Power struggle won National Councillor Andreas Glarner wants to remain President of the Aargau SVP

The controversial National Councillor Andreas Glarner is standing again for the office of cantonal president of the SVP Aargau - and has thus won the party's internal power struggle.

Keystone-SDA

12.12.2024, 21:26

12.12.2024, 21:30

SDA

SVP National Councillor Andreas Glarner from Aargau will run again for the office of cantonal president. This was announced by the party after a meeting of the party's cantonal executive committee. The 62-year-old politician has been repeatedly criticized within the party for his political style.

Party President Glarner is standing for a further term of office, according to a press release issued on Thursday evening after the meeting. The two vice presidents will also stand again. The delegates will decide at the party conference at the end of April 2025.

Glarner has been President of the cantonal party since 2020. He was elected by the delegates' meeting after a combative speech at the head of the party with the most voters in Aargau. He prevailed over an internal candidate who had spoken out in favor of cooperation with other conservative parties and solution-oriented policies.

Glarner, who has been a member of the National Council since 2015, has repeatedly sparked criticism, including within his own ranks, with provocative posts on social media. The posts were said to damage the cantonal party.

In mid-November, the immunity committee of the National Council decided that Glarner should not be protected by parliamentary immunity after making statements against Islam on Platform X.

Aargau SVP gains under Glarner

There was also criticism during the cantonal elections in October. Following a post by Glarner on Platform X, a member of the centrist party received a death threat. In a joint statement, the Center Party, SP, FDP, GLP, Greens and EVP demanded an apology from Glarner. They said that what Glarner had deliberately unleashed against the Grand Councillor was "irresponsible and bordered on inflammatory".

Under cantonal president Glarner, the party made gains in the cantonal elections in October. The SVP won five additional seats in the Grand Council and now has 48 seats. It increased its voter share by 3.6 points to 30.31 percent. The party also defended the second SVP seat on the cantonal government council at the first attempt with National Councillor Martina Bircher.