"Overriding the rights of the people" Senior citizen sets politicians on edge with one sentence on SRF's "Arena" program

A senior SP National Councillor Matthias Aebischer and other politicians on SRF's "Arena" got into a heated debate with an explosive demand. The heated discussion shows how deep the rifts in transport policy really are.

The future of Swiss mobility remains unclear after the clear "no" to the expansion of the highway. The defeat of the conservatives in the referendum triggered a heated discussion that took some curious turns in the latest SRF "Arena" program on Friday evening.

The debate, which lasted around 70 minutes, showed that the rifts between the various political camps are deep. Left-wing Greens demand more money for public transport after the "no" to the highway expansion. Green Party President Lisa Mazzone emphasizes in the broadcast that public transport must become cheaper and more attractive, especially for leisure travel, which accounts for a third of traffic.

At the same time, Mazzone advocates a stronger earmarking of the money from the National Roads and Agglomeration Transport Fund (NAF) in favor of climate protection.

Different positions

SP National Councillor Matthias Aebischer takes a similar view, but criticizes the high public transport prices: "If a family travels from Bern to Lucerne, the train costs 100 francs. Leaving the car in the garage would simply be unreasonable."

The middle classes, on the other hand, defend the necessity of private transport. "Car traffic is efficient, and mobility must cost something," says SVP National Councillor Benjamin Giezendanner in the "Arena". He argues for a new, more broadly based expansion project and points to the rising number of cars and people in Switzerland.

While Giezendanner sees immigration as the main problem, FDP National Councillor Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher warns against demonizing car traffic. "It's hard for a businessman to switch to a cargo bike," she argued.

Senior citizen astonishes national councillors

The discussion shows that a consensus on transport policy is still a long way off. Nevertheless, there was an unexpected highlight during the debate: Jacques Sutter, a pensioner from Aargau who supported the freeway project, suddenly spoke up and said: "The Federal Council should be able to decide for itself on such important projects for Switzerland and not have to ask the people."

This statement does not go down well with the politicians. "I think it's a disaster to now say that the people's rights should be abolished," says SP National Councillor Aebischer, outraged by the statement. "If Mr Sutter comes along - five days after a vote that he lost because his freeways were not widened - and says that the people's rights should be abolished, then I have to vehemently oppose it."

FDP National Councillor Vincenz-Stauffacher is also surprised. She was shocked that the people had voted in this way. But: "I'd rather live with the fact that I'm not satisfied and think about what I can do better next time."