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September 7, 2008 12:48:44 AM CDT

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Far-Right Wins in Swiss Election Create Tension

Posted Oct 23, 07 11:10 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Swiss voters delivered a new parliament on Sunday, giving the right-wing Swiss People's Party a consolidated grip on power. But they also gave a seat to the country's first black MP, who told the Times of London that he is fearful of the xenophobia that characterized the recent election, despite his pride at being "a symbol" of a non-racist Switzerland.

The Swiss People's Party drew worldwide condemnation with an ad campaign depicting three white sheep kicking a black sheep off a Swiss flag. Newly elected Ricardo Lumengo, a former Angolan refugee running on a Socialist ticket, became a citizen in 1997 and reflected on the difference a decade makes. "There is a tension, a conflict now between foreigners and Swiss," he said.

Source Times (UK)

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A notorious poster from the recently completed Swiss elections.   (Getty Images (by Event))
Election officials count the votes during the federal elections in a polling station in Zurich, Switzerland, Sunday, Oct 21, 2007. The Swiss citizens elect a new parliament this weekend, which consists...   (Associated Press)
FILE ** Ueli Maurer, President of the Swiss People's Party SVP, smiles in front of a campaign poster reading "create security", during a press conference in Bern, Switzerland, in this July 13, 2007 file...   (Associated Press)
Swiss People's Party president, Ueli Maurer, is all smiles after hearing first results of the Swiss elections in a TV studio in Zurich Sunday Oct. 21, 2007. The nationalist Swiss People's Party - riding...   (Associated Press)
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Switzerland  • xenophobia  • Swiss People's Party  • Christoph Blocher


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