Climate policy is important, but not everything, says local council candidate Florence Pärli. Who she would like to see as Stapi and how she assesses her own chances of being elected.
Florence Pärli, what do you actually get if you vote for you?
Someone who is very dossier and works hard to achieve their goals. And my goal is for Bern to finally be in the black again. Otherwise, future generations will pay down our debt and we will have to raise taxes and cut benefits. That would be highly irresponsible. I want to put myself into the service of the city and not do all of this for myself, there would be more comfortable jobs.
Who do you get personally?
Oh dear, I hate describing myself (laughs). I am a cheerful, reliable and optimistic person, I like to listen to other opinions and I prefer to work by consensus, i.e. to find solutions that are right for everyone. Yes, I am a team player.
So your main political concern is finance?
The city should continue to offer as much as possible, but the necessary resources must be available for this. You can’t just spend all the time, there needs to be a balance. As a federal city, Bern has a huge responsibility in various areas such as economy, culture, social affairs and sport, which we must live up to. Instead, the focus from the left has been very one-sided for years.
On what?
On the climate, the dominant topic in the city council. Do you understand me correctly: of course the climate is relevant; we want to be a green city worth living in. However, there are still countless other things that need to be addressed.
The 2025 budget may be deep red, but according to Stapi Alec von Graffenried, Bern is “very, very wealthy,” and tax revenue is increasing from year to year.
The assets may be large – but so are the debts. The city’s equity capital currently amounts to around 110 million francs. That sounds like a lot at first, but the current calculation budgets a deficit of around 40 million francs. So there are still 70 million left. According to the local council’s budget, this will continue in this style until 2028, after which the equity capital would be used up and the city would therefore be over-indebted. The consequences, as already mentioned, are tax increases and reductions in benefits. The example of Köniz, where library operations had to be stopped due to financial bottlenecks, should be a warning to us. Bern lives on credit.
The red-green coalition says they are condemned to spend money because of the investment backlog.
Nobody questions the investments. Only: you mentioned tax revenue earlier. These have increased by 100 million francs over the last ten years – per year! This money could have been used directly for investments. But what happened? On average, we have taken on new debt by at least 50 million francs every year.
The money still has to be somewhere?
It was spent elsewhere, for example on an administration whose expansion is increasing dramatically. A sacred cow that cannot be slaughtered. The situation is similar in the cultural sector: until recently it received 30 million francs per year, now it has increased to 38 million.
However, it is also a fact that the city of Bern is literally overrun with financial requests from cultural workers.
Yes, the authorities can hardly keep up with processing them. And what is your answer to that? Hire more staff instead of considering whether the application process should perhaps be made more efficient. Such a practice would be impossible in the private sector.
What else is politically important to you?
Housing construction is making slow progress, keyword: Viererfeld or gasworks area.
Moment: More apartments were built than at any time since the 1970s.
True, but we only have a small part of the city to thank for that. Above all, these efforts are obviously not enough; demand exceeds supply. Anyone who listens to the builders will also learn that building regulations have become extremely complicated in recent years and that it has become incredibly difficult to carry out a building project. Some of these regulations are regulated cantonally, I am aware of that. However, I would like to tackle any bureaucratic hurdles that can be eliminated at the local level. Building was simply ideological. Another topic that’s on my mind…
Please.
The economy. The harassment of local businesses must finally stop. A company that operates trucks had a 30 zone sign placed in the middle of the road near the freight yard so that trucks now have to laboriously drive around it. This is symbolic: Red-Green has no sense of what companies’ needs are. How many taxes, namely one fifth, they contribute to all income and how important they are as employers. Incidentally, the economy is not even mentioned in the legislative goals. No, companies don’t have to be actively supported – you should just let them work in peace.
Apparently you’re hitting open doors at the local council. Because he wants to prioritize commercial traffic in the future and curb leisure traffic.
First, how do you define commercial traffic? Secondly, how is it controlled? And what about those who are physically impaired? The idea sounds good, but it is hardly feasible.
How do you generally perceive politics in the city council? Commoners often complain about left-wing arrogance in power.
This image is not wrong. Red-Green knows that they can leave us out in order to get their business done. They don’t even want to listen to our objections. In some cases we are even excluded from certain discussions: When it came to the role of Bern’s daycare centers, Franziska Teuscher exclusively invited a trade unionist and red-green members of parliament to her office. That is undemocratic.
Who do you want as Stapi? Marieke Kruit or Alec von Graffenried?
Personally, I’m leaning towards no one. Strategically, I would like to see the Green Alec von Graffenried, who is more moderate than Ursina Anderegg, at least back on the local council.
Would von Graffenried also be a better Stapi?
No.
Her biggest competitor for a seat on the local council is Béatrice Wertli. Which one of you will do it?
My biggest competition is the red-green-centre list. If we start with the list “Meh color for bear!” get a second seat, the chances between Béatrice Wertli and me are fifty to fifty. I would like to hold the office, I have lived in Bern since my childhood, I have been firmly anchored in Bern politics as a city councilor for four years, and I don’t yet have a family. I have 100 percent capacity for this city.
Speaking of which: would you forgo having children during your term in office?
Would you ask a man this question too?
The fact is: women still find it difficult to get back into working life after the birth of a child due to the current circumstances.
My husband is in the middle of his training to become a second specialist, so this is not an issue at the moment. I was told that having children and having responsibility at work go hand in hand: Both of my parents worked 100 percent in demanding jobs.
Four years ago, your party took a left-liberal course. The election on November 24th is also a plebiscite about what voters think of the new direction.
The media in particular has given us this stamp. The political spectrum is still wide within the group. Personally, I am neither left nor right liberal, but very centrist. In a party like the FDP, a certain political range is completely normal.
If your election attempt fails, will you withdraw from politics?
First of all, I would be frustrated. Because we still have it in our hands to change course, another four years in this constellation would permanently worsen the financial situation of our city – and we don’t want to become a second Biel. To answer your question: No, I wouldn’t retire, I can’t get away from politics (laughs). But I would probably only work in the background.
