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Switzerland Voters Agree on Free Movement of People with the EU
02-14-2009 5:17 pm - Jordan Davis, World Radio Switzerland
'Yes' sweeps Free Movement vote.

Switzerland’s agreement on Free Movement of People with the EU will continue. Just shy of 60 percent of Swiss voters voted Sunday to keep the country’s borders open to European workers. Support for the “yes” vote was significantly higher than anyone expected. But what did those surprising results mean? WRS’s Jordan Davis sampled reactions across the political spectrum in Bern.

At Bern’s Lötschberg restaurant, the youth sections of all the parties supporting the “yes” vote gathered to follow the election results over bubbling fondue pots and flowing wine.

PHILIPPE NANTERMOD: ”This question is for our future, very important.”

That’s Philippe Nantermod, the vice-president of the Young Liberals.

Early in the afternoon the strength of the “yes” vote quickly became clear to the young political up-and-comers following the results on their laptops. Nantermod had a celebratory glass of red in his hand.

NANTERMOD: “We had this relation for ten years now. We’ve voted about this subject five times. And I’m sure that we decided to vote ’yes’ because being at war against our major commercial partner is a bad thing.”

At another political watering hole across the street, “grownups” from the Greens, Social Democrats and Christian Democrats were following the results too. But via TVs tuned to the results on teletext.

(CHRISTIAN LEVRAT in French)

For the Social Democrats’ president Christian Levrat, the surprising strength of the “yes” vote signaled that the Swiss People’s Party’s populism was running out of steam.

CHRISTIAN LEVRAT: [in French] “People understood that the Free Movement of People is part of the solution to the economic crisis… and not the problem. They got that thanks to access to the European markets; thanks to worker protection, we had instruments to fight against wage dumping and fight against the slowing economy. They understood it’s not the moment to put all that in question.”

The People’s Party avoided the Bern media spotlight. Their official party was far away in the canton of St Gallen at the farm of party president Toni Brunner.

Populist leaders said no conclusions could be drawn from the vote, overwhelming or not. They’ve long maintained it was undemocratic because it linked both the renewal of the current agreement and its extension to Romania and Bulgaria.

And on SF television, party vice-president Jasmin Hutter showed no signs the party would abandon its rhetoric.

JASMIN HUTTER: [in Swiss-German] ”There will certainly be a big stream of foreigners coming to take advantage of the social security system. But all the responsability will be with all the other political parties, the government, and the organizations that were in favor. The Swiss People’s Party is the only party that takes care of Switzerland.”

In the late afternoon, the Federal Cabinet gave its reaction: relief. Especially because of the vote’s timing.

Economics Minister Doris Leuthard.

DORIS LEUTHARD: “Normally people in an economic crisis, people don’t like the opening of markets. But Swiss citizens have a certain experience with the bilateral way with Europe. We are in the heart of Europe, so we are also Europeans. Even though we are not members.”

One thing is clear: the vote will make the atmosphere a bit lighter when Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey goes to Brussels on Thursday.

There, at the very least, the European Commission can interpret the vote as a sign the bilateral relationship won’t be upended.

At least, until the next time Switzerland’s relationship with Europe hits the ballot.

Jordan Davis, World Radio Switzerland at the Federal Palace in Bern.



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