“Death and Chaos”: Marco Chiesa’s verbal derailment is only malicious even by SVP standards. It symbolizes the fruitless back and forth in energy policy.
SVP President Marco Chiesa said before the delegates on Saturday that the “Left and Greens” wanted a catastrophe scenario for Switzerland, including poverty, hunger and death.
It sounds unbelievable today, but at the beginning of the Corona crisis, in ominous March 2020, Switzerland experienced a brief phase in which politicians demonstratively stood together. No sooner had the Federal Council declared the first lockdown than it received support from left to right: in a joint communiqué, the parties assured him of “united and unconditional” support. They called on the population to “trust the measures and implement them fully”. The title was gender-appropriate pathos: “One for all, all for one”. Even the SVP signed the communication (although it is no longer on their website today).
The Corona truce didn’t last long, and that’s a good thing. Whenever possible, the political debate must continue even in a crisis – especially in a direct democracy.
Horror Tales, Part II
And today? The impending bottlenecks in the gas and electricity supply are forcing Switzerland to prepare for a crisis that could turn out to be more serious than the pandemic. But there is no sign of the parties closing ranks. On the contrary: Here and there, blame, reproaches and insinuations dominate. Righteousness meets know-it-all. If political friction and tension generated electricity, many problems would be solved.
The President of the Greens, Balthasar Glättli, is seriously trying to persuade the audience that the “irresponsible belief in the market” of the middle class is to blame for the impending crisis. But the SVP rages the loudest. She recycles the abstruse accusation of “dictatorship” that she invented during the pandemic. The new episode of the horror fairy tale is about an “eco-dictatorship”. That it is necessary for the party to discredit Swiss politics, which is supported by direct democracy, in this way gives a deep insight. However, party leader Marco Chiesa goes even further. In the speech, which he held before the delegates on Saturday, the following passage is found verbatim: “Too little electricity means chaos, cold, poverty, hunger, death. Exactly this catastrophe scenario is the secret goal of the Left and Greens. »
Positions are closer than it seems
What else can I say? There was no outcry. The media and the other parties have learned not to respond to every provocation. However, that does not change the monstrosity of the statement. Tough political arguments are a good thing. But accusing other parties of wishing death and chaos for the country is nothing short of malicious. If Chiesa intends to improve its reputation within the party with such attacks, some stupidity can still be expected in the election year. The only right thing to do after the weekend’s derailment would be an apology.
Even if Chiesa’s statement marks a low point, it still symbolizes the fruitless bickering in the energy debate. Representatives of several parties like to criticize that the Federal Council recognized the seriousness of the situation too late. The accusation falls back on them: the parties should slowly see that the days of intrigues and profiling exercises are over. In terms of content, their positions are not as far apart as it seems at first glance. Broadly accepted compromises are within reach, for example in the expansion of water and wind power. The parties should all the more manage to pull themselves together and act decisively.
Deal with the future, not the past
To avoid any misunderstandings: A truce is unnecessary. The parties should continue to argue and stand up for their ideas. Corona in particular has shown how important the debate is even in an emergency. In refuting its own “dictatorship” accusation, the SVP, with its open and tough resistance, did a lot to ensure that Switzerland was moderate in its pandemic policy.
The parties should also continue to argue about electricity and gas. In view of the looming problems, however, one would expect a minimum of compromise, community spirit and pragmatism. What is needed today is not coming to terms with the past. It’s about managing the future.