https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The right-wing group says the government’s plan to start recruiting foreign workers from June 8th and re-open its borders with Germany, Austria and France from June 15th, is detrimental to Switzerland’s future. https://www.thelocal.ch/20200528/swiss-peoples-party-the-decision-to-re-open-is-incomprehensible Thu, 28 May 2020 18:12:48 +0200 swiss-peoples-party-the-decision-to-re-open-is-incomprehensible Politicians with the conservative Swiss People’s Party believe school authorities in Basel have caved to religious minorities in their decision to take pork off the school lunch menu in the coming school year. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160622/anger-as-swiss-town-rolls-out-non-pork-school-lunches Wed, 22 Jun 2016 14:47:04 +0200 anger-as-swiss-town-rolls-out-non-pork-school-lunches A proposal to crackdown on the expulsion of foreign criminals from Switzerland is losing support among voters, according to a new poll. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160218/expulsion-of-foreign-criminals-plan-loses-support Thu, 18 Feb 2016 13:07:13 +0100 expulsion-of-foreign-criminals-plan-loses-support An initiative spearheaded by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) would result in up to 18,000 foreigners being expelled from Switzerland every year, opponents of the proposal say. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160112/proposal-would-expel-18000-foreigners-a-year Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:26:23 +0100 proposal-would-expel-18000-foreigners-a-year The European Union and close partner Switzerland said on Monday that they had made progress but reached no agreement over planned Swiss curbs on EU migrants, which violate the bloc's free movement rules. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151221/eu-and-bern-still-seeking-immigration-deal Mon, 21 Dec 2015 23:16:02 +0100 eu-and-bern-still-seeking-immigration-deal The Swiss federal government may have found a way to reach a deal with Brussels over immigration restrictions, according to a media report. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151130/bern-nears-deal-with-eu-over-free-movement-accord Mon, 30 Nov 2015 09:52:30 +0100 bern-nears-deal-with-eu-over-free-movement-accord The battle between left- and right-wing politicians for the seventh seat in the Swiss federal government has begun in earnest following Wednesday's resignation of finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151029/campaigning-begins-for-seventh-cabinet-seat Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:10:13 +0100 campaigning-begins-for-seventh-cabinet-seat Voters in Switzerland look set to go to the polls again to decide whether immigration curbs approved by the population in February 2014 should be implemented. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151027/swiss-to-vote-again-on-immigration-curbs Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:09:35 +0100 swiss-to-vote-again-on-immigration-curbs The electoral success of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) will make an initiative curbing immigration from the EU more difficult to implement in a way that is favourable to Switzerland’s economy, a leading Swiss banker says. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151020/bankers-worried-about-immigration-accord Tue, 20 Oct 2015 22:09:58 +0200 bankers-worried-about-immigration-accord The record performance by Switzerland's rightwing populist SVP in Sunday's elections marks a new triumph for its charismatic leader Christoph Blocher, a maverick politician known for his blustering speeches and virulent campaigns against immigration and closer ties with the EU. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151019/svp-election-result-a-triumph-for-blocher Mon, 19 Oct 2015 21:15:12 +0200 svp-election-result-a-triumph-for-blocher Is Switzerland now a divided country or were the results of Sunday’s national elections merely a return to normality? https://www.thelocal.ch/20151019/swiss-national-elections-return-to-normality Mon, 19 Oct 2015 13:03:00 +0200 swiss-national-elections-return-to-normality Switzerland's largest party, the populist rightwing Swiss People's Party, is set for record results in Sunday's parliamentary election, with media projecting it will take a third of seats in the lower house. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151018/swiss-peoples-party-on-track-for-record-seats Sun, 18 Oct 2015 23:43:32 +0200 swiss-peoples-party-on-track-for-record-seats For the first time since 1928 the Swiss federal government will next month conclude a four-year term without any changes in the seven-member lineup. Can the team stay together? https://www.thelocal.ch/20151014/can-collegial-government-stay-in-place Wed, 14 Oct 2015 14:08:00 +0200 can-collegial-government-stay-in-place The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the most popular political party in Switzerland, is threatening to pull out of the seven-person Swiss government unless it gains two of the seats. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151013/svp-threatens-to-pull-out-of-government Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:19:08 +0200 svp-threatens-to-pull-out-of-government There is no contradiction between playing rock music on stage in nothing but a Borat-style thong, and being a candidate for Switzerland’s conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP), an aspiring politician tells The Local. https://www.thelocal.ch/20151007/mp-hopeful-aims-to-shock-with-nude-rock-band Wed, 07 Oct 2015 11:14:24 +0200 mp-hopeful-aims-to-shock-with-nude-rock-band A new poll showed that Swiss voters are shifting more in favour of the right-wing anti-immigration Swiss People's Party (SVP) while support for more centrist groups started to weaken ahead of elections next month. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150910/anti-immigrant-party-sees-further-gains-in-new-poll Thu, 10 Sep 2015 14:00:18 +0200 anti-immigrant-party-sees-further-gains-in-new-poll The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) remains the most popular political party in Switzerland, according to the latest polling figures released this week ahead of next autumn’s national elections. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150625/anti-immigration-party-remains-top-dog Thu, 25 Jun 2015 12:46:48 +0200 anti-immigration-party-remains-top-dog Immigration and integration of foreigners remain the biggest concern of Swiss voters, according to a survey conducted for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation six months ahead of national elections. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150401/immigration-remains-top-issue-of-swiss-voters Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:01:48 +0200 immigration-remains-top-issue-of-swiss-voters A new referendum on Swiss relations with the European Union is inevitable and should be held in a few months, Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150203/new-vote-is-needed-on-immigration-finance-minister Tue, 03 Feb 2015 23:46:00 +0100 new-vote-is-needed-on-immigration-finance-minister The surprising lack of popular support for the Ecopop initiative to tightly limit immigration to Switzerland has many Swiss media commentators heaving a sigh of relief while warning that a rocky road lies ahead in mending relations with the European Union (EU). https://www.thelocal.ch/20141201/swiss-media-relieved-and-surprised-over-ecopop-vote Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:35:00 +0100 swiss-media-relieved-and-surprised-over-ecopop-vote