German press responds to the elections in Switzerland: “The hit-the-foreigner card has been drawn”

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Before Sunday’s elections, several German newspapers were smugly annoyed by Swiss politics. Reports with undertones ranging from ridiculous to condescending about Swiss democracy had titles like ‘Lost in the Middle of Europe’ (‘Süddeutsche’), ‘Perfectly normal right-wing populism’ (‘FAZ’) or ‘Where fear of strangers is already folklore” (“Tagesspiegel”). The magazine ‘Focus’ took over the story from ‘Tagesspiegel’ and had an even sharper headline: ‘Switzerland shows its ugly face in a radical, rich idyll.’

The analyzes in the large northern canton of the election results in Switzerland are similar. Before the vote, the “FAZ” said: “The Swiss SVP is admired and imitated by right-wing parties abroad, including Germany’s AfD.” After the results were available, the simple statement followed: “Like the AfD in Germany, Swiss right-wing populists are currently benefiting from the newly sparked migration debate.”

“The fact that the number of refugees and asylum seekers has also increased significantly in Switzerland has given the SVP a strong boost,” the newspaper said. Overall, the parties that promised people protection made gains: on the one hand, the SVP, which wanted to protect the Swiss from immigrants and competitors, and on the other, the Social Democrats, who wanted to distribute social benefits.

Switzerland would rather turn a blind eye

The “Süddeutsche” judges: “Switzerland is isolating itself.” Whether it is “war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, climate crisis… many voters prefer to close their eyes: they vote for the SVP and comfortably wrap themselves in even more neutrality.”

“The majority of Swiss,” says the newspaper’s election commentary, “voted for a kind of blinkered policy: just close your eyes and move on. The only question is how long this will work.”

“Campaigning with fear”

The SVP based itself on the fear of losses in the election campaign, writes the “Welt”: “It agitates against foreigners, warns of rapprochement with the EU and some representatives see themselves in a war over the preservation of Swiss culture.”

This party, which “campaigned with fear” and has held the most seats in the National Council since 1999, is also a model for the AfD, which is currently making strong gains in Germany.

“Hit the alien card has been drawn”

The verdict of Die Zeit is heartfelt: “The foreigner card has been drawn.” The election winner, SVP, shows “no clear position against anything brown”. “In recent years,” the party has “shown less and less fear of contact with conspiracy theorists, corona deniers, state objectors and right-wing extremists.” “Not just rhetorically, when their party cadres called Switzerland a dictatorship during the pandemic or the editor-in-chief of the Weltwoche, Roger Köppel, who did not run for re-election as SVP national councilor, defended a real dictator, Vladimir Putin, in his magazine. ”

Non-SVP parties too “homemade”

The other parties behaved too “homely”, summarizes the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. “Compared to the SVP’s aggressive voting efforts, the other parties presented themselves as moderate to homely. The Social Democrats campaigned for a ‘social Switzerland’ and demanded more purchasing power. The FDP campaigned for competition and healthy state finances. The center, in turn, presented itself as a party of freedom, solidarity and responsibility. Finally, the Greens focused on classic climate protection and a ‘happier’ society.’

The SVP “rode to victory in the sleeping car”, is quoted from the “Luzerner Zeitung” – and the assessment of the Swiss historian Urs Altermatt (81): “It was probably the most tepid election campaign in a long time.”

Source:Blick