The town of Lucerne heaved a huge sigh of relief as the budget was approved by a majority of 79%. This means that all institutions relying on town funding will be getting their budget, this not only affected schools but also festivals amongst others.
Three of the five parliament leaders were voted straight through. Guido Graf and Reto Wyss (CVP) were re-elected and Fabian Peter (FDP) was newly elected. All three men got the needed majority. Paul Winiker (SVP), Korintha Bärtsch (Green) and Jörg Meyer (Socialist) were the runner ups. A new election for the remaining two seats will take place on May 19.
The parliament took a decisive shift to the left with the green party gaining 8 seats, the socialist party 3 seats and the green liberal party a further 3. CVP lost 4 seats, FDP 3 and SVP a massive 7 seats. Of note women now make up 41 of the 120 seats, this is the first time so many women were voted in.
41.5 % of the population took part in the vote, that is up 3% compared to 2015 but we are a long way from the 51.9% population participation from 1995.
The next referendum will take place on May 19.
