third term in office. The 53-year-old was head of the Construction and Environment Department for the first four years, and in 2020 he moved to the Finance Department.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
Beat Tinner
Legend:
The 52-year-old FDP government councilor Beat Tinner has been head of the Department of Economic Affairs since 2020. In the coming legislature he would like to establish new companies in the canton so that St. Gallen can increase its resource strength.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
Sarah J. Bösch
Legend:
41-year-old Sarah Bösch would like to give families a voice as a government councilor. The non-partisan works as the managing director of two daycare centers in the city of St. Gallen, which she founded.
SRF/David Lendi
Daniel Bosshard
Legend:
Daniel Bosshard (center of the picture) would like to be the first Green to make it into the St. Gallen government in the elections. The 40-year-old grew up in the canton of Schwyz and studied environmental sciences at ETH Zurich.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
Christof Hartmann
Legend:
The Sarganserland cantonal councilor Christof Hartmann wants to defend the vacant SVP seat in the St. Gallen government. Financial and economic topics are the top priority for the 47-year-old from the banking industry.
ZVG
Patrick Jetzer
Legend:
Last fall, the president of Aufrecht Switzerland, Patrick Jetzer, made his first political appearance in the canton of St. Gallen. At that time he ran for the National Council and the Council of States.
Keystone/Ennio Leanza
Sarah Noger-Engeler
Legend:
Cantonal councilor Sarah Noger-Engeler from Häggenschwil is supposed to get a seat in the St. Gallen government for the Green Liberals.
SRF/Martina Brassel
Bettina Surber
Legend:
Bettina Surber is supposed to defend the vacant seat of the resigned Fredy Fässler for her party in the government council elections. The city of St. Gallen lawyer and cantonal councilor is a social democrat through and through. Her parents were already politicizing in the SP.
ZVG
Alfred Tobler
Alfred Tobler is non-partisan, trained landscape gardener and theologian. He sees his candidacy as a service to the population. Professionally, he offers mediation in the church sector.
In the SRF interview, Tobler was taciturn and did not give a clear answer as to what he would like to achieve in the canton of St. Gallen. Just this much: It would be important to him to expand the number of seats in the cantonal council from the current 120 to 180. He doesn’t want to run an election campaign.
Dana Zemp
Legend:
During the Corona period, Dana Zemp, as a St. Gallen cantonal doctor, was often in the media spotlight. Now the 54-year-old would like to take part in the government after working in the background for three cantons for two decades.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller