Mathias Feldges

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Mathias Feldges (1992)

Mathias Feldges (born 1937 ) is a Swiss politician ( SP ). From 1984 to 1997 he was a member of the government of Basel-Stadt .

Life

Mathias Feldges grew up in Oberbipp (Canton Bern) and Solothurn . His mother was the daughter of Albert Oeri , editor-in-chief of the "Basler Nachrichten" and national councilor of the Basler Liberal Democrats . His father was a theologian in Berlin and fled to Switzerland as an opponent of the National Socialists after they came to power in 1933.

Feldges studied German, art history and sociology at the University of Basel . In 1968 he received his doctorate with a thesis on Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen's «Landstörzerin Courasche». Then he became an assistant at the German seminar. He campaigned for better working conditions for the university mid-level staff and, together with other assistants, founded an inter-faculty association that quickly grew to more than 800 members.

Political career

Engagement in the SP

Because of its commitment to the university mid-level staff, the VPOD Feldges offered one of its places on the SP list for the Grand Council in 1972 . The candidacy was unsuccessful. Feldges then joined the SP, where he was still an exception as an academic at the time. He shaped the party significantly by initiating factual groups. This made it possible to win over external parties to work in the SP and ultimately for membership, which at times allowed up to 170 people to take part in the party work. The result was the publication “Social Democratic Community Policy”, which in 1976 became the election manifesto of the Social Democratic Party of Basel-Stadt. In addition, the SP was thematically opened up through this approach: In addition to the struggle for the underprivileged, topics such as the expansion of public transport and the reduction of car traffic, increasing the attractiveness of Basel as a residential city or the preservation of historical buildings came up. In 1976, four years after the first attempt, Feldges was elected to the Grand Council.

After the resignation of Carl Miville-Seiler , Feldges took over the presidency of the SP Basel-Stadt in 1977 , which he kept until 1981. During his presidency, there was a break with the right wing of the party, which gathered behind the police director Karl Schnyder , who had been criticized within the party , left the SP and founded the Democratic Social Party (DSP) . Responsible for this was the thematic opening of the party initiated by Feldges. This attracted new voters, including many academics. However, many older members, especially unionized and especially VPOD and SMUV members, were alienated from the SP. After an internal opposition had already formed after the 1980 elections with the Action Group Social Democrats and Trade Unionists , Feldges pushed for the split in the summer of 1980. He called on Schnyder to change his policy, and otherwise threatened to withdraw his support. Schnyder resigned from the SP after a few days, but remained a member of the government. After further tensions between the ASG and the SP, the DSP was founded in June 1982 after Feldges' tenure as SP President.

Government Council

In the 1980 elections, the SP tried to regain the third seat on the government council , which it had lost in 1976 . At that time, the VPOD trade unionist and head of the cantonal employment office, Hansruedi Schmid , ran as a wild candidate with civic support and thus prevented the election of the official SP candidate Helmut Hubacher . Schmid was expelled from the SP even before his election. The party executive wanted to recapture the third seat with Feldges. The internal tensions in the SP, however, meant that he only achieved fourth place in the candidate selection behind the undisputed previous Edmund Wyss , the controversial police director Schnyder and Felix Mattmüller , who was supported by his opponents and who was considered to be left , and was eliminated from the race.

When Wyss switched to the DSP after Schnyder left, the SP was the strongest Basel party and had no councilor at all. She therefore ran again with three candidacies in the 1984 elections, when Wyss was no longer running. In addition to Remo Gysin and the journalist Linda Stibler , Feldges competed again. In the second ballot, Feldges and Gysin won two seats in the simultaneous re-election of Schnyder for the SP. Schmid was unable to be re-elected. Feldges took over the economic and social department.

Even if to a much lesser extent than his party colleague Gysin, Feldges was accused by his bourgeois opponents of violating the principle of collegiality. Nevertheless, like Gysin, he was confirmed in the government council elections in 1988 in the first ballot. He was also re-elected in 1992 when Gysin had to vacate his seat in favor of the third SP candidate Veronica Schaller , who became the first woman to join the Basel government. Feldges did not run in the general election in 1996. After his resignation, he retired and did various voluntary activities. He was President of the Government in 1987/1988 and 1993/1994.

During his tenure, he was involved in setting up the Northwestern Switzerland tariff association (extension of the validity of the Stadtbasler subscription to all of Northwestern Switzerland, at the same price) and successfully fought for the fair to remain , which at the time was considering moving to Alsace because of the need for renovation and lack of space , in Basel. In addition, social policy was important to him. He was able to repeatedly increase social spending. He himself described the increase in supplementary benefits as possibly the most important success of his tenure . Veronica Schaller also shares an anecdote about how Feldges prevented the increase in the retirement age for state employees. Regarding a compromise proposal by the SP, he said in the Grand Council that he could not comment on it because it had not been discussed in the government council and he wanted to adhere to the principle of collegiality . According to Schaller, Feldges' approval would have turned the majority, while the retirement age remained at 63 thanks to his intervention.

Publications

  • Mathias Feldges: Grimmelshausen's Landstörtzerin Courasche. An interpretation according to the method of the fourfold sense of writing . Francke, Bern 1969.
  • Mathias Feldges (Ed.): Social Democratic Community Policy ; The basics for the politics of a Swiss community developed by the party members of the SP Basel-Stadt . Z-Verlag, Basel 1976, ISBN 3-85990-023-4 .

literature

  • Isabel Koellreuter : Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239-242 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 239 .
  2. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 239 . Mathias Feldges: Grimmelshausen's Landstörtzerin Courasche. An interpretation according to the method of the fourfold sense of writing . Francke, Bern 1969.
  3. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 239 .
  4. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 239 .
  5. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 240 .
  6. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239-242, here pp. 240-241 .
  7. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 241 .
  8. ↑ List of public officials . Compiled by Anglaia Wespe and Tim Cuénod. In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 264-269, here p. 269 .
  9. ↑ Tim Cuénod: The split off of the Democratic Social Party (DSP) . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 143-147 . Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 241 .
  10. ↑ Tim Cuénod: The split off of the Democratic Social Party (DSP) . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 143-147 .
  11. ↑ Max Wullschleger: Basler choice the spring of 1976 . In: Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): Basler Stadtbuch 1976 . Basel 1977, p. 57–62, on this p. 59–62 ( baslerstadtbuch.ch [accessed on January 7, 2020]).
  12. ^ Rolf Schenk: Grand Council and Government Council elections 1980: Shift change in the opposition . In: Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): Basler Stadtbuch 1980 . Basel 1981, p. 69–72, on this p. 71 f . ( baslerstadtbuch.ch [accessed on January 8, 2020]).
  13. ^ Arnold Schneider: Stability and Surprise; General council and government council elections in 1984 . In: Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): Basler Stadtbuch 1984 . Basel 1985, p. 25-29, on this p. 27-29 . ( baslerstadtbuch.ch [accessed on January 8, 2020]).
  14. ^ Arnold Schneider: rustling leaves or storm signs? General council and government council elections in 1988 . In: Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): Basler Stadtbuch 1988 . Basel 1985, p. 9–14, on this p. 13 f . ( baslerstadtbuch.ch [accessed on January 8, 2020]).
  15. ^ Arnold Schneider: rustling leaves or storm signs? General council and government council elections in 1988 . In: Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): Basler Stadtbuch 1988 . Basel 1985, p. 9–14, on this p. 13 ( baslerstadtbuch.ch [accessed on January 8, 2020]).
  16. ↑ Christof Wamister: Fresh wind in the government - complex majorities in Parliament. The total renewal of the political authorities . In: Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): Basler Stadtbuch 1992 . Basel 1993, p. 79–81, on this p. 81 ( baslerstadtbuch.ch [accessed on February 3, 2020]).
  17. ↑ Christoph Merian Foundation (ed.): November 8, 1995. In: Basler Chronik. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Andrea Fopp: 170,000 francs per year: Left-wing ex-government councilors need a pension more than bourgeois ones. In: day week . February 28, 2018, accessed October 22, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): April 22, 1987. In: Basler Chronik. Retrieved February 3, 2020 . Christoph Merian Foundation (Ed.): April 21, 1993. In: Basler Chronik. Retrieved February 3, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 241 f .
  21. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 242 .
  22. ↑ Isabel Koellreuter: Mathias Feldges, a “real” social democrat . In: Association history of the Basler Sozialdemokratie (ed.): 125 years Basler Sozialdemokratie. A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 239–242, here p. 242 .
  23. ↑ Veronica Schaller : My years as Basel's first member of the government . In: Verein Geschichte der Basler Sozialdemokratie (Ed.): 125 Years of Basler Sozialdemokratie; A reader . Schwabe, Muttenz / Basel 2016, ISBN 978-3-03305470-7 , p. 243–245, here p. 244 .
personal data
SURNAME Feldges, Mathias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician
DATE OF BIRTH 1937