Anti-Immigrant Party Gains In Swiss Vote
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Monday, October 22, 2007
GENEVA, Oct. 21 -- A Swiss nationalist party rode an anti-immigrant wave Sunday to the best showing of any party in parliamentary elections since World War I, while the Greens made gains by appealing to environmental concerns, according to projections.
In one of the most bitter political campaigns in memory in this usually tolerant Alpine nation, the Swiss People's Party called for a law to throw out entire immigrant families if a child violates national laws.
The party gained seven parliamentary seats in the 200-seat lower house of parliament, according to projections from experts for the state-owned SRG television and radio networks, which base forecasts on voting returns.
The party was expected to win 28.8 percent of the vote, or 62 seats in the lower house -- the largest share of seats any party has won since Switzerland's proportional voting system began in 1919.
The Green Party, which campaigned heavily on combating climate change, was projected to gain five seats in parliament. With about 9.6 percent of the vote, the Greens would have 19 seats.
The Social Democratic Party, the second-largest party, lost nine.
Switzerland's population of 7.5 million includes about 1.6 million foreigners, including many workers from southern Europe and refugees from the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The People's Party claims that foreigners are responsible for much of the crime in the country.
Party posters featuring white sheep kicking out a black sheep sparked outrage blamed in part for a riot two weeks before the election -- a rare show of violence against a political party here.
The People's Party will now turn its attention to reducing crime, cutting taxes and keeping Switzerland out of the European Union, said its president, Ueli Maurer.
"I'm very happy," he said. "The idea of E.U. accession should at last get out of everyone's heads."
The Social Democrats, who focused their campaign on rejecting the People's Party proposal, won a projected 19.3 percent of the vote and fell back to 43 seats.
Switzerland, which has been losing glaciers in its beloved Alps to the melting effects of warmer weather in recent years, is particularly concerned about climate change.
Nearly 4.8 million Swiss voters were eligible to cast ballots Sunday.
