Switzerland: Cradle of Populism? – BBC Newsnight

Switzerland. Neutral, wealthy, and peaceful, the home of direct democracy. But is it also the birthplace of populism? When back in March, Steve Bannon embarked on his tour to unite Europe’s populist parties, he gave his first public address in Zurich. Switzerland is where the anti-globalist fightback began, he told his audience, when its people said no to joining the European Community in a referendum in 1992. Now it may retreat further still, as the Swiss prepare to scrap international treaties in favour of national laws. In the week Donald Trump laid out his stall at the UN General Assembly, Gabriel Gatehouse has the story of populism vs globalism, an epic battle for our age.