The leader of the populist, rightwing Swiss People’s party (SVP) has promised more pragmatism and “less political correctness” after it won Sunday’s election with an improved vote share of 29%.
Final results on Monday showed the SVP – whose anti-immigration campaign platform included a pledge to keep the country’s 8.7 million-strong population below 10 million – won 62 seats in the 200-seat parliament, nine more than it had before.
Analysts said the vote was unlikely to change the formal makeup of the Swiss government, the federal council, whose seven cabinet posts are divided among the top four parties according to vote share, but marked a clear setback for liberals.
“I believe the people have given the politicians a clear mandate,” Marco Chiesa, the party’s president, told 24 Heures newspaper. “Acknowledge reality, and come up with solutions … These elections were about what’s happening in people’s daily lives.”
Chiesa said he aimed to pass “significant reforms” with the help of the third-placed centre-right Centre party. “I want to pursue a more pragmatic politics,” he said. “Less political correctness, more of what really bothers people: 10 million inhabitants, a reliable energy supply, independence,” he said.
The centre-left Social Democrats gained two seats to finish with 41, with the Centre party adding one to take its representation to 29. The Radical-Liberals lost one seat, leaving them with 28, the Greens lost five (23), and the Liberal Greens lost six (10).
“The result means it will be more difficult for progressive issues, or issues like the environment and sustainability,” said Cloe Jans from pollsters GFS Bern. “After this result politicians will feel less pressure to push this agenda in the next four years.”
While green themes dominated the 2019 election campaign, the return of immigration to the top of Europe’s political agenda allowed the SVP to focus on the theme that has helped it finish first in every national election since 1999.
A 43% increase in asylum applications in the first half of 2023 and more than 65,000 refugees from Ukraine gave the nationalist party more ammunition, analysts said, which it deployed in a campaign that was widely criticised as xenophobic.
Social media posts highlighted crimes committed by foreigners, portraying bloodied knives, hooded criminals, fists, bruised faces and frightened women. The SVP also declared war on “cancel culture”, “gender terror” and “woke madness”.
Pascal Sciarini, a political scientist at the University of Geneva, said the current international context also boosted the populist party. “The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, recent attacks in Paris and Brussels – it all creates a climate of insecurity that favours the SVP,” he told RTS public radio.
The climate crisis remained an important concern for voters, Sciarino said, but “it has bene supplanted by immediate worries over purchasing power, inflation and of course mass immigration, all of which were highlighted in the SVP’s campaign”.
Operation Libero, a grassroots youth movement that has successfully fought a series of national referendums pushed by the SVP, said the party’s victory must not be allowed to “normalise racism, incitement to hatred and inflammatory campaigning”.
“On the other hand, if we treat the SVP for what it is – an extremist outsider – it will remain a minority, even with almost 30% of votes,” Operation Libero said in a statement. “It is vital for Swiss liberals to distance themselves.”
FREDERICTON – A look at David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick:
Born: Oct. 28, 1956.
Early years: Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, he spent about three decades as an environmental advocate.
Education: A trained biologist, he graduated with a bachelor of science from McGill University in Montreal in 1978.
Family: He and his wife Janice Harvey have two daughters, Caroline and Laura.
Before politics: Worked as an environmental educator, organizer, activist and manager for 33 years, mainly with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.
Politics: Joined the Green Party of Canada in May 2006 and was elected leader of the New Brunswick Green Party in September 2012. Won a seat in the legislature in 2014 — a first for the province’s Greens.
Quote: “It was despicable. He’s clearly decided to take the low road in this campaign, to adopt some Trump-lite fearmongering.” — David Coon on Sept. 12, 2024, reacting to Blaine Higgs’s claim that the federal government had decided to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.
Born: March 1, 1954.
Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.
Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.
Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.
Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.
Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.
Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – The pressing issues of climate change and food security join more familiar ones like violent extremism and espionage on a new list of Canada’s intelligence priorities.
The federal government says publishing the list of priorities for the first time is an important step toward greater transparency.
The government revises the priorities every two years, based on recommendations from the national security adviser and the intelligence community.
Once the priorities are reviewed and approved by the federal cabinet, key ministers issue directives to federal agencies that produce intelligence.
Among the priorities are the security of global health, food, water and biodiversity, as well as the issues of climate change and global sustainability.
The new list also includes foreign interference and malign influence, cyberthreats, infrastructure security, Arctic sovereignty, border integrity and transnational organized crime.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
