ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss populist Christoph Blocher helped his right-wing People's Party (SVP) to another election win on Sunday by lending his face to the cause.
"Support Blocher! Vote SVP!" read posters plastered around Switzerland in the run-up to the parliamentary election as the party used the 67-year-old's image to mobilize voters.
Focusing on a cabinet minister is rare in Swiss parliamentary election campaigns but the strategy appeared to pay off for the SVP as it scooped 29 percent of the vote.
"Blocher is the leading political figure in Switzerland but using him is still risky," said political analyst Georg Lutz from the University of Bern. "Blocher gets a lot of attention but he also polarizes voters."
Claims that Blocher, who is justice minister in the multi-party cabinet, was also the victim of a 'secret plot' to oust him added to the pre-election intrigue.
A self-made man and fan of Winston Churchill, Blocher is credited with having helped transform the SVP over the last 20 years from a party with mainly rural voters to a more mainstream, conservative-populist grouping.
Along the way, he has won support by campaigning against bogus benefit claimants, foreign criminals, dishonest asylum seekers and demands from Switzerland's EU neighbors. Blocher helps Swiss rightists to another win (more) By Tom Armitage
Mark Alexander
