Blocher describes himself as a Swiss nationalist
Posted on 12/10/2003 7:08:16 PM PST by RWR8189
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Blocher describes himself as a Swiss nationalist
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Swiss far-right leader Christoph Blocher has narrowly won a seat in government after a vote in parliament.
The result marks a political transformation for the country, which has been under the same system of government since World War II.
Mr Blocher's Swiss People's Party demanded a second cabinet seat after election success in October.
Mr Blocher is known for his outspoken views on asylum seekers and immigrants, and is firmly opposed to the EU.
Blocher's pledge
Mr Blocher took 121 votes in a third round of voting in parliament on Wednesday, unseating Justice Minister Ruth Metzler of the centrist Christian Democrats.
"I think the system of consensus with four parties leads to viable government," Mr Blocher told parliament after the vote.
"I pledge to do everything to earn the confidence accorded to me."
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 I will do what I can and hope God will ensure that it turns out well
Christoph Blocher
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His inclusion changes the make-up of Switzerland's four-party coalition for the first time in 44 years.
The administration has always included two socialists, two radicals, two Christian Democrats, and one member of the Swiss People's Party.
But Wednesday's vote, which included the re-election of Mr Blocher's People's Party colleague Samuel Schmid, left the Christian Democrats with only one seat as the smallest party.
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NEW CABINET
People's Party (SVP):
Christoph Blocher Samuel Schmid
Liberal Party (FDP):
Pascal Couchepin Hans Rudolf Merz
Social Democrats (SP):
Micheline Calmy-Rey Moritz Leuenbeger
Christian Democrats (CVP):
Joseph Deiss
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It also means Ms Metzler, one of only four women who have ever reached government in Switzerland, will miss out on her turn in the rotating presidency next year.
Her Christian Democrat colleague Joseph Deiss was elected Swiss president for 2004.
Specific ministerial posts will be decided by further political bartering between the major political parties before the new Federal Council is due to take office on 1 January, 2004.
The People's Party has doubled its share of the vote in recent years, after shifting further to the right. It is now the largest party in parliament.
The party had threatened to leave the government and go into opposition if Mr Blocher had not been elected.
Mr Blocher has been a key figure in Swiss politics for 20 years, but no-one ever really expected to see him in government.
Asylum minister
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Bern says Mr Blocher insists he can work within Switzerland's coalition and stick to its tradition of consensus politics. But some of his own policies run directly counter to those of the government.
He has ruled out Switzerland ever joining the EU, for example, while official government policy is to join in the long term.
Our correspondent said it was not yet clear which portfolio Mr Blocher would be given.
If he takes over from Ms Metzler as justice minister, he will become the minister in charge of asylum and immigration policies.
and that is all he really wants!
Misleading translation. The radicals are the "Freisinnige", or liberals (before the leftist hijacked the term), representing traditional middle-class protestant values. I'm not accusing BBC of any bias, though, because the party is sometimes referred to as "Radikale" for reasons unknown to me. BBC used a literal translation of the term.
And had this philosophy ever been backed up by any polls? Somehow I doubt it.
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