Posted on 10/17/2003 6:14:54 PM PDT by blam
Far Right poised for success in Swiss poll
By Fiona Fleck in Geneva
(Filed: 18/10/2003)
Switzerland's populist far Right could become its biggest party in a general election tomorrow after a campaign targeting "criminal foreigners" and "asylum scroungers".
Led by Christoph Blocher, a billionaire industrialist, the Swiss People's Party's anti-immigration policies have seen it reach 25 per cent support in opinion polls.
Leading up to the vote, the party ran full-page advertisements in newspapers across the country accusing "pampered criminals, shameless asylum-seekers and a brutal Albanian mafia" for what it said was "an increase in assassinations, rapes and violent attacks".
The advertisement also provoked charges of racism, claiming: "Certain ethnic groups dominate the criminal statistics. Drug trafficking is controlled by Albanians and black Africans."
The party's posters are equally controversial. Promoting a tough line on terrorism, one displays the Swiss flag superimposed over a picture of Osama bin Laden. Another which read "The Swiss feel like niggers" was withdrawn after protests.
With its restrictive naturalisation laws, Switzerland has one of the largest foreigner populations in Europe, at nearly 20 per cent of the total.
Mr Blocher was accused of anti-Semitic remarks in the 1990s when neutral Switzerland's role during the Second World War came under scrutiny. He also denied the Holocaust - a criminal offence under Swiss law - but was never prosecuted.
If the People's Party can emulate the recent growth of anti-immigration parties across Europe, it is likely to demand a second seat in the seven-member cabinet. Its three rivals each hold two.
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