Switzerland poised to swing to the right

Published on Wednesday 10 December 2003 00:00

SWITZERLAND looks set to swing to the right today as a consensus that has ruled for 45 years is swept away by firebrand nationalist Christoph Blocher.

The Swiss parliament will vote on whether to admit Mr Blocher to the four-party cabinet by giving his party a second seat. If it blocks him he’ll pull the right-wing Swiss People’s Party out of the seven-member cabinet, heralding the end of politics as usual in the nation of seven million people.

If it admits him, he will have an official platform for his attacks on immigrants, the European Union and other foreign influences he considers "unwelcome intrusions". As one of Switzerland’s richest industrialists, Mr Blocher now finds himself its most influential politician.

He led the charge against membership in the European Union, maintaining that Switzerland shouldn’t cede its cherished independence to bureaucrats in Brussels. He noisily campaigned against foreign pressure on Swiss banks, which sat on assets of Holocaust victims for decades, to pay compensation to their heirs.

He is a critic of Swiss asylum laws, claiming the country is being "flooded with foreigners". In a country where civility has long been the hallmark of politics he is also known for plain speaking that more often than not is seen as rudeness.

Recently, Mr Blocher has launched a charm offensive to try to convince Swiss sceptics he is a "liberal conservative" who idolises Winston Churchill, enjoys Mozart and mountain walks, and won’t smash the team spirit once in power.