Cantonal politics
Karl Güntzel and Walter Locher say goodbye – the St. Gallen Cantonal Council is losing two civic veterans
They both have many years of parliamentary experience, both are from the city of St. Gallen, both are lawyers: Now Karl Güntzel (SVP) and Walter Locher (FDP) are announcing their withdrawal from the cantonal council.
Withdraw from the cantonal parliament: Walter Locher (FDP) and Karl Güntzel (SVP, right).
Photos: Benjamin Manser
He took a seat in the cantonal council chamber for the first time in the last millennium – in 1992. Nobody can imitate Karl Güntzel so quickly. Now the St. Gallen SVP cantonal councilor and lawyer is saying goodbye to cantonal politics. Without any fuss. In a personal letter he lets his fellow council members know: That’s it. The eighth was his last term in office. But Güntzel, a politician through and through, is still thinking strategically in his last days as a cantonal councilor. He will resign on November 18th and the winter session of the cantonal parliament will begin a week later.
With this resignation date, he states in his letter, it will be ensured that “the personnel gap for the group will be very short”. In addition, his successor could run for the next term of office next March as “previously”.
Güntzel has long since reached retirement age – he is 73. But he does not seem to have lost his joy in politics even after several decades of working in parliament. Güntzel, who politicized for the FDP in earlier years, represents his opinion in German and clearly – in free speech. And: He has an elephant’s memory and reminds Parliament again and again of his previous decisions and U-turns.
After 21 years it’s over
Liberal Walter Locher is also drawing a line in the sand – after 21 years. He will end his cantonal council activities at the end of the legislative period. Locher said he has decided not to run for another term of office. This will allow him to concentrate on his work as a lawyer and his administrative and advisory board activities in various companies in the future.
Locher is, among other things, chairman of the board of directors of the automotive supplier DGS Druckguss Systeme AG in St.Gallen, with locations in the Czech Republic and China. He is president of the cantonal homeowners’ association and president of the IG-Bottleneck Elimination, which is campaigning for a third tunnel through the Rosenberg and the highway feeder freight station.
Locher is a liberal through and through. He likes to debate, repeatedly appeals to personal responsibility, and speaks clearly and pithily. When the 68-year-old speaks in the cantonal parliament, he is listened to. “You have to be passionate about something to be able to make a difference. This is the only way to serve the cause,” he once said in an interview – and he lives it to this day.
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2023-10-27 23:41:26
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