Vincenz-Stauffacher and Mühlemann, elected by acclamation, were the only candidates for the party’s co-presidency.
Keystone-SDA
Radical-Liberal delegates meeting in Bern on Saturday elected St. Gallen parliamentarian Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher and senator Benjamin Mühlemann of Glarus as co-presidents of their party.
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The two co-chairs succeed senator Thierry Burkart. In office since October 2021, Burkart will step down as party chair at the end of October and was greeted by delegates with a warm round of applause.
Vincenz-Stauffacher and Mühlemann, elected by acclamation, were the only candidates for the party’s co-presidency. “We want to take responsibility as a team,” said 48-year-old Mühlemann, who was a member of the Glarus cantonal executive since 2014, until his election to the Swiss senate in 2023.
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In their inaugural speeches, both placed the issue of security at the centre. “What do people in this country want more than security?” said 58-year-old Vincenz-Stauffacher, who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2019. Liberal politics ensures that people can feel safe and security is a guarantee of well-being, she said.
Vincenz-Stauffacher also opposed the right-wing Swiss People’s Party’s so-called neutrality initiative, which she called a “pro-Putin initiative”, and denounced the numerous femicides in Switzerland. Victim protection and prevention must be improved, she said.
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Mühlemann referred to the pro-Palestinian demonstration last weekend and the clashes that followed. In Bern, he said, democracy was trampled underfoot and the rule of law was literally stoned.
Violent extremism in the heart of Switzerland is unacceptable, he said: “We will spread the message that hatred against the police and violence against law and order cannot be tolerated.”
Translated from Italian with DeepL/gw
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