Swiss People’s Party leader Marco Chiesa (left) smiles next to the president of The Centre Swiss political party Gerhard Pfister (right) prior to an TV interview during Swiss federal elections to elect a new Parliament, in Bern on October 22, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Switzerland’s anti-immigration populist Swiss People’s Party rebounded from searing losses four years ago to cement and expand its hold as the largest parliamentary faction after the election, official results showed, as two environmentally-minded parties lost ground despite record glacier melt in the Alpine country.

Pre-election polls suggested that Swiss voters had three main concerns: Rising fees for the obligatory, free market-based health insurance system; climate change, which has eroded Switzerland’s many glaciers; and worries about migrants and immigration.

The final tally late on October 22 showed the people’s party, known as SVP by its German-language acronym, gained nine seats compared to the last vote in 2019, and climbed to 62 overall in parliament’s 200-seat lower house. The Socialists, in second, added two seats to reach 41 in that chamber, known as the National Council.

It marked the latest sign of a rightward turn in Europe, after victories or electoral gains by conservative parties in places like Greece, Sweden and Italy over the last year, even if voters in Poland rejected their national conservative government last week.

A new political alliance calling itself The Center, born of the 2021 fusion of the centre-right Christian Democrat and Bourgeois Democrat parties, made its parliamentary election debut and took third place — with 29 seats, eclipsing the free-market Liberal party, which lost a seat and now will have 27.

Environmentally minded factions were the biggest losers: The Greens shed five seats and will now have 23, while the more centrist Liberal-Greens lost six, and now will have 10.

Political analyst Pascal Sciarini of the University of Geneva said on October 23 that the result was largely a “swing of the pendulum” and that support for the Greens was diluted in part because many voters felt they had already taken a big step toward protecting the environment by overwhelmingly approving a climate bill in June that will curb Switzerland’s greenhouse gas emissions.

File image used for representational purpose only.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Lower House of Switzerland’s parliament voted on Wednesday to give final legislative approval to a ban on face coverings, such as the burqas worn by some Muslim women.

The National Council voted 151-29 for the legislation, which was already approved by the Upper House. It was pushed through by the right-wing, populist Swiss People’s Party, easily overcoming reticence expressed by centrists and the Greens.

The move follows a nationwide referendum two years ago in which Swiss voters narrowly approved forbidding niqabs, which leave slits for the eyes, and burqas as well as ski masks and bandannas that are worn by some protesters.

With the Lower House vote, Parliament cemented the ban into federal law and set a fine of up to 1,000 francs (about $1,100) for violators.

The measure prohibits covering the nose, mouth and eyes in both public spaces and private buildings accessible to the public, though it does allow for some exceptions.

Few women in Switzerland wear full face coverings like burqas, which are perhaps best known as garb worn in Afghanistan.

Two Swiss cantons — southern Ticino and northern St. Gallen — already have similar laws. The national legislation will put Switzerland in line with countries such as Belgium and France that have enacted similar measures.