Dittli defies party to seek Vaud executive re-election

Valérie Dittli plans to run again for Vaud’s cantonal executive council in February without the backing of her party, SRF reported. Her decision has renewed debate over whether political culture in French-speaking Switzerland differs fundamentally from that in German-speaking Switzerland.

Dittli, a politician from the Centre party, told SRF that she wanted to remain in politics and address the two controversies that arose at the start of the current legislative term before focusing on her work in government.

Similar cases in French-speaking Switzerland

Her case recalls two other controversies involving cantonal executives in the region.

Martial Courtet, a member of the Jura cantonal government, was voted out last year after an external investigation sharply criticised his leadership style. The Centre party then declined to nominate him, but he ran for re-election independently and lost.

The better-known case is that of Pierre Maudet, a member of Geneva’s cantonal government. Despite being convicted of accepting advantages and expelled from the FDP, he was elected to Geneva’s government again after his forced resignation, this time representing a new party.

Different political cultures

Political scientist Sean Müller of the University of Bern said the apparent concentration of such controversies in French-speaking Switzerland reflected cultural differences. Surveys show that people in the region place greater emphasis on transparency, equality and justice, he said.

In German-speaking Switzerland, people tend to be more self-reliant and take greater individual responsibility, Müller said. They nevertheless seek compromise through a system of consensus government. “These are truly cultural differences between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland,” he said.

There is also a structural difference between the two regions, Müller said. Members of a cantonal executive in French-speaking Switzerland have more powers, and more responsibilities generally lie with the canton. He cited municipal autonomy as an example.

Municipal autonomy is smallest in the west, beginning with Geneva, where the canton issues building permits. Taking responsibility for building-permit procedures away from a municipality in German-speaking Switzerland would cause a revolution, Müller said. Schools, planning and similar responsibilities are much more firmly rooted at municipal level there.

Misunderstanding over Dittli case

In Dittli’s case, different expectations about how government should work have collided, Müller said, and the sides had so far failed to find a common language.

He described the situation as a major misunderstanding in which people approached a system that worked completely differently based on their own experience and expectations. Such conflicts could also be shaped by differences in age or background, he said, adding that both sides shared responsibility for a misunderstanding.