The Zurich politician will not be standing for re-election on April 6, he announced on Tuesday on Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The reason: his party’s defeat in last month’s federal elections.
“I am the face of this defeat”, he declared, as the Greens lost five seats on the House of Representatives. The party, he said, “deserves” a “fresh start” with a “new face”.
Although Glättli said he “wasn’t the only one who got it wrong”, he felt he could no longer “shine” for his party, comparing himself to a street lamp, shining up and down.
In a letter to the media, the Zurich native writes that “in a party, there is a responsibility to step forward at the right time. To take up challenges. And there’s the responsibility to withdraw at the right moment. To give new forces a chance.”
Glättli informed the party leadership of his decision the day after the federal elections, and a week after election Sunday to the committee and parliamentary group, he says.
The Zurich-born politician has been in office since 2020. Prior to that, he was chairman of the parliamentary group since 2013. During the 2019 federal elections, he co-led the election campaign.
In a statement, the party praises the tenure of its president, who has led the Greens “with clarity”, “in times marked by numerous crises”. The Greens have never had so many members, they added.
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