The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has taken a clear first place in Switzerland’s federal elections, performing even better than pollsters had predicted and coming close to equalling their best-ever election result.
Increasing its share of the vote from 25.6 percent to 28.6 percent – close to 29.4 percent it scored in 2015 – the SVP ran on a strong anti-mass migration platform, running an ad campaign with the strapline ‘New normal?’ highlighting deadly stabbings and other crimes committed by migrants in recent years.
The SVP also stressed the importance of Switzerland’s historic neutrality, suggesting this has been undermined as the country has given in to pressure to participate in the sanctions war on Russia led by Joe Biden and the European Union. (Switzerland is not an EU member, and the SVP is strongly opposed to joining.)
“Drag queens, antifas and climate activists are all going to vote! At the polls, they could ruin Switzerland and our society. We won’t let them!” the populist party had declared in a final rallying cry before the polls opened.
As in many European countries, however, placing first in an election does not guarantee a party the driving seat in government in Switzerland. While the SVP has voiced its hope that other conservative-leaning parties in the country will work with them to address voters’ “worry about an explosion of the population” due to immigration, it is likely the so-called “center-right” will co-ordinate with the second-placed Social Democrats to ensure a coalition government does not execute a truly populist agenda.
Switzerland, national parliament election yesterday:
Largest party by region (canton). One can see that the right-wing UDC/SVP wins most of the German-majority regions, while the PS/SP wins more of the Francophone-majority regions. Italian-speaking Ticino is won by the liberal… pic.twitter.com/Uc6zt82yko
— Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) October 23, 2023
