Daughter of a snap wants to become a city president

City President Corine Mauch steps down. The SP wants to defend the city council as the strongest force in Zurich. Now movement is coming to the candidate carousel. The bourgeois camp is looking for a surprising head to attack the red-green majority.

In almost 11 months, the city of Zurich re -elected government and parliament. With the elections of March 8, 2026, an era ends in the largest Swiss city: The city president Corine Mauch (SP), which has been in office since 2009, has announced that it would no longer be in office after 17 years. Building construction manager André Odermatt (SP, in office since 2010) and school leader Filippo Leutenegger (FDP, since 2014) are also resigning.

There are three vacancies in the city council. Four representatives of the SP, two Greens, are currently sitting in the nine-headed government. The SP has been holding the city council since 1990. Red-green-temporarily supported by smaller parties-has a majority in the city council for as long.

The SP has the best chances of the city council. « Under normal circumstances, the question of the successor to the Mauch in the SP, the most powerful party in the city, » was decided NZZ firmly.

« I embody the diversity of the city »

Until on Monday everything ran out on Raphael Golta as the successor to Corine Mauch. The 49-year-old has been in the city council as a social leader since 2014. He had his candidacy for the city councilor two weeks announced.

But now Golta gets the party in the party. On Monday, cantonal councilor Mandy Abou Shoak (35) announced in « Tages-Anzeiger » Your ambitions. The social worker grew up in Wetzikon ZH as the daughter of two academics who fled from Sudan to Switzerland. The mother studied dentistry in Switzerland. The father, a regime -critical journalist in his homeland, worked here as a Pöstler.

Abou Shoak says she embodies Zurich’s diversity: «Many people come here, from near and away, to move something. I embody that. « 

The long -time city councilor Raphael Golta has the greater political backpack and should have the larger party -internal domestic power. It will be exciting to see how the basis of the Stadtzürcher SP reacts to Mandy Abou Shoak’s candidacy.

The majority of the party’s officials come from the established, academically shaped middle class. But the voices that require a better representation of a young, migrant generation, have recently become louder. Her candidacy stands because something happens in the SP, says Abou Shoak: «There is something in the air that speaks for my candidacy. It’s the right moment. « 

Court are looking for surprise candidate

Anyone whoever wins the SP internal duel will probably have to compete against a bourgeois candidacy. According to NZZ Work behind the scenes on an alliance from SVP to GLP. The driving force is the FDP, the strongest force in the bourgeois camp.

Rumor has been in Zurich for a long time that the bourgeoisies want to compete with a person from outside the city -angry political operation. The parties still cannot be seen in the cards in this regard.

The NZZ launched in October 2024 The name Christian Jott Jenny (46). The humorist and cultural organizer has been the mayor of St. Moritz since 2019. Opposite the « Switzerland at the weekend » However, Jenny gave these siren sounds a more or less clear cancellation at the end of 2024.

Even if a wide alliance should collect behind a common candidacy: how realistic is it that the bourgeois is a turn? In any case, it is not easy. As in practically all large Swiss cities, the rights have been in crawl in Zurich for years.

In the last elections in 2022, the FDP narrowly defended its second seat. While the left electorate writes all candidates of their own warehouse on the ballot paper, the mutual support works significantly worse.

A coordination as a glimmer of hope

In the case of referendums, the left parties in Zurich usually prevail. There was a glimmer of hope for the bourgeois last February 9: 53 percent rejected a significant increase in compensation for the members of the municipal council, the urban parliament. FDP and SVP were the only parties to fight the increase. For once they had the majority.

The conquest of the City Presidium and the end of the red-green majority should still be out of reach. As a consolation price, the bourgeois parties and the GLP work out to weaken the 6: 3 majority of SP and Greens in the city council.

In addition to the previous health head Andreas Hauri, the GLP competes with municipal councilor Serap Kahriman. It is still open who the FDP sends to the city council race next to the previous Michael Baumer. A free -sensitive candidate trio is conceivable, with a person being competing for the city council. The center is aiming for a return to the city government with a councilor Karin Weyermann. The SVP, which has not been represented in the city council since 1990, has nominated Cantonal Councilor Ueli Bamert.

The Greens are expected to only compete with the previous Daniel Leupi and Karin Rykart. In addition to Raphael Golta, the SP also applies to the previous civil engineering leader Simone Brander for re -election. In addition to Mandy Abou Shoak, Cantonal Councilor Tobias Langenegger (39) and ex-community councilor and co-party president Gabriela Rothenfluh (50) have announced her candidatures for the two free seats. SP national councilor Celine Widmer (46) is also said to be interested.

At least twelve candidates for the nine city council seats can be expected. The election outcome on March 8, 2026 is correspondingly open. The only thing that is certain is that for the first time since the penultimate decade, the top Zuricher will no longer be called Corine Mauch.