STÉPHANE HERZOG “This is a triumph for him,” declares Nenad Stojanović, a political scientist at the University of Geneva. Maudet’s re-election follows a lengthy period in the wilderness: thrown out of his party, stripped of his department at the Geneva Council of State, found guilty of accepting illegal favours and roundly condemned by the Swiss media. The scandal can be traced back to a 2015 trip to Abu Dhabi paid for by the Emirati crown prince. The Geneva criminal appeal and review court (Chambre pénale d’appel et de révision) ruled on 26 May 2023 that Maudet must repay the cost of this trip, put at more than 50,000 Swiss francs, to the canton of Geneva. The newly re-elected state councillor was also given a suspended 120,000 Swiss franc fine. The court declared that Maudet had accepted an undue favour, knowingly exposing himself to the risk of influence over the performance of his duties as a state councillor. The Maudet affair was first revealed by the “Tribune de Genève” newspaper in May 2018 and turned into a national scandal – particularly coming shortly after the 2017 Federal Council elections, in which he came close to winning a seat. “It is a serious political matter, and in his shoes 99 percent of elected representatives would have stepped down,” says Stojanovic. Shock, outrage and admiration Maudet’s re-election – along with the election to the Grand Council of 11 deputies from the Liberty and Social Justice movement that he established – provoked a mixture of shock, outrage and admiration. “It’s staggering that he has been voted back in,” says Lukas Golder, a political analyst and media expert who jointly heads up the gfs.bern research institute. There has been no major outcry about Maudet’s return from national elected representatives in Berne; their line has very much been that voters have the right to elect the candidate of their choice. The “NZZ” newspaper has not shied away from comparing Maudet to Donald Trump, however, labelling the affair a classic example of “Genfereï” – a term denoting the political contortions perceived as typical of this canton. For their part, Swiss political commentators attribute Maudet’s re-election to his exceptional personal qualities: intelligence, resilience and powers of communication. “Voters in other cantons would be just as ready to forgive Swiss politician – and convicted criminal – Pierre Maudet wins re-election Pierre Maudet has lied on multiple occasions, accepted luxury travel from foreign royals and has a criminal conviction. But that didn’t stop him being re-elected to the Geneva cantonal government and causing ripples throughout the country, especially in the German-speaking part. Political analysts put his comeback down to charisma. a personality like this, if one existed,” argues Golder. He stresses that first-past-the-post elections amplify the reach and appeal of characters like Maudet. “French-speaking Switzerland does have a certain reputation, but in fact the whole ‘Genfereï’ line is a myth,” says Stojanovic, pointing to other scandals that originated in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. His University of Geneva colleague Pascal Sciarini notes that voters on the other side of the Röstigraben were themselves seduced by Maudet in the 2017 Federal Council elections. “He ran an excellent campaign and wasn’t far off being elected. So don’t be so sure that a similar situation could not arise in another urban canton.” The biggest political scandal since Kopp “The Maudet affair is the biggest scandal in Swiss politics since the resignation of Elisabeth Kopp in 1989,” wrote Philippe Reichen, French-speaking Switzerland correspondent at the “Tages Anzeiger” newspaper. Meanwhile, Golder of gfs.bern points out that “Kopp lied when under pressure and was not convicted, whereas Maudet persisted with a long-term lie”. Is Swiss politics sexist? Golder also observes that “following her resignation, Kopp never attempted a comeback. That contrasts with several cases where erring male politicians in this country have seized their second chances, in circumstances where women tend to give up”. He cites in particular the case of Geri From zero to hero – Pierre Maudet with jubilant supporters after winning re-election to the Geneva cantonal government on 2 April. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / August 2023 / No.4 26 Politics
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