Geneva elections, Socialists lose seat
Update 15:40 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Cantonal elections in Geneva for the executive council, the Conseil d’état, confirmed a rightward shift in the political mood, Sunday 15 November. The centre-right alliance won four of the seven seats, while the centre-left won three. Two women are on the council, and extremists on either side of the spectrum were eliminated.
On the centre-right: the Radical party’s François Longchamp, Christian Democrat Pierre-François Unger and the Liberal party’s Mark Muller were re-elected. They were joined by newly elected Liberal Isabel Rochat.
French Alps, seen from Celigny, Vaud in Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Frontaliers (cross-border workers) are said by some to be at the root of many of Geneva’s social problems, from traffic to crime to unemployment. These concerns among Geneva’s voters were reflected in last weekend’s elections to the cantonal parliament, or Grand Conseil, which gave the right-wing Mouvement des Cityoyens Genevois (MCG) an increase of 8 seats to 17, out of 100.
Le Temps asks in a lengthy article 16 October if there is any truth to the concerns that MCG raises, namely that frontaliers cause the problems of which they are accused.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Eric Stauffer says he will rid the streets of Geneva of beggars within 45 days of being elected to the cantonal government, if he is elected 15 November. The leader of the Mouvement des Citoyens Genevois (MCG) party which was the undeniable winner of Sunday’s 11 October elections to the cantonal parliament, or Grand Conseil, said on early morning radio 12 October that if elected to the seven-person cabinet, he will work to remove beggars from the streets.
