Rudolf Ott

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Rudolf Ott (born March 21, 1900 in Turbenthal ; † March 15, 1970 in Winterthur ) was a village butcher in Turbenthal and a Swiss politician. Together with the Democratic Party of Switzerland , he submitted the first foreign infiltration initiative in 1965. From 1966 to 1970 he was a Zurich representative in the democratic parliamentary group in the National Council .

Origin and occupation

Rudolf Ott was the son of the butcher Rudolf and Anna Elisabeth (née Stahel). His father, who was also called Rudolf Ott (* 1856, † 1925), emigrated to the USA in 1884 for economic reasons and learned the butcher's trade at the Chattanooga Beef Company in the state of Tennessee . He returned to Switzerland in 1895 and opened the village butcher's shop in Turbenthal, which still exists today. His son trained as a butcher in his father's business and ran the business from 1925 to 1964.

politics

Rudolf Ott held various offices in the Turbenthal community. From 1945 to 1969 he was in the Zurich Cantonal Council , from 1946 to 1970 mayor of Turbenthal and from 1966 to 1970 as a representative of the Democratic Party in the National Council.

The first foreign infiltration initiative

Rudolf Ott was one of the initiators of the first foreign infiltration initiative, which was submitted in 1965. It demanded that "the total number of foreign residents and residents must not exceed a tenth of the resident population." Until this number is reached, the number of foreigners in Switzerland would have to be gradually reduced every year. The initiative was submitted on June 30, 1965 with 59,164 signatures and was declared valid. However, the Federal Council took until June 29, 1967, to draft a message. On March 20, 1968, the initiative was withdrawn. This happened under considerable pressure from business and politics. Rudolf Ott described the circumstances to National Councilor James Schwarzenbach : “We Zurich democrats are completely isolated and are not even supported by our own ranks. The counter-pressure and attempts at intimidation from the industrial and regulatory side are unimaginable. When our initiative is discussed in Bern, you will see what spirit prevails there. Nobody dares to support us, nobody. They all attacked me in the preparatory commission. The many Italians in the village are sabotaging my butcher's shop, which my son runs, and I keep telling me to withdraw the initiative if I don't want to ruin the business. But I will hold out ».

The withdrawal of the initiative encouraged the National Action against Foreign Immigration and Homeland to launch a new popular initiative against foreign immigration with its President James Schwarzenbach. It became known as the Schwarzenbach Initiative . This initiative was rejected by the Swiss men on June 7, 1970, women were not yet allowed to vote. Rudolf Ott died on March 15, 1970 and did not live to see this vote.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Assembly: Rudolf Ott. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Ott, Rudolf. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  3. ^ Federal Chancellery BK: Federal popular initiative 'Überfremdung'. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  4. ↑ James Schwarzenbach : In the back the people . Thomas Verlag, Zurich 1984, p. 86 .
personal data
SURNAME Ott, Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss village butcher in Turbenthal and politicians
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Turbenthal
DATE OF DEATH March 15, 1970
Place of death Winterthur