Farewell to Sirnach Mayor Kurt Baumann celebrated with a lively folk festival

With a smooth community meeting and standing applause for several minutes, Sirnach had actually given his mayor Kurt Baumann a dignified farewell last Tuesday, who was retiring after 24 years. Actually. Because Sirnach wouldn’t be Sirnach if you didn’t top it all off.

And so the municipality invited the population to the Grünau school grounds on Saturday under the motto “Dä Kurt isch furt”. There it quickly became apparent that the approximately 500 visitors had not just come because of the promised free sausage, the perfect summer weather or simply out of boredom.

Laudation by longtime Vice

Baumann was greeted and hugged almost every minute. This also applies to a long-time companion: the laudatory speech was held by Vice Mayor Samuel Mäder, who resigned last year. The full-time lawyer did so in the usual sarcastic manner. He ended a minute-long hymn of praise with: “You were only a total failure as a budgeter, dear Kurt!” He meant that in the recent past, Sirnach has always been able to close its annual accounts significantly better than budgeted. Mäder finally said to Baumann’s successor, Beat Schwarz, who was elected last November: “If you want to repeat a mistake made by Kurt Baumann, then please make this one!” The audience seemed to agree with this wish.

Beat Schwarz, who officially took office on Thursday, was able to symbolically take over the municipal presidency with a bread in the shape of a key – and then score points with his first public speech as Sirnach’s municipal president. After all, he mastered his baptism of fire with ease.