Ignore the extremists - Swiss people embrace us 'Auslanders'

The lovely surprise gifts from my neighbours

I was a little annoyed to be confronted with someone else's sea of washing when I arrived at the communal washroom yesterday morning on my wash day – without a single space to dry my own. But my heart melted when I saw an apologetic note left for me from the two girls who live below us, saying that as their washing was still damp the night before, they had left it hanging up to dry and one of them would be back early that afternoon to take it down.

I shrugged, aware of how hard it must be to juggle a communal washroom rota when you are working and took some of their now-dry clothes down, folding them away into the available wash basket to make room for my own. I didn’t give it another thought until my doorbell rang later that afternoon and I opened the door to see the two girls bearing wine, chocolates and apologetic grins! And this is far from a one off. It is just one example of lovely little random acts of kindness which we have received from our neighbours here in our block of flats.

There is some sadness going around at present among us ‘Auslanders’ as the Swiss people prepare to vote tomorrow on the proposal to automatically deport foreigners who commit minor crimes, encapsulated by the infamous black sheep poster, which despite being widely criticised when it was first used several years ago, has resurfaced in the light of this recent activity. But you have to remember that the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) who has proposed this ‘Enforcement Initiative’ is an extremely right wing party, similar to the UK Independence Party, both of which have grown in popularity by feeding on the negative headlines surrounding the influx of immigrants. But this is certainly not a general view. Each day I encounter oodles of kindness and friendliness from the Swiss people in my community. 

It remains to be seen whether this ridiculous law will be passed tomorrow but I will not let it overshadow the high quality of life we have been given here in Switzerland and we will continue to enjoy the company of its incredible inhabitants.

Not a good day for Swiss politics

As protestors in recent clashes in Bern this weekend feared, Switzerland's vote yesterday saw the extremely right-wing SVP claiming 65 seats in the new National Council, giving it a right-wing majority for the first time ever.

Turnout was around 47%, fairly normal for a Swiss general election, but the SVP managed to achieve a historic high of 29.4% by spending more money than any other party – it seems money buys votes in Switzerland as it does everywhere else.

So what does this mean? In Swiss politics a majority in parliament isn't as dramatic as in Britain but it is still a big result and will dictate the path Switzerland takes over the next four years. Although Switzerland is a direct democracy, meaning that voters have a say through referenda, around 75% of all decisions are taken by parliament without asking the people.

Most immediately it will affect the election of the Swiss government, the Federal Council, which takes place on 9 December. The seven Federal Councillors are elected by both houses of parliament together, with a simple majority needed to elect each member. Although these particular elections often produce surprises, a second seat for the SVP is now almost a foregone conclusion, meaning that the right will then have four seats and a majority in government as well.

The SVP made the refugee crisis in Europe the main topic of debate, even though Switzerland has barely been affected by the recent migration so far. So this result is very disturbing. The right-wing majority is also likely to replace the Swiss political tradition of consensus with confrontation –for example, over immigration, over pensions, nuclear energy – as well as confrontation with anyone who disagrees with them.