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Switzerland: Europe's heart of darkness?

 
 
Reply Fri 7 Sep, 2007 01:49 am
It may be really surprising. For some. From today's Independent:


Quote:
Switzerland: Europe's heart of darkness?

Switzerland is known as a haven of peace and neutrality. But today it is home to a new extremism that has alarmed the United Nations. Proposals for draconian new laws that target the country's immigrants have been condemned as unjust and racist. A poster campaign, the work of its leading political party, is decried as xenophobic. Has Switzerland become Europe's heart of darkness? By Paul Vallely


Published: 07 September 2007
At first sight, the poster looks like an innocent children's cartoon. Three white sheep stand beside a black sheep. The drawing makes it looks as though the animals are smiling. But then you notice that the three white beasts are standing on the Swiss flag. One of the white sheep is kicking the black one off the flag, with a crafty flick of its back legs.

The poster is, according to the United Nations, the sinister symbol of the rise of a new racism and xenophobia in the heart of one of the world's oldest independent democracies.

A worrying new extremism is on the rise. For the poster - which bears the slogan "For More Security" - is not the work of a fringe neo-Nazi group. It has been conceived - and plastered on to billboards, into newspapers and posted to every home in a direct mailshot - by the Swiss People's Party (the Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP) which has the largest number of seats in the Swiss parliament and is a member of the country's coalition government.

With a general election due next month, it has launched a twofold campaign which has caused the UN's special rapporteur on racism to ask for an official explanation from the government. The party has launched a campaign to raise the 100,000 signatures necessary to force a referendum to reintroduce into the penal code a measure to allow judges to deport foreigners who commit serious crimes once they have served their jail sentence.

But far more dramatically, it has announced its intention to lay before parliament a law allowing the entire family of a criminal under the age of 18 to be deported as soon as sentence is passed.

It will be the first such law in Europe since the Nazi practice of Sippenhaft - kin liability - whereby relatives of criminals were held responsible for their crimes and punished equally.

The proposal will be a test case not just for Switzerland but for the whole of Europe, where a division between liberal multiculturalism and a conservative isolationism is opening up in political discourse in many countries, the UK included.


SWISS TRAINS being the acme of punctuality, the appointment was very precise. I was to meet Dr Ulrich Schlüer - one of the men behind the draconian proposal - in the restaurant at the main railway station in Zürich at 7.10pm. As I made my way through the concourse, I wondered what Dr Schlüer made of this station of hyper-efficiency and cleanliness that has a smiling Somali girl selling pickled herring sandwiches, a north African man sweeping the floor, and a black nanny speaking in broken English to her young Swiss charge. The Swiss People's Party's attitude to foreigners is, shall we say, ambivalent.

A quarter of Switzerland's workers - one in four, like the black sheep in the poster - are now foreign immigrants to this peaceful, prosperous and stable economy with low unemployment and a per capita GDP larger than that of other Western economies. Zürich has, for the past two years, been named as the city with the best quality of life in the world.

What did the nanny think of the sheep poster, I asked her. "I'm a guest in this country," she replied. "It's best I don't say."

Dr Schlüer is a small affable man. But if he speaks softly he wields a big stick. The statistics are clear, he said, foreigners are four times more likely to commit crimes than Swiss nationals. "In a suburb of Zürich, a group of youths between 14 and 18 recently raped a 13-year-old girl," he said. "It turned out that all of them were already under investigation for some previous offence. They were all foreigners from the Balkans or Turkey. Their parents said these boys are out of control. We say: 'That's not acceptable. It's your job to control them and if you can't do that you'll have to leave'. It's a punishment everyone understands."

It is far from the party's only controversial idea. Dr Schlüer has launched a campaign for a referendum to ban the building of Muslim minarets. In 2004, the party successfully campaigned for tighter immigration laws using the image of black hands reaching into a pot filled with Swiss passports. And its leading figure, the Justice Minister, Christoph Blocher, has said he wants to soften anti-racism laws because they prevent freedom of speech.

Political opponents say it is all posturing ahead of next month's general election. Though deportation has been dropped from the penal code, it is still in force in administrative law, says Daniel Jositsch, professor of penal law at Zurich University. "At the end of the day, nothing has changed, the criminal is still at the airport and on the plane."

With astute tactics, the SVP referendum restricts itself to symbolic restitution. Its plan to deport entire families has been put forward in parliament where it has little chance of being passed. Still the publicity dividend is the same. And it is all so worrying to human rights campaigners that the UN special rapporteur on racism, Doudou Diène, warned earlier this year that a "racist and xenophobic dynamic" which used to be the province of the far right is now becoming a regular part of the democratic system in Switzerland.

Dr Schlüer shrugged. "He's from Senegal where they have a lot of problems of their own which need to be solved. I don't know why he comes here instead of getting on with that."

Such remarks only confirm the opinions of his opponents. Mario Fehr is a Social Democrat MP for the Zürich area. He says: "Deporting people who have committed no crime is not just unjust and inhumane, it's stupid. Three quarters of the Swiss people think that foreigners who work here are helping the economy. We have a lot of qualified workers - IT specialists, doctors, dentists." To get rid of foreigners, which opponents suspect is the SVP's real agenda, "would be an economic disaster".
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Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Sep, 2007 01:50 am
Quote:
Dr Schlüer insists the SVP is not against all foreigners. "Until war broke out in the Balkans, we had some good workers who came from Yugoslavia. But after the fighting there was huge influx of people we had a lot of problems with. The abuse of social security is a key problem. It's estimated to cost £750m a year. More than 50 per cent of it is by foreigners."

There is no disguising his suspicion of Islam. He has alarmed many of Switzerland's Muslims (some 4.3 per cent of the 7.5 million population) with his campaign to ban the minaret. "We're not against mosques but the minaret is not mentioned in the Koran or other important Islamic texts. It just symbolises a place where Islamic law is established." And Islamic law, he says, is incompatible with Switzerland's legal system.

To date there are only two mosques in the country with minarets but planners are turning down applications for more, after opinion polls showed almost half the population favours a ban. What is at stake here in Switzerland is not merely a dislike of foreigners or a distrust of Islam but something far more fundamental. It is a clash that goes to the heart of an identity crisis which is there throughout Europe and the US. It is about how we live in a world that has changed radically since the end of the Cold War with the growth of a globalised economy, increased immigration flows, the rise of Islam as an international force and the terrorism of 9/11. Switzerland only illustrates it more graphically than elsewhere.

Switzerland is so stark an example because of the complex web of influences that find their expression in Ulrich Schlüer and his party colleagues.

He is fiercely proud of his nation's independence, which can be traced back to a defensive alliance of cantons in 1291. He is a staunch defender of its policy of armed neutrality, under which Switzerland has no standing army but all young men are trained and on standby; they call it the porcupine approach - with millions of individuals ready to stiffen like spines if the nation is threatened.

Linked to that is its system of direct democracy where many key decisions on tax, education, health and other key areas are taken at local level.

"How direct democracy functions is a very sensitive issue in Switzerland," he says, explaining why he has long opposed joining the EU. "To the average German, the transfer of power from Berlin to Brussels didn't really affect their daily lives. The transfer of power from the commune to Brussels would seriously change things for the ordinary Swiss citizen."

Switzerland has the toughest naturalisation rules in Europe. To apply, you must live in the country legally for at least 12 years, pay taxes, and have no criminal record. The application can still be turned down by your local commune which meets to ask "Can you speak German? Do you work? Are you integrated with Swiss people?"

It can also ask, as one commune did of 23-year-old Fatma Karademir - who was born in Switzerland but who under Swiss law is Turkish like her parents - if she knew the words of the Swiss national anthem, if she could imagine marrying a Swiss boy and who she would support if the Swiss football team played Turkey. "Those kinds of questions are outside the law," says Mario Fehr. "But in some more remote villages you have a problem if you're from ex-Yugoslavia."

The federal government in Berne wants to take the decision out of the hands of local communities, one of which only gave the vote to women as recently as 1990. But the government's proposals have twice been defeated in referendums.

The big unspoken fact here is how a citizen is to be defined. "When a Swiss woman who has emigrated to Canada has a baby, that child automatically gets citizenship," Dr Schlüer says. But in what sense is a boy born in Canada, who may be brought up with an entirely different world view and set of values, more Swiss than someone like Fatma Karademir who has never lived anywhere but Switzerland?

The truth is that at the heart of the Swiss People's Party's vision is a visceral notion of kinship, breeding and blood that liberals would like to think sits very much at odds with the received wisdom of most of the Western world. It is what lies behind the SVP's fear of even moderate Islam. It has warned that because of their higher birth rates Muslims would eventually become a majority in Switzerland if the citizenship rules were eased. It is what lies behind his fierce support for the militia system.

To those who say that Germany, France, Italy and Austria are nowadays unlikely to invade, he invokes again the shadow of militant Islam. "The character of war is changing. There could be riots or eruptions in a town anywhere in Switzerland. There could be terrorism in a financial centre."

The race issue goes wider than politics in a tiny nation. "I'm broadly optimistic that the tide is moving in our direction both here and in other countries across Europe, said Dr Schlüer. "I feel more supported than criticised from outside."

The drama which is being played out in such direct politically incorrect language in Switzerland is one which has repercussions all across Europe, and wider.

Neutrality and nationality

* Switzerland has four national languages - German, Italian, French and Romansh. Most Swiss residents speak German as their first language.

* Switzerland's population has grown from 1.7 million in 1815 to 7.5 million in 2006. The population has risen by 750,000 since 1990.

* Swiss nationality law demands that candidates for Swiss naturalisation spend a minimum of years of permanent, legal residence in Switzerland, and gain fluency in one of the national languages.

* More than 20 per cent of the Swiss population, and 25 per cent of its workforce, is non-naturalised.

* At the end of 2006, 5,888 people were interned in Swiss prisons. 31 per cent were Swiss citizens - 69 per cent were foreigners or asylum-seekers.

* The number of unauthorised migrant workers currently employed is estimated at 100,000.
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Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Sep, 2007 01:50 am
Fewer and fewer people adhere to organised religion in the western world.
Switzerland is no exception, with a rising number claiming to have no
religious affiliation. But although church attendance is falling, religion has
become a factor ahead of the federal elections, especially with an
increasingly large and more visible Muslim population. swissinfo's special
dossier shows how the churches are adapting to changes in Swiss society.

Swissinfo: Religions in Switzerland
0 Replies
 
nimh
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 09:03 am
Quote:

Short version:

Quote:
Going on the swastikas that are plastered on the posters of the the Swiss People's Party (SVP) throughout Switzerland, you'd think that Adolf Hitler was planning a posthumous comeback during this weekend's general elections, and that opposition is massive. Yet the anti-immigrant, anti-Europe party is set to become the country's largest again, with perhaps over 27% of the vote.

SVP leader Cristoph Blocher attributes his success to his nationalist, anti-welfare state policies and Thatcherite economic liberalism. But his party also called for immigrants to be booted out of Switzerland if they are convicted of crimes. The message was spelt out with a campaign poster showing cartoon-like white sheep kicking a black sheep off the red and white Swiss flag. The slogan: "My Home, Our Switzerland, Keep it Secure."

The poster was described by a UN watchdog committee as "openly racist". But Blocher has insisted that "the expression 'black sheep' exists in every language. How can anyone seriously think that we were pointing the finger at Africans? Everyone knows that black sheep means the criminal foreigners who must be expelled."

Switzerland already has some of the toughest restrictions in Europe on unwanted immigrants, many of them stemming from Blocher's role as Justice Minister. The country has begun housing rejected asylum-seekers in an Alpine bunker.

But Switzerland is also a country in which more than 20% of the population is made up of foreigners and where immigration is at record levels. Blocher's populist rhetoric has undeniable appeal to people who are fearful of losing out. His supporters are farmers, shopkeepers and lower-income groups. In speeches, he harks back to moments of national glory, such as the 1386 defeat of the invading Hapsburg army.

The publicity that the SVP has generated in the international media has shocked Swiss commentators. "Switzerland cannot handle international criticism" was yesterday's headline in the Neue Züricher Zeitung. A former editor of Germany's Die Zeit said: "Switzerland is an amalgam of minorities and there is a general desire not to tread on each other's toes. If this culture is undermined, it will cause damage that will take decades to repair."
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Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 09:08 am
Ha, I'd thought that at least you would be interested, nimh.

http://i22.tinypic.com/2hfl5c3.jpg for that additional report/link :wink:
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Foofie
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 09:49 am
Doesn't anyone find it sort of ironic that just when women can look forward to NOT dying in childbirth, they prefer to have fewer and fewer children?

For a thousand years European women had children, many times until they died during/after delivery. Many men had two or more wives in their lifetimes, just due to wives dying from deliveries.

Should anyone look to Europeans, and question whether they are doing the unpatriotic act by limiting their childbirthing/childrearing?

Physician heal thyself.
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au1929
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 10:00 am
Foofie wrote

Doesn't anyone find it sort of ironic that just when women can look forward to NOT dying in childbirth, they prefer to have fewer and fewer children?

Not at all. I guess they realised there is more to life than being a baby making machine.
0 Replies
 
au1929
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 10:01 am
Foofie wrote

Quote:
Doesn't anyone find it sort of ironic that just when women can look forward to NOT dying in childbirth, they prefer to have fewer and fewer children?


Not at all. I guess they realised there is more to life than being a baby making machine.[/quote]
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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 10:07 am
<tips hat to Walter>

Foofie wrote:
Doesn't anyone find it sort of ironic that just when women can look forward to NOT dying in childbirth, they prefer to have fewer and fewer children?

OK, let us rephrase that.

Is it surprising or ironic that women prefer to have fewer and fewer children, just when the universal availability of the pill means they have the freedom to choose whether they want to have them or not?

That's the relevant bit you're looking for. Sure, improvements in health care mean that having a child is now safer than ever. But the arrival of safe and reliable contraception has caused a much more drastic change in life choices: you dont actually have to keep on getting children anymore, just because you have sex.

Foofie wrote:
For a thousand years European women had children, many times until they died during/after delivery. [..] Should anyone look to Europeans, and question whether they are doing the unpatriotic act by limiting their childbirthing/childrearing?

For a thousand years European women had many children, yes, but not out of any patriotism - it was simply because they had no choice. That simple.

Meanwhile, of course, on the whole, if you look at the world's countries, you will see that the countries with low birthrates are at the prosperous end, while the countries with the highest birthrates are largely to be found at the most destitute end. So what is the patriotic thing to do?
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Foofie
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 10:27 am
Please don't take my comments out of the context of the initial posting to this thread. Generically, whether it be Switzerland (yodelo), or some other European country, there seems to be a concern by the indigenous European population regarding immigrants.

Well, we can't have our cake and eat it too, as the saying goes.

Rather than complaining about all those immigrants, and their different ways, just have more children. Simple math; increase your numerator, and your percentage increases.

Life is apparently not just a race as to who has more toys upon death, but who has more children upon death.

And, it's not only the "pill" that caused the fewer children. European men and women both seem to like their vacations, fashionable clothing, and nice restaurants. Don't blame the pill; I believe its the desire to live the conspicuous consumer lifestyle.

I personally believe if ancestors could see their descendants today, many would roll over in their graves, considering how they suffered to raise a few children for keeping the family alive.

Rather than say Europe is less religious, why not point out that Europe might just be more narcissistic?
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Francis
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 10:50 am
Foofie wrote:
... why not point out that Europe might just be more narcissistic?


Yes, why not.

I, for one, do not want to suffer as much as my parents did.

If I can enjoy the happiness of life, that's no moralist that is going to tell me if I should or shouldn't have more kids...
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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 11:09 am
Foofie wrote:
Europe might just be more narcissistic?

Europe narcissistic - as opposed to the, "the world should be grateful to us in the US, for us being as benevolent and upstanding a hegemon as we are", Foofie brand of being American?

Irony is in this thread somewhere, yes, that's for sure Smile

Anyway, I feel kind of guilty. Walter's opening posts in this thread and Foofie's rejoinder are a sad reminder that while a considered article will receive little or no feedback, just saying something really stupid will always do the trick. And I participated, now.

So, back to the issue at hand - Monday we should know more...
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ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 11:47 am
Don't assume others aren't reading along, Walter and Nimh. I do follow a lot of what you post and don't want to just say, oh, that's interesting repeatedly.
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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 02:36 pm
OK, fair point.
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CalamityJane
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 02:50 pm
I'm reading along too, and this

Quote:
Europe narcissistic - as opposed to the, "the world should be grateful to us in the US, for us being as benevolent and upstanding a hegemon as we are", Foofie brand of being American?


is an excellent question! Laughing
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Foofie
 
  1  
Reply Fri 19 Oct, 2007 10:04 pm
Francis wrote:
Foofie wrote:
... why not point out that Europe might just be more narcissistic?


Yes, why not.

I, for one, do not want to suffer as much as my parents did.

If I can enjoy the happiness of life, that's no moralist that is going to tell me if I should or shouldn't have more kids...


I understand the U.S. did not suffer like Europe did during WWII. So, your perspective is based on a different observation. O.K., I understand. But, Europe will be quite a different place in less than 100 years. Everything worth having takes some sacrifice, I believe.
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nimh
 
  1  
Reply Tue 23 Oct, 2007 03:37 pm
The results summarized:



Summary:

Quote:
The nationalist SVP won 29% of the votes in Swiss elections, or the highest vote ever recorded for an individual political party, after a bitter election campaign blaming foreigners for much of the country's crime.

But the Swiss also elected their first black parliament member, Ricardo Lumengo, who had come to Switzerland from Angola as asylum seeker in the 1980s. And the Green Party had its best ever showing, getting just under 10%, while the Social Democrats lost some 4%.
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fbaezer
 
  1  
Reply Tue 23 Oct, 2007 05:51 pm
A brief comment on this interesting thread:

Switzerland is not your typical European country.

Thankfully.
0 Replies
 
dlowan
 
  1  
Reply Wed 24 Oct, 2007 03:22 am
fbaezer wrote:
A brief comment on this interesting thread:

Switzerland is not your typical European country.

Thankfully.


Could you expand, Fbaezer?
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fbaezer
 
  1  
Reply Wed 24 Oct, 2007 10:02 am
Not a member of the European Union and not intending to join.

Gave vote to women only in 1971 (one canton, until 1990), but things have gone swiftly for women in politics, since.

Always neutral, but always ready to give credit to warring factions (like the Nazis in WW2)

Only in 2002 joined the United Nations

Government by referendum politicizes a lot of things that should not be.

Police more racist than Alabama's in the 50s.
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