Zurich elections 2022: Interview with Mitte politician Karin Weyermann
interview
The center wants to go back to the municipal council – city party president Karin Weyermann says: “There is a spirit of optimism”
Before the Zurich municipal council elections on February 13, the “Limmattaler Zeitung” feels the pulse of the parliamentary group and party presidents. In the last part of this eight-part series: Mitte city party president Karin Weyermann.
The renewal elections are just around the corner. How is the mood in your party at the moment?
Karin Weyermann: Very well. Since 2018, i.e. since we left the municipal council, there has been a spirit of optimism. With the new name, we remember them even more.
In what way?
It makes the brand easier to sell. At the stand actions, we no longer have to discuss with people what the C in CVP stands for or explain that we do not receive the directives from the Pope.
In the last elections in 2018, Die Mitte, then still under the name CVP, left the municipal council. Looking back, what would you say was the reason why the Zurich electorate turned against your party?
I don’t think that the electorate turned against us, it was just unfortunate for us. In District 9, for example, we were only missing 20 lists. In 2018, no one was really aware that this danger was threatening us. There were several points that contributed to our failure. In this case we decided not to enter into a joint list with the EPP, which in hindsight was probably a mistake. In addition, the top 5 alliance certainly dominated for the city council (non-partisan election committee made up of members of the CVP, the FDP and the SVP, editor’s note) and probably contributed to the fact that the individual parties were less recognized in the local council elections.
Specifically, your party failed at the five percent hurdle. It states that the candidate parties must achieve a share of the vote in at least one of the nine constituencies of five percent in order to enter the municipal council. Do you think this rule is still relevant?
No, from our point of view it can fall. The hurdle is primarily about preventing fragmentation in the municipal council. We don’t see this danger as particularly great, especially because there is also a natural hurdle, i.e. several votes can be won across the city & for one seat. Lowering the hurdle, for example to two percent across the city, would be justifiable in our opinion. Because the way it is today, it is clearly in the interests of the major parties and their retention of power.
Of course, Die Mitte is now back on the municipal council. What’s the battle plan?
We focus primarily on the districts where we see the best opportunities for us – but without forgetting the other districts. Ultimately, the city-wide share of votes is relevant for the distribution of seats. We’re trying to mobilize much more and make people aware of throwing in the lists unchanged. Every foreign name on our list harms us. We also want to use the level of awareness of our city council candidate Josef Widler to clear the five percent hurdle.
You’re not even safe on the local council, but you want to be on the city council. Isn’t that a bit presumptuous?
In the 2018 elections we left both the municipal council and the city council. So I don’t think it’s arrogant to want to go back now. Of course – we are a small party. But we are convinced that it is precisely us who are needed as a reasonable, solution-oriented voice in the city council.
What does Die Mitte bring to the municipal council that does not already exist with other small parties such as the EPP or AL?
You don’t have to play the various small parties off against each other. Diversity of opinion in the council is important. It is therefore to be hoped that the majority situation will now shift again. With the slim majorities in the legislature from 2014 to 2018, it was still important that people approach each other, find common solutions and compromises and build bridges. I believe that was our role back then and will continue to be our role in the municipal council in the future.
In the last four years, Die Mitte has had to follow what is happening in the municipal council from the political tribune. What grade do you give him?
His work was rather insufficient, mainly because a strong polarization could be observed. I have the feeling that the discourse and the joint development of solutions that also take minorities into account have been lost. There was an extreme power play from the left-green. It has been observed several times that Parliament tightened the City Council’s bills and added even more extreme demands. One example of this is the ever-increasing reduction in parking spaces. I think that harms the city, even if you don’t notice it so directly.
Assuming your party makes it back into the municipal council: What issues are on the agenda in the coming legislature?
We have made three points our goal. On the one hand, health: The main thing here is not to make nursing professions academic, to ensure that nurses have enough time for their patients, and to promote outpatient before inpatient. In the area of SMEs, we want to reduce bureaucracy for companies. We saw during the Corona period that this is probably possible, for example when dealing with fees or permits. The third point is densification: We want to ensure that this happens in a socially acceptable way and not simply that more and more buildings are built.
Why should the people of Zurich vote for Die Mitte on February 13?
Because we stand up against polarization and for solutions. We want to act as a bridge builder in the municipal council and are sure that we can also take on this task.
To person
Karin Weyermann sat on the municipal council for the CVP (today Die Mitte) from 2011 until her party left in 2018 – from 2014 to 2018 as parliamentary group president. Since 2018 she has been President of the Mitte Stadt Zürich. The 37-year-old is a lawyer and works as a district council clerk in Pfäffikon. Weyermann lives with her partner in Zurich-Oerlikon. (Already)