SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Green Party councillor fined for not clearing up rubbish

A politician for Switzerland’s Green Party has learned the hard way that no good comes from harming the environment.

Green Party councillor fined for not clearing up rubbish
File photo: Adrian Scottow/Flickr

Stéphane Barbey, a local councillor for Montreux in the Vaud canton, was ordered by a court last year to clear up the waste which had piled up on his balcony, and has now been fined for failing to do so in time.

The councillor's tenant, who lived in the lower floor of his house in Les Avants, just outside Montreux, complained about water coming in through his ceiling and problems with damp. The excessive amount of garbage on Barbey's balcony was found to be the cause. 

The rubbish piles, which also extended to the politician's garden, consisted of old tyres, plastic and metal objects, and even a gas cooker.

The 57-year-old councillor was issued with a deadline to clear away the rubbish, which he claimed to have done. But at the start of November, an inspection found that the rubbish was still there, 20 Minutes reported, and prosecutors charged Barbey with failing to abide with the deadline.

He was handed a fine of 1,000 francs on Wednesday, plus 525 francs to cover the costs of the damage. The defendant was given ten days to raise an objection.

However, the pile of rubbish in his garden and balcony doesn’t seem to have damaged the eco-politician’s career. He was re-elected in February, despite the fact that the case was ongoing.
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Swiss hard right crowns farmer as new leader

The hard-right Swiss People's Party, Switzerland's biggest political party, on Saturday anointed as its new leader hill farmer Marcel Dettling, a hardliner on asylum and immigration.

Swiss hard right crowns farmer as new leader

The lawmaker was unanimously elected at a party conference in Langenthal, northern Switzerland. He was the only candidate to stand for the leadership of the SVP, which comfortably topped the Swiss general election in October.

Dettling, 43, had been the election campaign manager and a party vice president.

Dettling is a member of the National Council lower house of parliament, representing the central Schwyz canton, and has served as party vice president.

“We will continue to defend our freedom and independence in the future and will not allow ourselves to be bullied by foreign rulers,” he said.

On the question of closer ties with the neighbouring European Union, he added: “In Switzerland, it is the people who govern, and not bureaucrats in Brussels.”

The SVP has come a long way from its roots as a farmers’ party in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

It became a national force focused on opposition to mass immigration, to closer ties with the EU, and to the abandonment of Swiss neutrality.

Dettling is considered on the harder wing of the party on immigration. His parliamentary interventions typically concern asylum and agriculture.

Outgoing leader Marco Chiesa had decided not to stand again at the end of his term.

Chiesa has led the SVP since August 2020 and in October 2023 took the party to the third-best result in its history, winning 28 percent of the vote and nine more seats in the National Council.

The SVP’s election campaign had focused on the fight against “mass immigration” and the prospect of the Swiss population –currently 8.8. million — reaching 10 million.

It also launched a war on “cancel culture” and what it called “gender terror and woke madness”.

Delegates gave Chiesa a standing ovation on Saturday.

The seven seats in the Swiss government are shared out 2-2-2-1 among the four largest parties. The government, or Federal Council, takes its decisions by consensus and collective responsibility.

The SVP’s two government members are Economy Minister Guy Parmelin and Environment Minister Albert Rosti.

SHOW COMMENTS