ZURICH – Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party scored one of its best results ever in national elections, reaping the rewards of a campaign that leveraged concerns over immigration.
The SVP – as the party is known by its German acronym – won 28.6 per cent of votes, up from 25.6 per cent four years ago. That is an even stronger win than anticipated in opinion polls and close to its 2015 record of 29.4 per cent.
The party has been Switzerland’s most popular for two decades, thanks to a focus largely on domestic issues such as immigration and the economy. The SVP wants to limit the country’s population to 10 million people, citing overstretched infrastructure and lack of housing.
“The worry about an explosion of the population is big,” SVP lawmaker Thomas Matter told broadcaster SRF. “I do hope that the conservative parties now work together on immigration matters, so the SVP doesn’t have to tackle this alone.”
The party also seeks to enshrine the country’s traditional neutrality – despite calls to respond more forcefully to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and to cap the costs of the switch to sustainable energy.
Right-wing groups have been rising across Europe recently, with Germany’s AfD receiving a boost from voters in regional ballots and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni still riding high in polls after a year in office. In neighbouring Austria, the anti-immigrant Freedom Party is the front runner for 2024 elections.
In Switzerland too, a rising sense of insecurity has shaped the vote. In March, the collapse of Credit Suisse and its subsequent takeover by UBS Group cast a shadow over the solidity of the Swiss banking system.
Nationally, the Social Democrats came a distant second to the SVP, with the Center Alliance edging out the pro-business Free Democrats for third place. Switzerland’s two Green parties reversed most of the gains they made in 2019, according to official results.
Irrespective of the results, a shift in Switzerland’s executive is unlikely as the seven-seat government is not formed by a coalition or outright majority but is a compact between the largest parties.
Ministers will be elected by lawmakers on Dec 13 and the centrists already announced that they will not challenge sitting members.
The SVP’s win translates into nine additional seats in the 200-member lower house, bringing its total to 62.
The right-wing shift was underscored by the success of the MCG alliance in Geneva, where the local populist group campaigned for preferential treatment of Swiss workers over French ones, while promoting left-wing social policies.
Source link : https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/switzerland-s-right-wing-people-s-party-surges-to-election-win-on-immigration-concerns
Author :
Publish date : 2023-10-23 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.