Interview with SP councilor Davy Graf
interview
SP parliamentary group president Davy Graf on the dominance of left-green: “There was no ruling through”
Shortly before the Zurich municipal council elections on February 13, the «Limmattaler Zeitung» is feeling the pulse of the parliamentary group and party presidents. In the first part of this eight-part series: SP parliamentary group leader Davy Graf.
With its 43 out of 125 seats, the SP, as the largest parliamentary group, has a comfortable starting position in the municipal council. What is the mood like shortly before the upcoming renewal elections on February 13th?
Davy Graf: The mood is good, there is a certain satisfaction: We were able to close big deals, some of which have already been accepted by the people. It is clear, however, that Corona was an additional burden – both for parliamentary and parliamentary group work. The last few months you have seen each other almost exclusively online. We hope that we will be able to physically sit together again soon.
In the last renewal elections in 2018, the SP won four additional seats. What is the party planning to do this time?
The first goal is to keep our seats. Second, we want to continue to have the left-green majority in the Council together with the Greens and the AL.
Thanks to this majority, the SP was able to rule through, it is often said. Is that good for the city, this dominance?
From the outside, one might think that the left-green is a political bloc, but that’s not the case. We, too, keep having discussions with each other and points on which we do not agree. There was also no ruling because we have to keep looking for majorities in the council, be it within or outside of the left-green.
Would a “Coalition of Reason” with the FDP, as it existed in the 1990s, be an option?
One must not forget: there was a blockade in the city of Zurich in the 1990s. The parliament passed practically no more proposals and the people quickly no longer approved anything that came from the city or local council. Today we are no longer in this situation. We have a parliament that works and passes bills that endure before the people. When the FDP now also says that a “coalition of reason” is needed, then I say: Yes, but it already exists. That is from the SP and goes up to the GLP or the EPP.
How do you rate the last four years of the Council from the point of view of the SP?
Even if there was a special legislature due to Corona, the council worked and mostly remained quorate during this time. He could do his job and do the business that the city needs. From the point of view of the SP, we were able to work on topics that were important to us and for which we were chosen, be it with regard to housing, transport – or, in particular, strengthening solidarity in Zurich.
Was war the SP’s greatest success in the municipal council in the last four years?
A great success was the motion to reorganize the city council’s financial competencies for the acquisition of real estate, which we submitted together with the Greens and the AL and which enables the city council to acquire real estate more quickly. The motion was approved by the electorate. I think this is an important pillar in Zurich’s housing policy. There is also a lot going on in urban non-profit housing construction: In the council we have approved the construction of over 2,000 apartments. In terms of traffic, we finally have a certain amount of drive in with our cycle route initiative. The administration now also recognizes the safe routes. With advances, we have tried to selectively prioritize some of these routes so that we will soon have continuous axes in the city.
You have now mentioned many positive things. From the point of view of the SP, were there any major losses in the Council that you will remember?
One defeat that cost us a lot of energy was that of the football stadium with the CS skyscrapers on the Hardturm site. These were then accepted by the people. In retrospect, it’s a shame because you can now see that we still don’t have a football stadium, which might have been possible with the withdrawn SP initiative.
What other issues is the SP writing on the flag for the next legislature?
The climate-neutral city will remain an issue. It is important that we make clear progress towards CO over the next four years2-Neutrality. Here the SP has always insisted on not only defining goals, but also taking measures. In the case of photovoltaics, for example, an offensive must finally start that is also sustainable. And ultimately, urban mobility must become fossil-free. The most important lever here is the bike route. We also want to further strengthen the district centers. Because the better developed these are, the sooner we have a city of short distances.
Why should the people of Zurich vote for the SP on February 13th?
I could now once again mention all the political issues or mention the results of the votes that show that our policy enjoys popular support. But what I really like most are our electoral lists with all these candidates who come from a wide variety of professional fields and life situations and are a reflection of the city of Zurich. If you throw in the SP list, you send people into parliament who are really trying to get the best out of this city and for the population.
To person
Davy Graf has been on the Zurich municipal council for the SP since the end of 2008, and has been the SP parliamentary group president since the end of 2015. The trained physicist is a full-time program manager in the semiconductor industry. In addition, the 44-year-old is president of the Graphika building cooperative. Graf lives in Zurich Altstetten, is married and has two children. (sho)