Satire
The “Weekend Duck”: Spit, athletes and late insight
Every other Saturday, the Weekend jokes its way through politics, society and other trivialities of the region.
When SP government councilor Tanja Soland was recently asked in an interview what should never change in Basel, she said: the Rhine. What at first glance seems like the next insulting banality of a boring election campaign is actually a small political bombshell. Behind this is nothing less than a signal to Roger Federer that he will never be allowed to build a boathouse in Basel if he fails in Rapperswil.
Preservation and tradition have a high priority in Basel, even where UNESCO doesn’t (yet) look. You can tell that it is autumn fair when a bell ringer sticks out his arm. The fact that there are elections is because the arm of the law is wrapping up Eric Weber. This is on the condition that the police can still find staff below the retirement threshold. It was reported this week that the interim commander Thomas Würgler, 70, is worried about the aging of the corps.
This is especially against the background of a new train from Basel to Amsterdam. Kügeidealer rejoice: With tram line 8 there is a quick connection between Amsterdam’s canals and the Dreirosenpark.
The Basel area also made headlines. Several communities, most recently Muttenz, have banned spitting. The development is limited to the Lower Basel region, which can be explained by the so-called Chriesistei line. Dramatic enough: The Zolli is trembling about a similar ban in Binningen, which would result in restrictions for llamas and archerfish. And ex-Nati star Alex Frei is said to have already threatened to move away from Biel-Benken: That’s a big deal.
There is also disappointment in Basel-Stadt: the red-green government will not be able to achieve the climate goals it has set itself. The reason is heaters, city cleaning vehicles and steam that government members emit during interviews. The cantonal laboratory gave the all-clear for the latter: these gases are “completely unreactive”. It is also becoming apparent that the government will “drastically reduce” its energy requirements again after the elections. That won’t be enough: It already seems clear that the canton will also miss the next climate goals. This pleases not least the conservative forces in Basel: it is possible that a new Basel tradition will develop. (bro)
