Elections in the southern canton – Ticino SVP relies on the “Chiesa effect” – News

Elections are due in Ticino at the beginning of April. The election campaign has so far only been aggressive on the part of the SVP.

Saturday afternoon in downtown Lugano: Many men and few women bring the current election campaign motto “Cambiamo ora”, meaning “Let’s change it now”, to the voters. SVP national councilor Piero Marchesi is one of these people. “So far we are the only ones who mingle with the people like this. Maybe that’s the difference to the other parties».

Marchesi finally wants to join the Ticino government. The entry of the SVP into the government should be the trampoline to continue to grow in the southern canton. The arguments for this are well known. Campaign manager Alain Bühler lists them: “As a border canton, we have major problems with refugees from Africa. We have too many Italian cross-border commuters who depress our wage levels. We want the people of Ticino to have work here and that they have enough money in their wallets to live on. We need more seats in Parliament.”

SVP and Lega with almost identical messages

So far, the SVP has occupied seven of the 90 seats in parliament. The messages of the People’s Party are almost identical to those of the traditional Ticino right-wing movement Lega dei Ticinesi. In recent years, however, the Lega has lost leadership and strength. Unlike the Lega, the SVP is not integrated into the government.

As an opposition party, it can therefore be more aggressive. Their representatives are approachable and promise security in uncertain times. The recipe for this is: balanced canton finances. The fact that the canton of Ticino is also making large losses due to the lack of millions in the National Bank and the corona pandemic seems almost like a stroke of luck in the fate of the SVP.

The People’s Party wants to save the canton healthy. For the youth, as she says. It should continue to have a future in Ticino. Many Ticino residents fear that their boys will migrate to German-speaking Switzerland because they lack prospects here.

Target audience German-speaking Swiss

The focus of the party is not only on the young, but also on the German-speaking Swiss who are moving to Ticino. The SVP is the only party with a German-speaking section in Ticino. Its president, Christoph Nünlist, says that they meet twice a month. “We have a tribe. There we discuss politics, but also other topics. It’s very interesting from a social point of view.”

The Lega has a Ticino look. The SVP, on the other hand, is found throughout Switzerland and has a more global vision. That suits me better.

This trunk also functions as an integration measure. The interest in participating in the SVP is constantly growing. This also has to do with the fact that the national party has become more visible here with its Ticino President Marco Chiesa.

Chiesa effect?

So does the party in the canton benefit from the so-called Chiesa effect? Definitely, says Andrea Giudice. The lawyer sat for the FDP in the Ticino canton parliament for many years. But the party wasn’t right enough for him. That’s why he is now running for the SVP, not for the Lega: “The Lega has a Ticino look. The SVP, on the other hand, is found throughout Switzerland and has a more global vision. That appeals to me more.”

April 2 will show whether the SVP will grow at the expense of the Lega. The signs of the times, with the war in the Ukraine and a national party president from his own canton, are definitely favorable for the desired growth course of the Swiss People’s Party in Ticino.