The director of education is seeking a third term. It is becoming increasingly clear that all seven previous members of the Zurich government are running for office again.
The Zurich government council with Corona distance in spring 2020: in the front in the middle the then district president Silvia Steiner.
It is no longer a surprise: the center party presidium unanimously proposes government councilor Silvia Steiner for nomination for a further, third term. The delegates will definitely decide on March 30th. But that will probably be a matter of form.
Steiner, who turned 64 at the beginning of the week, was elected to the cantonal government for the first time in 2015, which she chaired in the first Corona year 2020/21. She has been in charge of education for seven years. Previously, the lawyer headed the criminal police in the city of Zurich and was Zurich public prosecutor. From 2007 to 2015 she represented the then CVP in the cantonal council.
According to a statement from the center, Silvia Steiner is very committed to the canton of Zurich. She seeks dialogue with all those involved in order to further develop the canton of Zurich as an excellent educational location. In the conference of cantonal education directors, which she has chaired since 2016, Steiner made a significant contribution to ensuring that children and young people’s right to education could be guaranteed under the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
Narrow base in the middle
Steiner and her party will have to fight for their seat on the governing council. The political base is narrow. In the 2019 cantonal election, the CVP and BDP, which merged a year ago in the middle, together accounted for just 5.8 percent. With an incumbent government councilor, the task will undoubtedly be easier.
Zurich’s director of education, Silvia Steiner (centre), is running for a third term in 2023.
As the person responsible for the Zurich schools, Silvia Steiner was at the center of discussions about how best to contain the pandemic. In particular, the obligation to wear masks in elementary schools inevitably led to controversy. At the beginning of the Corona crisis, almost all factions in the cantonal council, who felt they were not well informed, rained down on the director of education. In the last budget debate, Steiner blew a cool wind from the left.
The center stands for political cohesion and solution-oriented politics, writes the party. On the other hand, the politics of the pole parties on the left and on the right led to blockades. It is therefore important in the Zurich government to have a representative that relies on a common policy and advances society.
Elections in 2023 with seven previous ones?
With the renewed candidacy of Silvia Steiner, the probability increases that all seven incumbent members of the government council will stand again. The FDP, which lost a second seat in 2019, and the SP – after their government councilor Mario Fehr left the party – each want to win a second seat. To this end, the Green Liberals are pushing into the government.
This initial situation contributed to the fact that the SVP asked finance director Ernst Stocker to run again. The 67-year-old has not yet officially confirmed and Mario Fehr is not showing his cards. In addition to Steiner, Economics Director Carmen Walker Späh (FDP), Justice Director Jacqueline Fehr (SP) and the two members of the government who were newly elected in 2019: Health Director Natalie Rickli (SVP) and Building Director Martin Neukom (Greens) will certainly be running again.