Swiss Election

The Swiss elections have returned increased support for the right wing SVP People's Party as expected. Centre left Social Democrats lose out, and the Green party also gains. I think this reflects the general feelings of the people I talk to.

A few things to note. The effect of this inside Switzerland is totally different to it's portrayal by foreign media who have jumped on the bandwagon rolled out by the unfortunate, although maybe highly calculated media campaign. Characteristically the Swiss are being labeled racist and fascist by people who don't really know the country. Sure there is xenophobia here - show me a country where there isn't - but the move is driven more by the fact that the Swiss are proud of their country and any perception, rightly or wrongly that it is going downhill will provoke a reaction.

It also however marks a bit of a change in Swiss politics where major issues are polarising opinion and sides are being taken in a normally consensus-driven system. Maybe other parties will take the lead of the SVP in future

Before anyone jumps to conclusions remember that Swiss politics has a lot of checks and balances - especially compared with the sham democracy that exists in the UK for example. So the SVP are not swept into power, but will probably have 2 out of 7 votes in the Assembly. In addition of course major legislature changes will always be subject to referendum - try getting Gordon Brown or the like to trust the people to make any decisions. (Or rather Rupert Murdoch)