Toggenburg constituency

Toggenburg constituency
Basic data
Country:	Switzerland Switzerland
Canton :	Canton of St. Gallen St. Gallen (SG)
Main town :
FSO number :	1727
Area :	488.59 km²
Height range :	521–2501 m above sea level M.
Residents:	46,452 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	95 inhabitants per km²
map

The Constituency Toggenburg was constitutional revision of 10 June 2001 from 1 January 2003, an administrative unit of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland .

politics

Toggenburg has bottomed out and the population is growing again.

With the decline of the textile industry - Heberlein Textil AG in Wattwil closed its doors in 2001 - a depression hit the local economy. “ The poor man in Tockenburg ” shapes the image of the constituency. The population is perceived as modest and reserved, but also as stubborn. Innovative Toggenburgers criticize the paralyzing mood that the Swiss People's Party (SVP) spread in the valley. The " mountain railway dispute ", rivalries with the Linth area over the location of the Wattwil canton school and protests against the feared closure of the Wattwil hospital determine the political discussion.

With the construction of the sound house and the bypass roads Bütschwil and Wattwil , Toggenburg expects an upswing.

Distribution of seats
Election year	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
GPS	1
SP	2	1	1	2	2
CVP	6th	4th	3	3	3
FDP	4th	3	3	2	2
SVP	5	4th	4th	4th	4th
all in all	18th	12	11	11	11

Seats in the Cantonal Council (2020-2024)
2 3 2 4th 2 3 2 4th A total of 11 seats SP : 2 CVP : 3 FDP : 2 SVP : 4

Tourism is promoted with the Toggenburg Sound House.

Toggenburg, which was divided in religion and for a long time in politics, is now a stronghold of the SVP. It has around a third of the vote. Before that, the Catholic North voted for the CVP and the Reformed South freely . With Toni Brunner , the constituency provided the president of SVP Switzerland from 2008 to 2016.

The Social Democrats (SP) are stable between 11 and 15 percent. What is remarkable in Toggenburg is the potential for smaller, changing groups. In 2016 and 2020, the non-party Martin Sailer won a seat in the cantonal council, albeit on a list of the SP.

Political structure

Since January 1, 2013, the constituency has had twelve municipalities.

coat of arms	Name of the parish	Population (December 31, 2018)	Area in km²	Inhabitant per km²
	Bütschwil-Ganterschwil	4876	21.83	223
	Ebnat-Kappel	5031	43.55	116
	Hemberg	906	20.19	45
	Kirchberg (SG)	9073	42.54	213
	Lichtensteig	1869	2.82	663
	Luetisburg	1576	14.10	112
	Mosnang	2881	50.51	57
	Neckertal	4035	49.00	82
	Nesslau	3578	92.70	39
	Oberhelfenschwil	1261	12.65	100
	Wattwil	8740	51.17	171
	Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann	2626	87.53	30th
Total (12)		46,452	488.59	95

Former districts

The Toggenburg used to consist of four districts (listed geographically from north to south):

Untertoggenburg (communities Degersheim , Flawil , Ganterschwil , Jonschwil , Mogelsberg , Oberuzwil , Uzwil )
Alttoggenburg (municipalities of Bütschwil , Kirchberg , Lütisburg , Mosnang )
Neutoggenburg (municipalities Brunnadern , Hemberg , Krinau , Lichtensteig , Oberhelfenschwil , St. Peterzell , Wattwil )
Obertoggenburg (communities Alt St. Johann , Ebnat-Kappel , Krummenau (since January 1, 2005 Nesslau-Krummenau ), Nesslau (since January 1, 2005 Nesslau-Krummenau), Stein , Wildhaus )

Historically and geographically, the above-mentioned districts belong to the Toggenburg, while the constituency mainly excludes Untertoggenburg communities. This was already criticized in advance by the population of affected communities.