"No room for social liberals" After his defeat, Jositsch now settles accounts with the SP
Zurich SP Councillor of States Daniel Jositsch is not just quietly accepting his non-nomination. A few hours after the vote, he settles accounts with his party, criticizes the party leadership and fundamentally questions the political development of the SP.
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- Daniel Jositsch accuses the SP of leaving less and less room for socially liberal positions.
- The Zurich Councillor of States criticizes a culture in which many party members do not openly express their opinions for fear of consequences.
- With regard to Jacqueline Badran, Jositsch says he has long been aware of her ambitions to become a member of the Council of States. The question now was whether he would leave it to her.
A few hours after his non-nomination by the Zurich SP, Daniel Jositsch spoke unusually openly about his party.
On Thursday evening, the Zurich Council of States lost the internal party election for the 2027 Council of States elections. Instead of simply accepting the defeat, he used the opportunity for a fundamental reckoning with the development of his party.
In an interview with Tamedia, Jositsch explained that he had seen the result coming. The delegates were clearly more left-wing than the party's members or the electorate as a whole. It was mainly representatives of the Young Socialists, feminists and climate seniors who spoke at the meeting.
"The party leadership is trimming people into line"
Jositsch was particularly clear in his criticism of the party's internal structures.
He told the NZZ that he was surprised that not a single member of the SP parliamentary group publicly backed him during the debate. His explanation for this is clear: The party leadership was anxious to "trim the parliamentary group members into line". As a result, many no longer dared to speak their minds openly.
Numerous National Councillors had signaled to him behind the scenes that they shared his positions. However, they did not speak out publicly. As a National Councillor, you are more dependent on your party than in the Council of States, argues Jositsch. After all, it's all about list positions and committee seats.
"There is no more room for social liberals"
His analysis of the state of the SP is even more fundamental.
"The party has changed a lot," says Jositsch. The SP used to allow much more political breadth. Socially liberal politicians were naturally part of the party. He cites former SP greats such as Pascale Bruderer, Claude Janiak, Anita Fetz and Roberto Zanetti as examples.
Today, hardly any of this remains. Jositsch describes himself as the last representative of this wing in high office. Other prominent social liberals such as Mario Fehr, Chantal Galladé and Yvonne Beutler have long since left the party.
Jositsch does not want to make a final judgment on whether this will cause the SP problems in major elections in the long term. The party is currently very successful. Nevertheless, he notes that there is obviously less and less room for social-liberal voices.
A jab at Jacqueline Badran
A statement about National Councillor Jacqueline Badran is also likely to attract particular attention.
Shortly before the vote, Badran had declared her willingness to run for the Council of States if the party so wished. Many delegates saw her as an attractive alternative to Jositsch.
When asked about Badran, Jositsch replied remarkably openly: "I have known for a long time that Jacqueline Badran wants the seat in the Council of States." The real question now is "whether I leave it to her". He will now make this decision for himself.
Jositsch is thus leaving open the possibility of running outside the official SP structures in the 2027 elections.
Political future still open
The only thing that is clear is that Jositsch intends to retain his seat until the end of the current parliamentary term. Premature resignation is out of the question for him. The canton of Zurich would otherwise have to organize a costly replacement election.
The 61-year-old is deliberately leaving open what will happen after that. He will decide on his political future himself and inform the public when he has come to a conclusion.
