"It was just a memorial" Angry citizen hangs a rope for Green politician

A dispute over asphalted roads escalates in Seedorf BE. A local resident erects a gallows with threats against the Greens, while the municipality struggles to keep calm.

The Christmas season does not bring peace in Seedorf in the Bernese Seeland. A long-running dispute over illegally asphalted roads has thrown the village into turmoil. After excavators rebuilt unlicensed paths back into marl roads, the anger of many villagers erupted.

But instead of targeting those responsible, the accusations were directed at the local Green Party. Together with Landschaftsschutz Schweiz, they had opposed the asphalting. "Stupid, stupid and ill-considered" was the damning verdict at the municipal meeting, as reported by theBerner Zeitungnewspaper.

The conflict reached a new climax when local resident Ernst Schranz erected a gallows with the inscription "Hangman's station for the Greens". The provocative action caused outrage - especially among the Greens, who felt threatened.

Schranz himself takes a relaxed view of the matter. "It was just a memorial," the 70-year-old pensioner insists in an interview withBlick. "I didn't want to hang anyone, I just wanted to draw attention to the brainwashed Greens." But the members of the Green Party are demanding that the municipality remove the rope. So far without success.

Protest or threat?

Municipal president Hans Schori is reluctant to issue a clear condemnation. The Bernese SVP cantonal parliamentarian describes the action as a "grotesque farce" and emphasizes that freedom of expression must be preserved.

While the gallows themselves have now disappeared - Schranz speaks of theft - the conflict in the village remains unresolved. Schranz threatens to press charges if the rope is not returned.

At the same time, the Greens published an advertisement entitled "Stop - not like this!", in which they made it clear that the gallows had crossed a line.

Schranz continues to defend his action as an appeal for dialog, but the fronts remain hardened. "I wanted to point out how unfairly things are being done here," he says. Mayor Schori has a simple Christmas wish: "I want peace and quiet back in the village."

But while the authorities are working on a new traffic management plan to create the basis for legal asphalting in the future, the next escalation seems only a matter of time. According to Blick, the authorities are already working in the background to be able to asphalt the roads again soon.