Main focus of Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The victory of Swiss populists

The rightwing populist SVP led by Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher has become Switzerland's strongest political party, capturing 29 percent of the vote - more than ever before - in the country's parliamentary elections. Although this won't substantially change the consensus government formed by the four major parties, European newspapers fear a new course in Swiss policy.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

"The Swiss People's Party has achieved the greatest majority since 1919 in Switzerland," writes Jürgen Dunsch, and he attempts to explain the SVP's victory: "With its simple formula, the party attracts all those who feel overwhelmed by globalisation and modernisation. And nowadays this by no means refers to just the country bumpkins. Many Swiss feel besieged, not least by the EU, which completely encircles the country. The SVP has made xenophobia socially acceptable. Now there's an opportunity to correct this through referendums on issues such as the continued free movement of persons, but the SVP has already proven that it's well able to exploit the instrument of the referendum to achieve its own ends." (23/10/2007)

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Der Standard - Austria

Christoph Prantner sees Switzerland in a bad situation following the elections: "The elections on Sunday represented the completion of the Swiss people's farewell to a democracy of consensus. The SVP has taken brazen populism, weird conspiracy theories and an isolationism that is completely irrational in a globalised world to new heights. Even in Francophone Western Swizerland, Blocher's crude policies have caught on. Just four years ago, many were justifiably of the opinion that a little conflict would do the Swiss good, but now we can see that instead of producing new ideas, the political struggle has only brought more provincialism." (23/10/2007)

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Le Soir - Belgium

Pascal Martin considers that Europe should react to the Swiss election results. "Switzerland is bound to Europe by a series of bilateral 'preferential' agreements. It is high time for Brussels to reconsider frequenting a country where corrupt parties triumph. The Switzerland of Henri Dunant [Founder of the Red Cross] is worth more than this frothing xenophobic and hateful culture. ... This country, one of the most prosperous on the planet, has been a hothouse for populists over the past fifteen years. For having lived in a bubble of direct democracy, without any real political class, Switzerland has failed to develop the antibodies that could fight its cancer." (22/10/2007)

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24 heures - Switzerland

Thierry Meyer highlights the ecologists' break in the Swiss elections. "If we add to the Greens their liberal counterpart, the environmental cause has gained ten seats in the National Council, and brought the first green senator (Robert Cramer) into the upper chamber. ... The cause has advanced at fantastic speed recently. ... Strengthened by their break, the Greens have reached a point where they can open up to other groups preoccupied by climate change, without going so far as dropping their often insistent doctrine. As far as the heart of the PSV, represented by the peasant Alice Glauser, a conservative vision of nature can fuel compromises on objectives that are as simple as they are decisive: improved isolation of buildings, the promotion of renewable energy and low energy appliances, the resolute support of public transport and new antipollution norms." (23/10/2007)

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