A turmoil in Schaffhausen Greens propose young politician for election - then it comes to a scandal
The election should have been routine. It turned out differently: in the Schaffhausen cantonal council, the young Green Maurus Pfalzgraf failed to win the vote of the conservatives.
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- In the Schaffhausen Cantonal Council, the Green Maurus Pfalzgraf failed in the election for second vice president.
- Civic parties denied him a majority. The office traditionally paves the way to the presidency of parliament.
- The SP spoke of mistrust and a rejection of young politicians.
There was a scandal in the Schaffhausen cantonal council on Monday morning. In the election of the second vice president, the left-wing green parties put forward the Green cantonal councillor Maurus Pfalzgraf (26) as a candidate.
According to parliamentary tradition, the second vice president usually moves up to first vice president the following year and takes over the presidency of the cantonal council a year later. Pfalzgraf would therefore have had the prospect of becoming the highest Schaffhausen councillor in 2028. This will not happen for the time being.
Even before the ballot, SP cantonal councillor Isabelle Lüthi explained that she had heard from representatives of the middle-class groups SVP/EDU and FDP/Mitte that the majority of them would not vote for the left-wing candidate. Lüthi appealed to the conservatives to reconsider their stance. They may be bothered by Pfalzgraf's "sometimes unconventional manner", but new perspectives and a breath of fresh air would be good for the Council, she said.
Absolute majority narrowly missed
The appeal had no effect. Pfalzgraf only received 25 out of 57 votes and thus fell short of the absolute majority of 28 votes. Further votes went to candidates from the SP: Irene Gruhler Heinzer received 17 votes and Marco Passafaro 11.
Immediately after the non-election, Lüthi took the floor again and requested that the election be postponed until the first meeting of the coming year. The rejection of the candidate was a "sign of mistrust towards our parliamentary group" and jeopardized the good cooperation in the Council. It could also be seen as a "rejection of the younger generation in politics".
FDP cantonal councillor Lorenz Laich disagreed. The conservative parties had openly communicated their rejection. They had "played with a straight face" and also made it clear to Pfalzgraf why they did not see the conditions for his election.
Uproar over the election of the public prosecutor
The specific reservations that were decisive were not recorded in the debate. However, Pfalzgraf had caused irritation at the beginning of the year when he requested that the re-election of public prosecutor Andreas Zuber be postponed.
In January 2025, he spoke of "accusations" against Zuber and of "sometimes blatant procedural errors". His proposal met with resistance in the Council. The attempt to elaborate on the accusations was prevented by means of a procedural motion (see video below). Civic circles described Pfalzgraf's actions at the time as a "witch hunt". Zuber managed to be re-elected at the time, but with the worst possible result.
