Monday, February 10, 2014

Shock vote surprises Swiss establishment...

The decision by Swiss voters to back quotas for immigrants from the European Union was a “slap in the face” for the federal government and another “black Sunday” for Switzerland, media commentators in the country said on Sunday.

Although polling figures suggested that support for the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) initiative against “mass immigration” was strong, observers were caught off guard by a referendum result they never quite imagined would materialize.

In the end, just 19,516 votes separated the yes and no forces, with 50.3 percent backing the plan.

The yes vote was “surprising,” Blick newspaper said online, noting that the “SVP stood alone against the other major parties, the business community and the unions”.

The newspaper, which referred to the result as a “slap in the face” for Bern, said comments made last Sunday by former foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, calling for Switzerland to join the EU, may have tipped the balance.

“Spiteful Twitterers joked that she should be given an honorary membership in the SVP.” Full story...

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