Online reports – Society – The political blogger from the cathedral village

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“I have learned something”: Local blogger Balz Stückelberger

The portrait of an Arlesheim blogger who does not hide behind pseudonyms

From Peter Knechtli

The agglomeration community of Arlesheim is home to a lively blogger scene. The political blog “dometownarlesheim” has the greatest influence on political life. It is run by FDP man Balz Stückelberger, who “enjoys freedom to write fools” on the web and stands by what he writes with full identity.

36-year-old Balz Stückelberger from Arlesheim has had a higher screen presence than before in the last year, because he has been cultivating a new hobby since then: as a private citizen, he runs the local blog “dometownarlesheim.ch”. With his platform, he is completely dedicated to the local color of the cathedral village – but also to his political career, which began with the blog.

Self-portrayal with political ambition

It just so happened that FDP member “Stücki” (as he calls himself in his blog) was running for the municipal commission of the Basel-Landschaft agglomeration municipality in the spring, where he grew up. And if “Stücki” has something to say, he claims, “then I need more space” than the limited space that the columns of the printed “Wochenblatt” have to offer the ladies and gentlemen who are running for office. So he decided to announce his “Hello, I’m running” on his own blog.

Balz Stückelberger certainly did not try to give his platform a charitable appearance. “It is a platform for self-promotion,” he admitted frankly in an interview with OnlineReports, a kind of private service rather than public service. For the liberal, his presence on the Internet paid off – or at least it did him no harm: he was elected to the municipal commission “with a brilliant result”. Arlesheim political observers, however, attribute his result primarily to the fact that he is on the list twice.

Half a dozen providers

“dometownarlesheim.ch” seems to have become a permanent fixture in part of the Arlesheim online scene. Blogs have a longer tradition in Dometown than in other municipalities. Around half a dozen providers have been vying for the users' favor since Manfred Messmer, initially denying his authorship, was the first to use the online medium to present himself with “arlesheimreloaded”. He was delighted to have welcomed over a thousand visitors in the first two weeks. Today, after almost a year of operation, the counter stands at 23,142, an average of exactly 69.9 visits per day (as of today).

Stückelberger offers them content that is not in any weekly paper, but has already made it into the columns of the Basler Zeitung. At the top of the quota ranking are poster graffiti against a SP candidate with a foreign-sounding name, with Stückelberger, whose main job is head of communications for the Basler employers, hurling a stern “You're a complete idiot” at the “graffiti” and at the same time scoring points with the political competition as a liberal spirit.

Stories about building land and sewing course

“Götti Gemeinderat”, a mixture of satire and commentary on the “splashy consensus politics of the local council”, also seemed to be in great demand, as did his justified criticism of the fatty fast food at the local swimming pool. Recently he took Binningen’s mayor, Charles Simon, to task for criticising aircraft noise and the “questionable second dog penalty” (“prohibitive-fiscal act against multi-dog ownership?”). The publicly funded sewing course and the space it takes up are a thorn in the blogger’s side. He would much rather see a neighbourhood centre there.

Occasionally, “Stücki” also has a direct effect: When he unveiled a plaque on which the community fathers had already approved land in When the village council wanted to give up building rights (“You just put a sign on the plot of land, cold as a pie, offering the property for sale”), the local council felt compelled to put up a reservation correction sign (picture). Not all articles have the same local political content, but “Stücki” writes pointedly, aggressively, but cleanly – and even linguistically correctly. “I make an effort, sleep on the articles,” says Stückelberger, thereby formulating something like a journalistic claim: “You have to have an eye for stories. I live that out in the village. I want to make politics entertaining.”

Stückelberger is not at a loss for topics: he is also a member of the municipal audit committee. In this role, he learns about explosive village stories before they become public knowledge.

Questionable anonymity

The blogger proudly reports that an article about a controversial school building renovation attracted 800 readers and 26 comments. However, it is not clear to the audience who is hiding behind the “letters to the editor” and whether – as is known from other blogs – the operator himself is also inserting fictitious “reader reactions” (which “Stücki” firmly denies).

The person in charge of the Arlesheim blog identified himself without a doubt (“I am the only blogger in the village who exposes himself publicly”), but accepts other people's opinions under fictitious names, which, as is well known, significantly increases the number of reactions. “I allow the tension of anonymous comments,” admits “Stücki,” and he thinks that's “right” because “very personal impressions” can be perceived on this low-threshold access. As a lawyer with a doctorate and husband of an investigating judge, however, he finds it “tricky” when undercover writers no longer address content, but instead target people for base motives and violate personal rights.

Cleaning via iPhone

The person responsible for the blog recently felt compelled to shorten a comment – which had already been published – by an anonymous writer who, under the pseudonym “Motzer”, had posted a rant about school choice and personally attacked a supporter. While still on the ski slopes in Zermatt, “Stücki” deleted part of the comment on his iPhone. “As a last resort, I also delete entire posts.”

Stückelberger is aware that the number of responses immediately drops when he has made the clear identification of the commenters and naming them a condition of publication. He is also aware of his responsibility as an author: “The more pointedly I write, the more violent the reactions are.”

Municipal council does not participate in debates

Unfortunately, it remains hidden who leaves opinions, but at least it is clear who is on this blog not participates: The local council. The Green Liberal Karl-Heinz Zeller (48), who has been mayor of Arlesheim for four years as a member of the “Frischluft” group, is one of the political rivals of the liberal Stückelberger and has already been targeted by bloggers. The village authorities have agreed not to interfere in blog debates. Zeller to OnlineReports: “We are staying out of this. We cannot simply make casual statements in our official capacity.”

Zeller attests that “Stücki” “sometimes has a clever and good way of describing things”. The platform “dometownarlesheim.ch” is “one communication factor among many” in the municipality and is probably visited by “a percentage in the per mille range”. The mayor himself is one of the “irregular readers” (self-assessment), as he told OnlineReports.

Anonymity creates “uncomfortable mood”

Zeller continues that he is “basically positive” about blogs, “if the rules are respected.” He finds the anonymity of accusations a problem. He sees them as a violation of the rules: “This creates an unpleasant atmosphere in the village. Suspicions arise that are not conducive to village life.”

Lawyer Stückelberger appears open in conversation, he does not try to gloss over the dark side of blogging. When asked by OnlineReports whether he steals images and incorporates them into his blog, violating copyright, he said bluntly: “I stole images on my platform. But I had to be taught a lesson. Today I respect copyright.”

Career thanks to laptop journalism?

Balz Stückelberger updates his “virtual village square” on average every three days. Nevertheless, the father of two children aged one and four still spends around an hour a day on his new hobby, which has obviously made him somewhat addicted. This is especially the case in the evenings, “when my wife is watching films.”

If OnlineReports were a blog à la “dometownarlesheim.ch” we would simply make the bold claim: Thanks to his nightly laptop journalism, Stückelberger, already a member of the party leadership of the FDP Baselland, will one day become a member of the Baselbieter government.

Link: www.dometownarlesheim.ch

Review of “dometownarlesheim.ch”

15 December 2008

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