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Nearly two years after the Swiss people backed a referendum on setting quotas for foreigners, they seem set on consolidating the country’s anti-immigration stance as the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, or SVP, looks set for victory in Sunday’s elections, polling at 27.9 percent.
And while the second largest party will be the left-leaning Social Democrats with 19.2 percent, according to the poll by research institute gfs.bern, the right-wing Liberal Party is set to raise its vote share by 1.6 percentage points to 16.7 percent.
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Letztes Wahlbarometer zeigt Rechtsrutsch: Aber ein zweiter SVP-Bundesrat ist unpopulär http://t.co/u8ArFL0Ejr pic.twitter.com/gCL9nvVLx2
— Blick (@Blickch)
October 7, 2015
Charles Lichfield, an associate at political risk research and consulting firm Eurasiam, told Reuters the trend has been fueled by several things, but in part Euroskepticism. "There's a feeling that Switzerland should not be pushed around by Brussels," he said.
Euroscepticism is one reason the SVP’s popularity has increased, but the party’s anti-immigration stance, at a time of mass movement of peoples in Europe, must be attractive to some.
"SVP is clearly benefiting from the European crisis," said Andreas Ladner, a political scientist at Lausanne University, told Agence France-Presse.
RELATED: Europe's Refugee Crisis
An editorial on the SVP website by National Assembly member Gregor Rutz about the recent revision of Asylum Laws says that the “currents” of asylum seekers are overwhelming Europe, and that the SVP has been pointing out these unavoidable problems for months. It also says that the attractiveness of Switzerland and other European countries as destinations should be downplayed and that Germany’s "culture of welcome" is a completely misplaced and failed approach.
AFP reports that the party's most outspoken member, Vice President Christoph Blocher, insisted regarding tightening asylum laws that Switzerland needs to "eliminate the chaos."
Ein Zeichen setzen gegen Asylmissbrauch und masslose Zuwanderung: Jetzt an den Wahlen teilnehmen! http://t.co/7fPmGxZxcl
— SVP Schweiz (@SVPch)
October 8, 2015
“Take a stance against the abuse of the asylum system in place and excessive immigration: participate and vote!”
Brief an den Bundesrat: Die Grenzen sind umgehend zu kontrollieren und zu sichern. http://t.co/DmD6b2Iv4K
— SVP Schweiz (@SVPch)
September 14, 2015
“Letter to the German Bundesrat or Federal Council: The borders must be controlled and secured immediately.”
But despite an apparent SVP win, Switzerland’s singular system of politics, which is largely driven by public referenda and whose governing council is elected by Parliament, may mean that not much will change, except maintaining anti-immigration pressure on Brussels.
“Elections in Switzerland don’t mean a change of government,” Joachim Blatter, professor of political science at the University of Lucerne, told Bloomberg. “Right of center parties will likely gain in parliament. But it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to translate that into more influence in the government – and a lot will depend on what sort of candidate they propose.”
The SVP, which is the largest party in the lower house and fourth-largest in the upper house of Parliament, currently only has one lawmaker in the governing council, Defense, Civil Protection and Sports Minister Ueli Maurer. The SVP will push for more prominence on the council, or cabinet, whose seven members will be chosen in December.
RELATED: The Making of the Migration Crisis
Although close to one-quarter of Switzerland’s population are foreigners, and AFP reports that over 1,000 new arrivals came through the country’s main migrant crossing last month alone, the country has dealt with far fewer immigrants from the recent wave troubling Europe than other countries.
The BBC, using U.N. refugee agency data, shows in this bar chart that of the world’s 44 industrialized countries, Switzerland is below Australia, Italy and Turkey in as a destination for asylum seekers.
Souce: BBC
