Dissatisfied with climate policy Environmental politician Jauslin leaves the FDP and joins the GLP

The 62-year-old Aargau National Councillor Matthias Jauslin is turning his back on the FDP: After nine years in the upper chamber, the environmental politician is joining the GLP. He is not the first National Councillor to change parties during a current legislative period.

Keystone-SDA

09.01.2025, 10:29

09.01.2025, 10:31

SDA

Jauslin announced his change of party in a press release on Thursday. He had informed the FDP parliamentary group members and other key figures in the party of his change by post, he wrote.

According to Jauslin, his decision was reached over a long period of time. He places the public spirit, i.e. the common good, at the center of his political work. The common good is a central factor for the cohesion of Switzerland.

For him, the environment, climate, spatial planning and renewable energies are not fashionable topics, Jauslin continued. In his view, they should not be placed on the left-right axis, but should be tackled progressively. He no longer sees the will to do this in the FDP.

His resignation was therefore logical and he hoped that it would be done with mutual respect, said Jauslin. On a human level, the exchange in the parliamentary group was friendly.

Thirty years as a member of the Free Alliance

Jauslin has been managing director and owner of a thirty-strong company operating in the field of electrical systems, telematics and automation for 35 years. He joined the FDP in the mid-1990s and was elected to the National Council in 2015.

He was a member of the Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek-N) from 2019 to 2023. For the new legislature, Jauslin was replaced internally in the committee by Christian Wasserfallen from Bern, who has a completely different profile as a nuclear energy advocate in energy policy. Instead, Jauslin sits on the Committee for Transport and Telecommunications (KVF-N).

Jauslin suspects that his dismissal from the Urek-N is related to the fact that he himself is strongly committed to environmental protection. "They want to trim the eco wing," he told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in March 2024.

"We share the same values"

GLP parliamentary group leader Corina Gredig is delighted with the addition: "With his commitment, Jauslin credibly demonstrates that ecological issues can be advanced with a liberal approach," she was quoted as saying in a press release. With his expertise and level-headed manner, he would be an asset to the GLP. "We share the same attitudes and values."

As a progressive entrepreneur and long-standing energy and transport politician, Jauslin is a good fit for the GLP, according to party president Jürg Grossen. "We are delighted that a liberal spirit and responsible politician like him has found a new home in the GLP."

As a result of Jauslin's move, the GLP's National Council parliamentary group has grown to eleven seats. On the other hand, the FDP will in future have 27 instead of 28 members in the large chamber.

FDP President criticizes the timing of the change

For FDP party president Thierry Burkart, Jauslin's change comes as no surprise, as he told the Keystone-SDA news agency when asked. In recent years, Jauslin has often voted differently to the majority of the FDP parliamentary group. Therefore, the balance of power in the large chamber will not change much.

According to Burkart, he would have welcomed it if Jauslin had changed parties before the federal elections in fall 2023. "Nevertheless, we wish him all the best for his personal and professional future."

Party changes during a legislative term are rare. Nevertheless, Jauslin is not an isolated case: in 2001, Aargau FDP National Councillor Luzi Stamm joined the SVP, and in 2011 the then St. Gallen CVP National Councillor Thomas Müller switched to the SVP. Finally, in spring 2019, Zurich National Councillor Daniel Frei gave up his SP party membership and sat in the Grand Chamber for the GLP until the end of the same year.