Main focus of Friday, December 14, 2007

The Swiss populist Blocher sent to the opposition

The populist Swiss People's Party (SVP) left Switzerland's governing coalition on Thursday, December 13th. The previous day, its former leader, Christoph Blocher, minister of justice for the last four years, was not reelected into the cabinet. The SVP, Switzerland's largest party, heads to the opposition benches as a result. The European press analyses this strategic shift in Swiss politics.

Tribune de Genève - Switzerland

The daily's editor-in-chief, Arthur Grosjean, worries that "Switzerland's most despised political beast isn't dead. Beaten Wednesday by a group of hunters from the socialist, christian democrat and Green camps, he was resurrected Thursday morning, sized-up his adversaries, and cried vengeance. For those who heard Christoph Blocher speak in front of the Federal Assembly yesterday, there is no doubt. There will be blood during the coming years because this politician who hails from Zurich promised to reveal the 'dirt that we hide in the name of government secrecy'. After having spent four years in government, he returns to opposition with more power to disturb things than he had before. ... The results of this episode: Switzerland will not be able to 'normalise' Blocher. His supporters have made him a god; his opponents, a devil. ... Let's hope that at least this circus serves to engage the electorate of all stripes in Swiss politics." (14/12/2007)

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Le Soir - Belgium

"Chistoph Blocher was an ingenious and untouchable murderer. Outside the Federal Council as well as within, he could demolish his opponents with his security-minded and xenophobic rhetoric. He intimidated and suffocated those who got in his way. The other parties preferred to accommodate him, rather than see him upset the consensual arrangement that ran the government," writes Pascal Martin, who sees Blocher radicalising further in order to escape his isolation. "The 'consensus democracy' will give way to a bipolar system with a majority and an opposition. Political life in the Confederation will be more highly contested, even if we must keep in mind that the real power is exercised at the Canton [regional] level. In this country where direct democracy is unassailable, Blocher will have no problem using his populist talents." (13/12/2007)

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany

According to Jürgen Dunsch, Switzerland's period of 'comfort' has come to an end. "The party that emerged as the strongest and largest after the October elections is looking at the shattered remains of a system and facing the threat of a major split. It's now time to say goodbye to the way politics have been conducted up to now, but the country is not ready for this step. This will soon become clear through the institutions of direct democracy. The SVP has already announced that it wants to make much more frequent use of referendums. But such a course could turn this instrument, which is essentially aimed at disciplining the parties, into a means for the SVP to carry through populist demands. What this could mean for relations with the EU, which has always adopted a critical and even inwardly disapproving stance towards the party, doesn't bear thinking about. ... The government system is in urgent need of a major overhaul." (14/12/2007)

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