Two demonstrations in St. Gallen against mandatory vaccination. Same concern, similar goal, and yet separate stages, separate microphones, separate camps. Because Switzerland may be able to move mountains, but apparently not a narcissistic ego.
The premise is simple enough that even a federal agency would understand it: The revised cantonal health law raises the possibility of mandatory vaccination, including hefty fines (up to 20,000 francs). So people take to the streets. Not out of boredom, but because "bodily autonomy" shouldn't be some exotic hobby. And then what happens in any reasonably vibrant movement as soon as someone notices cameras is present occurs: The show begins.
Two demonstrations, because one movement is not enough if someone wants to play "leader".
The first rally: broadly appealing. No party flags, no logos, no "branding strategy." People from different political backgrounds who agree on one common denominator: no state coercion of my body. Sounds like what protest should actually be: focus instead of a fan club.
The second rally: organized by the former youth organization "Mass-Voll!". And this is where it gets interesting, because suddenly the talk isn't just about freedom anymore, but also about staging. Purple flags. Halberds. Combat rhetoric. The visuals are somewhere between a medieval market and a political rally. The freedom movement as cosplay with cue cards.
You can call it "energy." Or "strength." Or "making a statement." But you can also simply call it what it is: a stage. And those who build stages usually want applause. And those who want applause don't necessarily want unity. Unity, after all, is bad for a unique selling point.
Nicolas Rimoldi: Opposition as a brand, movement as property
At the heart of this second demonstration is not just a group, but above all one figure: Nicolas Rimoldi. And that brings us to the core problem, as several voices from St. Gallen have identified: Mass-Voll as a "sham opposition" that plays into the hands of the established parties because it divides, personalizes, and polarizes the movement.
Because as soon as someone starts saying, "I lead the Swiss freedom movement," it's clear what the plan is: not freedom, but ownership, movement as a franchise, resistance as a brand. And the others are then just extras in their own protest, nice for the group photo, but please not too loud, otherwise they'll disturb the leader's radiant glow.
Rimoldi not only loves self-promotion, but is also someone with whom "cooperation is impossible." Words like "narcissist" and even "traitor" are used. There are accounts from activists claiming he informed the police or "hijacked" actions. I can't verify every detail of these claims here. But the crucial information is this: several people within the scene don't trust him. And that alone is enough to dismantle a movement.
And that's precisely where mass-voting becomes politically useful, even if it presents itself differently.
How to help the established parties without realizing it
Established political parties and their mass media love two things:
- When protests look radical, it's easier to discredit them.
- when protests are divided so that they remain politically harmless
A demonstration without party flags, without side agendas, without martial theatrics is harder to demonize. A demonstration with halberd aesthetics, battle poses, and "us against them" vibes, on the other hand, is a gift: you just have to hold the camera the right way and bam, "resistance" is once again "extremism," and any objective criticism of mandatory vaccination ends up in the same category as the next embarrassing Telegram fever dream.
This is the point critics are making when they talk about "sham opposition": not because Mass-Voll deliberately works for established parties (that would be the romantic conspiracy theory), but because her style, her personality cult, and her self-righteousness produce exactly what the system needs: confusion, fragmentation, and sensationalist images.
Freedom needs no heroes
The bitterest irony: On a topic that affects everyone, ego becomes more important than the goal. People want to collectively prevent the state from forcing medical interventions. And then a group stumbles in that turns "no" into "look at us."
A movement that wants to win must remain relevant. Those who turn it into a stage diminish it. Those who claim it as their own property destroy it. And those who constantly shout "leadership" usually haven't understood that freedom is the opposite of obedience.
St. Gallen has shown why two demonstrations were necessary: not because the issue was too small, but because some people used it to build a monument to themselves.
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