i guess suicide is not always painless...
Posted on 02/09/2014 9:53:11 AM PST by mandaladon
GENEVA (AP) — Voters in Switzerland on Sunday narrowly backed a plan to limit immigration, in a blow for the government after it had warned that the measure could harm the Swiss economy and relations with the European Union. Swiss public television SRF reported that some 50.3 percent of voters backed a proposal by the nationalist People's Party to introduce quotas for all types of immigrants. About 49.7 percent voted against the plan. The difference between the two sides was fewer than 30,000 votes, with a turnout of about 56 percent.
The decision means that the Swiss government will need to renegotiate treaties on the free movement of workers that it had painstakingly hammered out with the EU. Until now, citizens from most EU member states could live and work in Switzerland with little formality, while Swiss citizens could do the same in the 28-nation bloc that encircles the Alpine nation.
Two years ago Switzerland introduced quotas for immigrants from eight central and eastern European nations, a move that already drew heavy criticism from the EU. Ahead of Sunday's referendum business groups warned that many of the 80,000 people who moved to Switzerland last year are vital for the country's economy, and curtailing immigration further could cost Swiss citizens' jobs too.
"We always thought the argument about jobs would win people over," said Urs Schwaller, a lawmaker with the centrist Christian People's Party, told SRF. "Clearly that wasn't enough."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I'm envious.
It’s hard to even get a work visa there.Unless you have Swiss heritage and a good skill set not available from current citizens.
Too bad it usually takes until it’s either too late or whn it has an effect on individuals freedom. Nobody takes history courses anymore. (not true socialist history anyway
Well, unlimited immigration is the death knell for any nation, just look at the US! It's happening all around us.
Ah, shoot.
No burka-clad yodeling and halal fondue...??
(Kicks dirt)
Imagine - a government whose primary goal is the interests of its own citizens.
Amen to that!
that line is spouted from one lib government to another and i’ve yet to hear one believable explanation. As if a guy working a coffee cart, scalping business from a store who is paying far more in rent and employing several people instead of 1 is some sort of benefit to the government. Sure the coffee is cheaper and you’ll save a few bucks over the year but its sure not a tax benefit. Heck, no register. They just collect and give change from a cigar box.
The Swiss plainly think that Swiss culture and identity are worth preserving. Our politicians are of the opinion that there is no such things as American culture and identity because we are a country of immigrants. Actually, all countries are countries of immigrants if you go back far enough. Americans should recognize and be proud of American culture as it exists. Even legal immigration should be guarded closely if we are to preserve it.
Imagine is all we can do these days.
Unlike the United States who has a suicidal death wish, all smart governments are doing this.
How terribly racist of them. /s
i guess suicide is not always painless...
Every six months, I have to get permission from Canton, to renew my work permit and then stand in embassy queue for visa stamp.
People are objecting because crime had increased. Special instructions was given to me by my co-workers that avoid group of people standing at corners. They are unemployed and trouble makers. Swiss don’t like east bloc bums with free dole mentality.
Don’t worry, the global ruling class will find a way to thwart the will of the swiss voters, like they do everywhere else.
It’s a concept that’s ‘foreign’ to US Congresscritters.
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