SVP National Councillor Lukas Reimann elected to Wil SG city council, plans to leave Bern
SVP National Councillor Lukas Reimann won a seat on the Wil (SG) city council in a second-round vote on August 16, 2026, paving the way for his departure from Bern after nearly 20 years in parliament.
Second-round victory in Wil
Lukas Reimann (SVP) won a seat on the five-member city council of Wil (SG) in a second-round election on Sunday, August 16, 2026. He received 3,670 votes, defeating Michael Sarbach of the Greens, who obtained 3,201 votes. The election was triggered after both mayoral candidates, Andreas Breitenmoser (Mitte) and Jigme Shitsetsang (FDP), were already sitting council members, meaning one council seat would open regardless of who won the presidency. In the first round in mid-June, no candidate had reached an absolute majority for either the presidency or the council seat.
- Breitenmoser (mayor)
- 3793 votes
- Shitsetsang (mayor)
- 1954 votes
- Reimann (council)
- 3670 votes
- Sarbach (council)
- 3201 votes
Andreas Breitenmoser won the city presidency with 3,793 votes against 1,954 for Shitsetsang. Turnout stood at 48.49%. The outgoing city president, Hans Mäder (Mitte), had resigned after roughly five years in office, effective mid-August. The reconstituted council now consists of two FDP members and one each from Mitte, SP, and SVP.
From Bern to local politics
Reimann, 43, has represented the canton of St. Gallen in the National Council since 2007, when he was elected at age 25 as the youngest member of parliament. He told TVO, the television of eastern Switzerland, that he would participate in the September parliamentary session but that his mandate in Bern would end soon after. He confirmed to watson that he would not run for re-election in the next general elections in October 2027. When exactly he will formally step down from the National Council remains unclear; he left the timing open during the campaign.
I will still participate in the September session, then my mandate in Bern will certainly end soon.
Reimann takes up his new office on Monday, August 17, 2026. The city council will reconstitute at its next meeting on Tuesday and assign portfolios, according to the St. Galler Tagblatt.
- First round: no candidate reaches absolute majority for city presidency or council seat
- Second round: Reimann elected to city council, Breitenmoser elected city president
- Reimann takes office; city council reconstitutes and assigns portfolios
- Reimann plans to participate in the autumn parliamentary session in Bern
- Next general elections; Reimann will not run for re-election
An unorthodox career
A lawyer by training, Reimann built a reputation as an unconventional politician. He cited among his achievements the push for transparency on politicians' secondary incomes, the prevention of a minaret in Wil, and the re-legalisation of poker in Switzerland. He also advocated for the return of the television programme "Aktenzeichen XY" and for allowing Swiss German to be spoken in parliament. The NZZ noted his advocacy for a transit ban on live slaughter animals through Switzerland, a stance that set him apart from typical SVP positions.
Since 2014, Reimann has presided over Auns (Aktion für eine unabhängige und neutrale Schweiz), a national-conservative association. In 2022, he collapsed during a debate in the National Council chamber in Bern and required medical attention. On EU and foreigner policy, he remained strictly aligned with the SVP line.
What comes next
The first replacement on the St. Gallen SVP list is Marco Gadient (56), a farmer from Flums, who would take Reimann's seat in the National Council. Wil, with about 25,000 inhabitants (75,000 including the agglomeration), is a notable hub for political talent: alongside Reimann, National Councillors Arbër Bullakaj (40, SP) and Barbara Gysi (62, SP) also come from the town, and Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter (62, FDP) lives there.
