In Bern and Uri could Maudet be discontinued

On the feast days it's become quiet in order to Pierre Maudet . But the respite for the Geneva government of President lasts only for a short. 15. January has called the FDP, Geneva an extraordinary General meeting of shareholders. Single business: "support for and confidence in Pierre Maudet. Discussion and decision". However, even if his own party should call upon him to withdraw, not feel Maudet at the decision bound. "Only one person decides, whether I resign or not – I myself," he explained recently in the "view".

in fact, no one can force Maudet to resign – neither his party nor the cantonal Parliament and the Geneva electorate. If you want to Maudet, he can stay until the end of the current legislature in office. This will take a long time: until the middle of may 2023, more than four years. In the extreme case, Maudet could even stay in the prison councillor, should he be convicted of the charges of corruption of a sentence of imprisonment.

The sheer impossibility of transporting a Geneva state councillor from the office, calls are now an almost forgotten policy Instrument in memory. Other than Geneva, there are six cantons, the people's right to opt out of the government: Berne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Ticino, Thurgau and Uri. Would work Maudet in one of these cantons, he could not feel quite so safe as in Geneva.

opting out

The way to opt-out from managed leads in these cantons, a cantonal popular initiative. In Bern, it takes 30'000 signatures in Uri 600 meet. The necessary signatures come together, held a referendum on the dismissal of the government.

However, even these six cantons are not able to chase a councillor as Maudet individually from the office. Rather, they would have to settle with him the whole government and, subsequently, the straightforward members of the government, new. Only in Uri, individual politicians can be dismissed – such as the mayor or the Ständeräte. Whether the dismissal would be for a single member of the cantonal government permitted, due to the very clear wording of the Urner cantonal Constitution is unclear.

In five of the six cantons (except Ticino) can also be the cantonal Parliament, at any time, by the people, deposed. The cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft and Luzern once knew a dismissal right to have it abolished, but in the last few decades. Quite different is the Trend in the Canton of Ticino is: Here, the dismissal was extended in law in 2011 at the municipal Executive.

"the safety valve of democracy"

Nevertheless, the people's right to opt out is little known, because it is extremely frequently used. Only one Time, in 1862, in the Canton of Aargau, was dismissed by a cantonal Parliament, actually by the people – the member of the cantonal government resigned, then in corpore.

The last such referendum was held in 2000 in Schaffhausen: at the Time, at least 35 percent of the voting citizens wanted to send their government into the desert. Further Attempts, on a Canton of the government created, there was in 1996 in Solothurn, Switzerland and in 2008 in Ticino: Both attempts failed but still in the Phase of signature collection.

Historically, the right to dismissal is older than the Initiative and the referendum law. It was introduced in the 19th century. Century as a "safety valve of democracy", as it's called by the political scientist Uwe Serdült by the centre for democracy in Aarau. Originally, the Instrument had not been directed against corrupt or incompetent members of the government, says Serdült, who has published on the topic. "Rather, the right to opt out was a means to avoid bloody revolutions."

And to the Federal Council?

The revolution in danger today seems to be banned – it always comes back to scandals to individual members of the government. The case Maudet is not the first that raises the question of a dismissal procedure. In Aargau it is the question of 2014, in the Naked-Selfie-scandal of the Baden, Mayor Geri Müller. In the same year, the Canton decided to new castle after a scandal involving a former FDP member of the cantonal government a "Lex Hainard": This law provides for the removal of a governing Council by the cantonal Parliament.

at the Federal level, there is no recall possibility: Would Pierre Maudet 2017 instead of Ignazio Cassis in the Federal Council elected, he would be there until the complete re-election in December 2019 as untouchable as it is now, as the Geneva cantonal government.

(editing Tamedia)

Created: 30.12.2018, 20:23 PM