It’s one of Zurich’s proudest traditions: the Sechseläuten. At the spring festival, the members of Zurich’s 26 guilds parade through the city and in the evening the “Böögg”, an artificial snowman, is burned to drive away the winter. The first events already take place on the weekend before the move: the guild members – they are still almost exclusively men – and their guests meet at exclusive balls.
What happens there usually remains hidden from the public. Until now: At one of the balls last Saturday, the “Ball bei Böögg”, a DJ filmed excerpts from the stage program. The video eventually reached the press. Since then, the organizers of the ball, but also the entire guild system in Zurich, have been under media fire. Because the video shows a man with a black painted face and a raffia skirt around his waist on stage. In his hand he holds a large bone, which he occasionally pushes provocatively between his legs. A clearly racist performance, which the Federal Commission against Racism has since condemned. The audience, however, as the video shows, acknowledged the performance with laughter.
The disturbing incident has occupied the Swiss media for days. And maybe soon the judiciary too: like on Friday multiple media consistent reported, the Zurich-Limmat public prosecutor’s office has opened what is known as a preliminary investigation. This is a kind of preliminary examination to clarify whether there is sufficient suspicion that a criminal offense has been committed and whether proceedings may have to be opened. Public racist statements are punishable under certain conditions in Switzerland.
It is true that the Sechseläuten website says: “Some guild balls also take place outside of the Sechseläuten.” And at the request of the SZ, the Central Committee of the Zurich Guilds (ZZZ) writes that the “Ball at the Böögg” is a privately organized event that has nothing to do with the organization of the Sechseläuten. Nevertheless: The incident at a ball that according to media reports traditionally organized by members of several guilds, massively damages the image of the traditional Zurich associations.
Because the guilds, which see themselves as the heirs of the medieval craftsmen’s associations and thus of the old urban elite, are still influential today. The old, powerful Zurich families are still represented in them, along with the new political and business elite. Bank managers such as Josef Ackermann or the former Credit Suisse President Urs Rohner are members of the guild, as is the former Swiss Re boss Walter Kielholz or the publisher and politician Roger Köppel. No wonder: “It can still be helpful for your career and business if you know this network”, known a few years ago the then President of the Central Committee of the Zurich Guilds.
Mayor Corine Mauch describes the incident as “totally wrong”
The incident at the “Ball bei Böögg” puts the clubs in a difficult light once again. So far, they have primarily been regarded as exclusive, purely male networks. A single guild has been admitting women since this year – but only on a probationary basis. Now the accusation of racism is added: is it ultimately about getting rid of resentment without inhibitions when the guild members are among themselves?
The Central Committee of the Guilds wants to counteract this impression. “The ZZZ and the Zurich guilds state that they reject any form of racism,” wrote the president in response to a request from the SZ. You will actively deal with the topic together with the guild masters. In any case, the pressure is great, also politically. Zurich Mayor Corine Mauch describes the incident as “totally wrong” and speaks of “a primitive way of having fun with one another”.
It remains to be seen whether the ball will also have legal consequences. In any case, the Federal Commission against Racism (ERK) clearly describes the blackfacing on the stage as racist and sees it as a possible violation of the anti-racism criminal norm.