© KEYSTONE / ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE
State Councilor Hans Stöckli (PS/BE) will not seek a new mandate in the next federal elections. The former mayor of Biel took the opportunity of his 70th birthday on Tuesday to announce that he will end his political career in November 2023.
“I am already the oldest member of the Council of States. I am taking advantage of my birthday to formalize this decision”, declared Hans Stockli in an interview published on Tuesday in the Journal du Jura and the Bieler Tagblatt. “For my family and my friends, it was already clear since my re-election in 2019”.
“Even after 18 years, the activity at the Federal Palace is still as motivating and stimulating for me”, assures the socialist from Biel. He underlined that the February 13 federal vote on the tobacco initiative was for him the highlight of this legislature so far.
The job of mayor
Hans Stöckli, whose name is also associated with the success of Expo.02, considers that being mayor is the best job in the world. For 20 years, between 1990 and 2010, he was mayor of Biel. “We were able to achieve a lot in Biel and develop the city.
“My life has always oscillated between power and freedom”, emphasizes Hans Stökli who believes that being mayor is the combination of power and freedom. “He has the freedom to set his priorities as well as the power to implement them. That’s what I experienced, that’s what I liked.”
The Bern section of the Socialist Party praised the work of Hans Stöckli in the National Council from 2004 to 2011 and then in the Council of States. “At each election, Hans Stöckli has won in the face of very tough competition thanks to his personality and his ardor for the task”, notes the Bernese PS who adds that he will do everything possible to defend this seat, preferably introducing a woman.