the 2022 elections at a glance

The latest developments

The elections at a glance

On February 13, 2022, unusually early in the year, both the nine-member City Council and the 125-member Municipal Council will be reappointed in Zurich. Red-Green has a clear majority in both bodies. In the city council, the SP has 3 seats, the Greens 2, the AL and the GLP 1 each; 2 seats are held by the FDP.

In the municipal council, the SP is the largest group with 43 seats. It is followed by the FDP (21 seats), the Greens (16), GLP (14), SVP (17), AL (10) and EVP (4).

The AL wants the seat of Richard Wolff, who is no longer running, with the veteran municipal council Walter fear defend. Whether she can do this is an open question. The AL is threatened by the SP and its candidate Simone Brander, who wants to win back the fourth seat of the Social Democrats. The FDP grabs the seat Sonja Rueff-Frenkel on.

Probably the most likely of the previous ones Michael Baumer have to worry about his seat. As head of the industrial companies and the VBZ, Baumer was naturally not in the limelight and is compared to his party colleagues Filippoleutenegger rather unknown to the general public. However, it is extremely rare in the city of Zurich for previous members to be voted out.

No. The decision about who heads the Zurich City Council has to do with Corine Mauchs renewed candidacy done. She is not challenged by anyone. The elections four years ago showed how firmly the mayor is sitting in the saddle. At that time, the Liberals participated Filippoleutenegger a prominent candidate, but who did not even get half as many votes as Mauch.

Read here why nobody dares to challenge Mauch this year.

However, the decision on Mauch’s successor has only been postponed. The SP will do everything in its power to retain the presidency it has held for 31 years. That the green CFO Daniel Leupi Has an appetite for the presidency is considered an open secret. The theory is therefore circulating among local councilors that Mauch will only continue until the middle of the legislature, which gives her party two years more time to develop a successor. However, Mauch has clearly said that she will compete for a full four years.

the SP occurs again with Mayor Corine Mauch, construction manager Andre Odermatt and social leader Raphael Golta on. The SP wants the fourth seat with a municipal councillor Simone Brander conquer. National Councilor Jacqueline Badran also got involved for a few weeks in spring 2021, but then withdrew again.

Both greens the two previous ones step up again: Chief Financial Officer Daniel Leupi, since 2010 City Council, and Karin Rykart, who was elected to the government in 2018. The third person in the group is the young climate activist Dominik Waser ready.

In the AL comes after the resignation of their only city councilor Richard Wolff the tenant representative and former government council candidate Walter fear on. In 2010, Angst ran for the AL in the Zurich city council elections and ended up in 14th place. In the 2019 government council elections, Angst was put up again and clearly did better: he got almost 82,000 votes across the canton and thus the tenth best result. In the city of Zurich, Angst left all candidates behind, apart from SP representatives Mario and Jacqueline Fehr and Martin Neukom from the Greens.

the GLP, the furthest right of Zurich’s left-wing parties, joins its city council Andreas Hauri, who heads the health department. For the young GLP occurs Serap Kahriman on.

In the FDP both previous ones want to compete again: school and sports directors Filippoleutenegger such as Michael Baumer, who heads the Department of Industrial Enterprises. The party leadership wants to attack with a third candidacy, while internal party has Sonja Rueff-Frenkel enforced – cantonal councilor, lawyer and vice-president of the women’s center.

Since 1990 the SVP no more Zurich city council. So she has nothing to lose in the city council election campaign – but de facto she has little to gain either. The party moves with the municipal council Stephan Iten and cantonal council Roland Scheck into the election campaign.

In a broader sense to be assigned to the commoners is the EPP. The board has Roger Foehn proposed as candidate, Sigrist by profession.

The middle, who lost her city council and municipal council seats four years ago is trying to make a comeback, but it will have a hard time. However, the selection committee surprised with the choice of doctor and cantonal council Joseph Widler. The doctor, who became known in particular due to the pandemic, prevailed against the possible candidates Markus Hungerbühler and President Karin Weyermann.

There are many indications. In the city council, it is hard to imagine that anything would change in the red-green majority, even if the FDP were to sensationally succeed in not only retaining their two seats, but also gaining a third seat. The SVP was last involved in the city government in 1990. The center (then CVP) not only lost its city council seat three years ago – it appears marginalized. Even a candidature of the EPP should be hopeless. If so, then a shift in the other direction is likely to take place. That would be the case if the FDP failed to defend its seats.

So far only the Tamedia newspapers have presented a comprehensive poll (18 January). It shows two things: on the one hand, all eight previous members are re-elected, and the AL seat goes to Simone Brander from the SP. According to this scenario, Walter Angst from the AL would not be elected. On the other hand, it also becomes clear how close the last two seats could be: Michael Baumer (fdp.) cannot feel safe because he is being pressured by Walter Angst and the surprisingly strong third Green candidate, Dominik Waser.

In the municipal council, too, there are no signs of a reversal of the trend of recent years, which has clearly pointed to the left. The bourgeoisie could continue to lose ground. In particular, the SVP has to ask itself how solid its previous strongholds in Zurich North still are in view of an aging core electorate.

So far, even a coalition of FDP, SVP, EVP and GLP is not big enough to counter red-green. These parties have 56 votes in the Council; 63 of them are necessary for a majority – so you are dependent on the AL. It took a lot for that to change. In this context, it is interesting to ask whether the center will succeed in jumping over the 5 percent hurdle and returning to parliament.

The free list, with which dedicated opponents of the pandemic policy are taking part in an election for the first time in Switzerland, is unlikely to have much chance of being elected.

At the 13th February 2022 will chosen.

on the 3rd of April 2022 would be a possible second ballot scheduled for the city council.

“NZZ Live” event: 30 years of red-green: is Zurich still dynamic enough?
Zurich is changing and, after 30 years of red-green government, is facing major challenges. What makes a city really livable, sustainable and dynamic?
February 8, 2022, 7 p.m., «Kosmos», Zurich.
Tickets and further information can be found here.