Considered too right-wing, X is experiencing an exodus of left-wing parliamentarians – rts.ch

This departure, however, comes at a cost of visibility. The co-president of the Socialist Party Cédric Wermuth, for example, went from 64,300 subscribers on X to 2,300 on the competing network Bluesky. Despite everything, since the end of the year, a third of socialist and Green federal parliamentarians have closed their accounts on the social network. There are around thirty elected officials in total, not counting those who have been inactive for months.

“It’s a network by and for the extreme right,” denounces the Vaud national socialist councilor Brenda Tuosto in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS. But according to certain other left-wing elected officials, it is precisely these departures from the left that make X de facto more and more a right-wing social network.

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Preserve the debate

“If a complete section of opinions are no longer represented, “And that’s not only sad for the debate, but it’s a danger for democracy,” adds the national advisor, who chose to stay on the social network.

This opinion is shared by part of the right, who also deplore this exodus. “To have a debate, you need all opinions. This is why I don’t understand the people who are leaving X today because they are unhappy with the content,” says Friborg UDC national councilor Nicolas Kolly. “On the contrary, they should join the network to counter the dominant opinion which is more conservative on X.”

While parliamentarians remain divided on the issue, Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter has opened an account on X for her year in office. This appearance was welcomed on the right and criticized on the left, while the Federal Council is expected very soon with a bill regulating social networks.

Michael Maccabez/edel