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On March 3rd, the cantonal council will be re-elected in the canton of St. Gallen. The initial situation.
There are 120 seats in the St. Gallen cantonal parliament, the Cantonal Council. 107 members of parliament are running for re-election. There are a total of 1,010 candidates for the committee, over a third of whom are women. The chances of being elected differ depending on the constituency: not all constituencies have the same number of seats in the cantonal council. These are awarded based on population proportion.
What is the current distribution of seats in the St. Gallen Cantonal Council? The SVP is the strongest party in the canton. It holds 35 seats. The center has 27 seats, the FDP 22 and the SP 19 seats. The smaller parties in the St. Gallen Parliament are the Greens with 9 seats, the GLP with 6 seats and the EPP with 2 seats.
Is a victory for the SVP expected – as in the federal elections? The canton of St. Gallen is rural and traditionally rather conservative and middle-class. The national elections can be seen as a reflection of the mood. There will also be postponements in St. Gallen. As in the national elections, the Greens and the GLP could lose seats. The SP, which lost seats four years ago, would probably benefit from this. The SVP could still gain, but a big slide is unlikely.
What does it mean that there probably won’t be a big slide? The St. Gallen cantonal parliament would remain bourgeois. The SVP, the FDP and the center would retain their majority. The three parties worked well together in the last legislative period and would continue to push through civic concerns. There were some demonstrations of power by these factions with decisions on speed limits of 30 km/h, tax rate reductions and austerity programs. Climate policy concerns would continue to have a difficult time.
Legend:
A look into the St. Gallen Cantonal Council Hall.
Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller
What stands out particularly during the election campaign? The parties are not reinventing the wheel. The forest of election posters spread across the canton is back just a few months after the national elections. The candidates come into contact with the population through stand campaigns, croissants at the train station or other happenings.